EROL News Category

Almost three quarters of the UK population have discovered an appetite for home shopping in the last 12 months. And many of those already won over to the concept are doing more of it and spending more money….

Read the full article: http://www.brightonbusiness.co.uk/htm/ni20060729.912805.htm

The Hub 100

Brighton’s Retailers Open their Doors To ECommerce
Written by Editor, Monday, 12 June 2006

Declining sales on the High Street has been a regular news item over the past twelve months, whilst e-commerce and consumer spending online is enjoying huge growth. In Brighton & Hove, the network of independent shops in the Lanes rely heavily on the city’s ability to attract tourists into Brighton and recent figures suggest some may be struggling. David Lepper, MP for Brighton Pavilion, has recently been championing the Sustainable Communities Bill in Parliament which hopes to aid sustainable local business. With the retail sector such a large part of the Brighton & Hove economy, what opportunities do retailers in the city have to build their business?

Step forward Hove-based Dreamteam Design Ltd, who have been monitoring Brighton’s retail community needs over the past six months. Their e-commerce software EROL (Electronic Retail OnLine) is aimed directly at SME retail businesses and could provide just the answer local retailers need. They joined forces with Stuart Wilkie, Chair of the Brighton Lanes Business Network, and organised a free evening event called ‘Everything You Need to Know About Selling Online” at the Mint Restaurant, aimed at providing retail business-owners with information on every aspect of e-commerce.

Malcolm Duffitt, Managing Director of Dreamteam Design Ltd, delivered the main content of the evening in outlining every aspect of e-commerce from the different software available to taking payments, and was later joined by Malcolm Prescott of Pure Potions, a Sussex-based online retailer who shared his real-world experiences of e-commerce.

Asked for their reactions to the evening, one retailer said: “All the information presented tonight came across as honest, and that this is something that is both accessible and achievable; the evening has made me realise that setting up an e-commerce website could be easier than I thought!”

Malcolm Duffitt states: “We had watched various attempts at providing information about e-commerce to local retailers by ways of seminars and conferences that invariably turn into a sales pitch. We already know that local retailers are at different stages of e-commerce - whether still thinking about it, or whether they already have an online store - and therefore every retail business has slightly different requirements. We educate our customers on a daily basis, not only about the merits of ecommerce but in how best to approach selling online for their own, unique business. We are also members of Brighton’s Hub 100, an organisation that helps stimulate and grow local business and by organising this seminar it was an altruistic opportunity to share our ten years’ experience of e-commerce with Brighton’s retailers which we hope gives retail-owners the information they need from which to make an informed decision about how e-commerce best suits their needs.”

MP David Lepper attended the evening, and Margaret Hodge, the Minister of State for Industry in the Regions, Department of Trade & Industry sent a statement to the Lanes Business Network encouraging those present at the event to ‘learn from those who have already taken the plunge and to pick up best practice’ in order to ‘make the most of the opportunity’ presented by e-commerce.

Dreamteam Design believe that the success of the evening has further raised awareness to local retailers in the city, presenting the idea that e-commerce is not only accessible but that there is a significant opportunity to build up their business via both retail and etail.

The next step in Dreamteam Design’s crusade to help local retailers is to engage with regional government support agencies like Sussex Enterprise to help fund retailers’ e-commerce initiatives so there is no barrier to entry in helping the region’s retailers build sustainable local businesses.

http://www.thehub100.com/

http://www.dreamteam.co.uk

Amidst the doom and gloom reported on the high street it is heartening to know that there is money to be made in retail. Specialist clothing retailer N Brown has found a formula that has sent profits soaring….

http://www.brightonbusiness.co.uk/htm/ni20060511.119067.htm

The heavyweight ecommerce package returns with an improved interface, new cross-selling features and improved support for payment-processing services.

Dreamteam Design has been updating its flagship product, EROL 4, which now boasts improved tools, easier cross-selling and a bunch of new features designed to make building, running and taking orders from your online shop easier than ever. If you shell out for the £329 EROL connect plugin, you can also integrate the package with Sage Line 50 accounting software…

.verdict
Still powerful with useful new features, better searching and improved navigation

.overall
99%

Introducing the Vendor Edition Training Course which is designed to get the most out of EROL’s back-office features, and covers the following topics:

Order Manager Overview:

• Placing and retrieving orders
• Basic Order Management
• Automated Order Management
• Stock Control
• Printing Reports
• Creating & Sending Customer Emails
• Exporting Order Data
• Creating Filters

Customer Manager Overview:

• Creating & Sending Customer Emails
• Creating Customer Logins & Discounts
• Creating Filters

Inventory Manager: Overview

Supplier Manager: Overview

EROL Connect for Sage Line 50: Overview

Working remotely with your EROL developer: Sharing data & Importing Updates

Online Marketing Concepts - Doing Better Business Online!

• SEO
• Adwords
• Store Promotions

For booking information click here, alternatively contact us on 0870 747 9141.