As the UK faces continued economic turmoil, Blue2, a multi award winning digital design & development agency based in Broughty Ferry, reveals how the digital space holds the key for pandemic survival for business and brands.
Part of leading marketing services company ALTAR Group, Blue2 has launched four new, exciting e-commerce portals in the past month alone. Clients including Walker’s Shortbread, Simon Howie, Verdant Spirits and Wild in Art have worked with Blue2 to drive their online presence, growing their market share, engaging with customers.
Blue2 digital director, Nial Chapman said: “We started lockdown with a real sense of uncertainty at what lay ahead. However, we quickly adapted to the reality of the situation, working flexibly with our clients who had to be extremely agile and aggressive in their marketplaces to survive.
“We also secured several new client wins leading to an ever-increasing demand for the delivery of new digital platforms and digital marketing strategies to help our clients connect with their audiences and their sell services.”
Technology is enabling the adaption required to support the constant cycle of changes facing consumers and service providers alike. New flexible booking systems for bars, restaurants, cafe’s, tourist attractions and venues that can react and respond to the ever-changing restrictions are now expected.
E-commerce websites targeting local, rather than national, audiences with click and collect and takeaway facilities are in demand. There is a big uptake in subscription services offering everything from niche products to everyday consumables delivered on demand to customers throughout the UK, and new and ever adapting platforms to deliver education, events and conferences to a remote audience are becoming the norm.
Alongside, the trend for online sales has rocketed since lockdown. A study by global M&A advisory firm Clearwater International and consumer data specialists Conjura, analysing the financial performance of 21 mid-market UK e-commerce businesses from January to July 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, showed significant growth, both in revenues and repeat orders since lockdown. Firms report average annual revenue increases of more than 15% since April some experiencing week-on-week revenues spikes by more than 50%.
Nial Chapman of Blue2 added: “We’ve undertaken an extremely wide spectrum of projects including bespoke event conferencing platforms, apps to deliver socially distant art trails, flexible booking systems for restaurants and most notably an increase in the number of e-commerce projects that we have completed over the lockdown period.”
Launched this week by Blue2 is a new Christmas store created for Simon Howie, combining localised delivery slots with timed collection slots minimising the number of people who would normally have to be in store at the busiest time of year.
A new e-commerce website for Walker’s Shortbread, telling the story of the brand and selling products to a global audience, and a new ecommerce site and digital marketing strategy for Verdant Spirits to increase brand awareness and product sales over the Christmas period are just some of the other projects completed by the digital team recently.
Nial added: “Bespoke challenges really make us tick and we are thrilled to have also launched a new App for Wild In Art. The organisation is delivering the ‘50 Windows of Creativity’ public art trail in Manchester, showcasing the work of artists in a series of windows and spaces across the city centre.
All pieces on display will be available to buy directly from the artist or maker, giving a much needed boost to the city’s creative community. We also helped deliver a new web concept called “Wild In Art World” enabling members of the public around the globe to create and upload artwork to be displayed on a global virtual art trail.
“We are really lucky to have such an amazing and diverse UK client base that have been increasingly active over the last nine months. We are determined to do everything we possibly can to continue to deliver robust digital solutions that help them navigate through these challenging times.”
For more information or to get in touch, visit Blue2’s website.
