eTail Best in Class Winners 2018

For the past six years, the eTail Best-in-Class Awards has recognized the retailers that have demonstrated excellence in email, search, social media and mobile commerce marketing. This year’s finalists ran the gamut from industry stalwarts like Macy’s, Home Depot, and Guess Jeans to category disruptors that included Spanx, YETI and Glassesusa.com.

“We’re thrilled to honor such an exceptional group of companies for their contributions to the e-commerce industry,” said Lori Hawthorne, Senior Analyst and Divisional Director for eTail. “Every year our Advisory Board faces the daunting task of identifying and selecting the companies that are on the cutting edge of retail innovation, and our 2018 honorees exemplify the label of ‘Best in Class’.”

Shelby Walker, Sr. Experience Manager at Modcloth accepting the Email Marketing Best-In-Class Award at eTail West 2018

Category: Email

Finalists: DSW, LOFT, Modcloth, Williams Sonoma, Toms

Winner: Modcloth

ModCloth used Shaw + Scott's Send Time Optimization tool to stop scheduling campaigns at the same time for all subscribers, and which then allowed them to reach the right people, at the right time, on the right device. ModCloth’s email newsletter saw an average 25% percent lift across open rate, click-through rate, and revenue - and gains have since evened out at 21% percent.

Category: Website Design

Finalists: Saint Paul Hotel, Spanx, YETI, Kate Somerville, Skis.com

Winner: Spanx

Spanx created a new website utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovation with two goals in mind: to enhance the user experience as well as streamline backend operations to allow for continuous, scalable improvement. Thanks to the robust new platform and updated site design, Spanx was more than capable of handling the huge influx of traffic with the launch of Arm Tights while effectively showcasing the brand’s style and personality.

Category: Search

Finalists: Jewlr, Shopperschoice, National Notary

Winner: National Notary

With an industry experiencing flat growth relative to demand, but wide reaching applicability, the National Notary Association wanted to take advantage of a declining peer set to improve search visibility, with an immediate goal of improving top line revenue. The Association identified a high volume of informational queries, and the performance of the campaign was exemplary, as year to date the NNA increased revenue earned from Organic sources by 68%.

Category: Social Media Innovation

Finalists: Albertsons, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Crocs, Baked by Melissa

Winner: Albertsons

Albertsons leveraged Pinterest during the 2016 and 2017 Holiday seasons to increase in-store sales for Albertsons Companies’ private label. Albertsons Companies was the first retailer to partner with Pinterest on a creative execution of this scale. Albertsons Companies’ 2016 Holiday campaign on Pinterest for their private label generated a return of ad spend of 4.4X – with 100% of the incremental sales driven by net new buyers!

Nikhat Afza, Head of Mobile at Macy's accepting the Mobile Site Best-In-Class Award at eTail West 2018

Category: Mobile Site

Finalists: Macy’s, 1-800 Flowers, The Home Depot, Overstock, YETI

Winner: Macy’s

Macy’s continues to drive innovation and exceptional mobile-enabled experiences for our customers through Macy's iOS and Android mobile applications. In 2017, their efforts focused on 4 key areas: a more personalized experience; streamlined checkout; loyalty rewards; and in-store tools for our best customers who shop across digital and in-store channels. Macy’s mobile app traffic continues to see notable growth year-over-year. Its success to date is a reflection of Macy’s dedication to serving our best customers’ desire for convenient and seamless mobile shopping across digital and physical channels.

Category: Omni-channel

Finalists: Vitamin Shop, Crate and Barrel, Aldo, The Home Depot

Winner: Aldo

The Aldo Group developed a seamlessly integrated strategy that connected mobile consumers with their Aldo Connected Stores. While many retailers introduced mobile applications, very few have introduced the extensive in-store functionality that Aldo created - bridging the "final mile" between digital and bricks & mortar. The Aldo Connected Store program has now been rolled out to 575 stores in North America and The UK - driven by its massive impact on store conversion numbers.

Category: Retail Innovator Award

Finalists: Amway, Jewlr, Guess Jeans

Winner: Guess Jeans

GUESS now leverages local data around the radius of a store to merchandise dynamically via online commerce. The net result is that each potential online customer is seeing relevant products at a locally influenced level when shopping digitally. Examples of local online merchandizing include personalization based on area weather, musical performances, and more.

Category: Emerging eTailer Award

Finalists: Nine Line Apparel, Bourbon + Boots, Rocksbox, Glassesusa.com, Chili Beans

Winner: Glassesusa.com

Setting out to disrupt the monopolized eyewear industry, GlassesUSA.com was founded in 2008 as a one-stop-shop online retailer for all eyewear needs. On a mission to change the way consumers purchase eyewear, the company was built on the belief that buying eyewear shouldn’t break the bank. GlassesUSA.com has an average of 3.5 million monthly visitors over the last 6 months, higher than any of its competitors like EyebuyDirect and Warby Parker.

Category: Visionary Award (Individual)

Finalist Companies: Jewlr, Taylor Made Golf, Techstyle Fashion Group, Guess Jeans

Winner: John Gonsalves of Taylor Made Golf

John Gonsalves is a marketing leader in the sporting goods industry, and created ‘The Turn,’ which is an innovative new online subscription-based financing program. The subscription strategy was conceived when Gonsalves and his team took a deep dive into data regarding customer purchase cycles and explored the divide between consumers who buy new equipment every year versus those that tend to buy new clubs and accessories every three to five years. The result: a 15% increase in sales over a nine-month period of time.

---

About eTail

Launched in 1999, eTail is the longest running event series dedicated to the continued growth and evolution of the online and omni-channel retail industry. Produced by Worldwide Business Research (WBR), eTail is a worldwide series of events spanning North America, Europe and Asia. Unlike other conferences, we believe that what happens at eTail events shouldn’t stay there, providing actionable best practices that our attendees can put into practice now and can share within their organizations. For more information, please visit etailwest.wbresearch.com.

About WBR

WBR (Worldwide Business Research) is the world leader in B2B focused conference events. Founded in 1996, the company produces over 100 conferences yearly designed to offer the leaders of emerging and established companies across multiple industries with actionable insights, educational discussions, and networking opportunities to inform and transform how they do business now and in the future. The company also generates custom research to help companies educate the market on the latest developments and best practices. For more information, please visit www.wbresearch.com and follow us on Twitter @WBResearch.