MIDSHIRES Electrical & Lighting is set to expand, with a new team of online and marketing staff including a new ecommerce manager and a digital marketing apprentice.
Midshires, which supplies energy saving LED lighting solutions for a wide range of domestic and commercial applications from non-corrosive factory lighting to LED light bulbs for domestic homes, is a proving to be a shining success.
William Chisholm, Ecommerce Manager, said: “We are now seeing internet-only companies overtake retail giants and I can see this trend in online shopping filtering through to the electrical wholesale industry. Ordering products on site using smart phones and then having them delivered saves a lot of time and effort for the customer.
“People enjoy viewing the products online and having the ability to click and collect. For some specialist products, Midshires stocks, such as whole-house ventilation kits, customers will travel over an hour so that they can pick up their order the same day. With the extended opening hours of 7am to 5:45pm this is really appealing to this market.
“The way we shop is changing. Customers expect everything to be on demand – where they want it, when they want it and available in just a couple taps of their smartphone. High street shops are perfectly suited to capitalise on this new way of shopping, if they can put their inventory in front of this new mobile shopper. If they fail to do this, they risk slipping into irrelevance and ultimately out of business.”
Researchers Mintel has estimated that by 2020 almost a fifth of shopping will be done on the internet.
Mason Tomlin, Midshires’ new Marketing Apprentice said: “Society is inherently progressive. More and more companies are turning to the online space to remain connected to their customers. This allows companies to quietly stay connected to customers and influence their purchasing decisions.
“It is important to point out that this is a symbiotic relationship as the consumer gets product on demand and companies can expand to larger and larger audiences.
“The question is not will, but rather how will the industry competition stack up. My prediction is that companies with a focus and awareness of brand image will gain prominence in the virtual shopping space as customers will rely on brand trust to inform their purchasing decisions.
“With this virtual migration, all we have is speculation to estimate the economical end game, and its penultimate effect on the struggling retail industry as it stands today.”
To view the range available, visit midselec.co.uk or visit Units 3, 4 & 5, Hartburn Close, Crow Lane Ind. Est., Northampton, NN3 9UE, or call 01604 403333.