26-27 LSB 2020 Retail Interview_muk.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 02/07/2020 11:43 Page 27
THE BIG INTERVIEW: ONLINE RETAIL SUCCESSES
we have experienced very strong demand, but we have had to balance that with more limited fulfilment capacity due to social distancing procedures and more limited supply options. Nevertheless we have continued on our long-term growth trajectory with a 40% increase in sales compared to the same period last year.” Stephen believes that a key conversation the licensing industry should be having needs to be about the structural shift to online purchasing and how permanent that is going to be. He points out: “It's highly likely that social distancing will be in place until the end of the year including the key Christmas period and that is going to push ever more customers into the online channel - so anyone who doesn't have a strategy to maximise online sales will struggle.” Above: Sentiment brands like Boofle have sold well for Moonpig, while Moonpig’s head of Dad’s Army and Star Wars were top performers for Father’s Day. cards and licensing, Sarah-Jane Porter says the retailer has seen a “significant increase” in customer demand since lockdown started, with people using greeting cards as a way to stay connected with loved ones. It rolled
out a number of product innovations, such as eCards to support instant greetings as well as a new stay at home range which now represents 10% of its sales. “Our app downloads have more than tripled since before the lockdown, including a period where we ranked as number one app on the app store,” S-J adds. Moonpig’s challenge for the next few months will be retaining the new customers who tried the company for the first time during lockdown, S-J says, so it needs to offer a superior experience and range. “I think the licensing sector needs to be supporting the licensees and retailers getting back on their feet, as I'm sure they will be. Empathy will be key while adjusting to what the new normal might look like. They will also need to explore how they can better support online businesses by facilitating conversations between their licensees and etailers to ensure an online presence.” S-J concludes: “Business wise what we’re seeing is that the lockdown has accelerated the penetration of online greeting cards by two to three years for the industry which is very exciting for us.”
Lockdown top sellers “We’ve seen a lot of sentiment driven brands coming through since lockdown such as Me to You and Boofle with editorial such as ‘Across the miles’, as well as superhero cards,” says Moonpig’s S-J. “We had a record-breaking Mother’s Day with triple digit growth while for Father’s Day, Dad’s Army and Star Wars were the best performers.” Over on Character.com, PAW Patrol has been especially popular, says Stephen, due to the NHS promotion: “Nick Jr approached us about collaborating on a project to raise funds for the NHS and we jumped at the chance to make a contribution. All profits from the PAW Patrol Heroes NHS t-shirt will go directly to the NHS Charities Together and we have had a fantastic response from our customers via email and on social and it's still selling very well so we should be able to make a significant contribution.” In addition, “long-term strong performers like Peppa Pig and Harry Potter continue to do well for us, as well as others such as Bing and Minecraft,” Stephen says. TruffleShuffle’s Pat, meanwhile, tells LSB that it has been selling “lots of pyjamas” with The Lion King and Star Wars selling particularly well. LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2020
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