Winners Announced - Online Retail Industry Awards

Thursday, 22 July 2010

The inaugural Online Retail Industry Awards winners have been announced.

In a lavish ceremony celebrating Australian retail's advances in cyberspace, the industry's brightest gathered to recognise online excellence after the final day of the Online Retailer Conference in Sydney. A glittering black tie affair featured New Inventors host, James O'Loghlin, who had the gathered throng of almost 400 attendees in stitches with his take on innovation and the internet.

The winners of the first industry awards set the bar high for future contenders with national retailer ABC Shop taking out the top award as Online Retailer of the Year, as well as the title of Best Multichannel Retailer for 2010. Setting an impressive standard for others in the industry, the ABC Shop utilises a wide range of interactive content on its site, available both online and through their kiosks instore in ABC Shops around Australia.

Another big winner of the night was Shoes of Prey, taking out three awards after only seven months in business thanks to its innovative online shoe design site. Shoes of Prey walked away (in their personally designed shoes) with the Best New Online Retailer, Most Innovative Online Retailer as well as Best Online Marketing Initiative thanks to their YouTube campaign and ambitious use of social media.

White goods pureplay online retailer Appliances Online won two prestigious awards - Best Pureplay Retailer and Best Customer Experience. City Beach won Best Use of Technology, while innovative coupon site Scoopon took out the Emerging Star title.

Best Site Design was a hotly contested category with Big Brown Box emerging victorious for 2010, showing not only a clean design but usability features that clearly impressed the judging panel.

The Industry Recognition Award was presented to Matt Bullock from Eway, recognising his long term contribution and vision in the online payments space.

"We are delighted to have had such a successful first event," said Grant Arnott, ORIA program director. "The enthusiasm and desire for continuous improvement in the online retail industry is overwhelming, and we believe these awards will not only serve to recognise and celebrate excellence, but challenge all retailers to elevate standards and implement best practice. This can only be a good thing for the industry, and we're extremely proud to now have a forum for building marks of excellence. Certainly the retailers I spoke to last night who missed out are already planning an assault on next year's awards program."

Guests celebrated late into the evening, including many of the international speakers and delegates visiting the Online Retailer Expo & Conference held this week.

The first Online Retail Industry Awards appear to have been a resounding success, and a boost to the pursuit of excellence in this highly charges, fast growth industry.

2010 ONLINE RETAIL INDUSTRY AWARDS WINNERS

1. Best Pure-Play Online Retailer
Appliances Online | www.appliancesonline.com.au

2. Best Multichannel Retailer - Sponsored by Salmat
ABC Shop | www.shop.abc.net.au

3. Best New Online Retailer - Sponsored by PayPal
Shoes of Prey | www.shoesofprey.com

4. Best Use of Technology
City Beach | www.citybeach.com.au

5. Most Innovative Online Retailer - Sponsored by Manhattan Associates
Shoes of Prey | www.shoesofprey.com

6. Best Online Retail Marketing Initiatives
Shoes of Prey | www.shoesofprey.com

7. Best Customer Experience - Sponsored by Coghlan
Appliances Online | www.appliancesonline.com.au

8. Emerging Star
Scoopon | www.scoopon.com.au

9. Best Site Design
Big Brown Box | www.bigbrownbox.com.au

10. Industry Recognition Award
Matt Bullock (eway) | www.eway.com.au

ONLINE RETAILER OF THE YEAR
ABC Shop | www.shop.abc.net.au

THE ORIA JUDGING PANEL
Chair - Andy Powell, Deloitte
Jennie Bewes, Razorfish Amnesia
Ross McDonald, GoogleRob Kinkade, Accenture
Chris Hitchen, GetPrice
Paul Marshall, Salmat
Steven Noble, Forrester
John Debrincat, Ecorner
Martin Newman, Practicology