ERA Europe's NewsShop goes one-on-one with QVC UK's Richard Burrell.

By Robert Logie

It's been a busy time for QVC UK with its new QVC In Your Pocket mobile service and a new deal with Ensequence to develop its interactive TV output. ERA Europe's NewsShop was granted an exclusive interview with QVC UK's director of engineering and new media, Richard Burrell. Electronic Retailer has been granted permission to publish the article in Perspective Europe.
Burrell has been with QVC UK since it started in 1993 (its second-ever employee). He now covers all technology, media, news services, sales, content and heads up the team that developed (among many other things) QVC's interactive TV operations on Sky and Freeview.

NewsShop: While researching this piece, I found a quote from 2002 asking the "big" question of the moment: "Will it ever be feasible to extend the QVC general goods retail operation into the mobile world (and make money doing so)?"

Richard Burrell: Jumping to the future in 2006, it appears the answer is an emphatic yes to the first part and the answer to the second is "we'll see!"

NewsShop: So, how has the mobile launch been in its first two weeks?

Burrell: It's started small but stable, allowing people to become confident with it. It's a new service, a change, and people are browsing and still feeling their way around. But we're confident in it; [we] had some good feedback from customers...in the first two weeks... some [said] they like it, and to others, it's a new concept. But they're interested in it and still at the stage of putting their feelers out.

NewsShop: How does the new service work for the user at home?

Burrell: In some ways, at the moment, it can almost be seen as a bit of fun for customers. If they can't get home in time to see their favorite shows, they are still able to see what products are available via the live details on their mobile. For example, if you like crafts, with the QVC In Your Pocket service, you might be out and about and have perhaps set the video to record the show and watch it later, by which time many of the products on offer may have sold out. But sitting in Starbucks or wherever with your mobile, you can actually view the products live and buy them before they become sold out. You can then enjoy the show when you get home, whether recorded on video, or online over broadband, but you haven't missed out on the opportunity to purchase.

NewsShop: What sort of challenges did you face when developing this?

Burrell: The biggest technical challenges for a service like this are to do with compatibility. There are limitless handsets around, with endless operating systems. So this was a key challenge to overcome. The actual look and feel was also an issue, how to fit the relevant information on a mobile screen, as opposed to a TV screen or computer screen. The other main challenge we had to overcome, and something we have succeeded in being the first to achieve was to ensure full integration with our other services, that we would have real-time fulfillment. It was essential that it is in real-time with TV and Internet, that it must be live and accurate.

NewsShop: You mentioned in a press release that this development partially stemmed from QVC's success in text messaging.

Burrell: With messaging, we looked at our main customer group, which is women over the age of 40, and wanted to see if they were using their mobiles. So we thought..."let's find out!" We implemented an experimental service, using short code; they bid for an item and the first ones chosen were shown on a crawl across the screen. We had 10,000 texts in the first week. That "experiment" never got taken out and, in some ways, was the foundation for the new service we [recently] announced. Using mobile technology is more of an evolution than a revolution.

NewsShop: Is it influencing product range?

Burrell: It's too early to say that really. Watch this space.

NewsShop: Moving on to Ensequence. What are the main differences this will make to the customer? And to QVC?

Burrell: We have had an interactive service since 2001, when we first introduced the BUY button. Thirty percent of our order traffic now comes interactively through Sky. But we have had pretty much the same system since 2001, and the world has moved on a bit since then. We decided the shop window needed to be changed and updated more frequently, improving the user experience and improving our own flexibility. So, we drew up a plan and searched for a partner to help us move forward with this. It was a hugely detailed process, and each of the four companies that came back to us gave us incredibly detailed proposals. In the end, we went for Ensequence, whom we were particularly impressed with.

NewsShop: I was interested to see a U.S. company being the one you chose to work with, despite the fact that it's generally perceived that the U.K. is further ahead than the U.S. in the development of interactive TV. Is this perception true, or what are the differences?

QVC Extends its Reach to Mobile

LONDON--The U.K.'s leading shopping channel, QVC, launched its mobile service QVC In Your Pocket, giving customers access to QVC's product range while on the move. The service allows existing customers to place orders from their mobile phones, access the Today's Special Value (TSV) item, the on-air item, a rolling list of the last 12 items aired on the television and a 24-hour Product Review. Commenting on the new service, Richard Burrell, director of engineering and new media at QVC, says, "QVC is at the forefront of U.K. retail technology yet again, as this is the first time that shoppers in the U.K. can buy products in real-time from their mobile phones. The success of SMS messaging to our live TV programs resulted in our in-house interactive team developing this service, which we believe will become as popular with our customers as our TV programming and website." Developed in-house, the off-portal service is device-specific--sizing product pictures to individual mobile phone screens--and fully encrypted to ensure secure ordering. In addition, the service is fully integrated with QVC's real-time business systems, ensuring that customers can only order available products. This new service can be found at www.qvcuk.com/mobile

Burrell: Well, yes the U.K. market is ahead of the U.S. in terms of audience take-up, etc., but the expertise actually lies all around the world and the U.S. is a major player. The research and development people we used for our interactive BUY button technology are based in Jerusalem.... It's much more global than simply being a case of the U.S. and U.K. Ensequence is unique; [it's] not a massive organization, but it's extremely innovative. And it is very influential in the U.S. and heavily involved in pushing the U.S. interactive market forward via the Dish Network.

NewsShop: It seems only natural that this integration of new technologies--and new ways for customers to interact with QVC--should attract a new breed of customers. For example, younger, more tech-savvy, etc. Are you finding this?

Burrell: Technology is really just the enabler. We prefer to implement new technology in areas where we have the largest customer group, such as with mobile messaging. The big question to remember with developing technology is, does it enhance the retail process or customer shopping experience? The mobile messaging experiment we carried out is a useful example. We did a gentle test that was still relevant to the majority of our audience--we found there was an excitement for it and never looked back.

NewsShop: Is our industry being led by customers or led by technology?

Burrell: Both. As I say, technology is just the enabler. QVC has developed a reputation as an innovator; therefore, we do get a lot of technology companies knocking on our doors, but the thing we must always remember is, what value does it add to the shopping experience? Unfortunately, that question means saying no to a lot of innovators!

NewsShop: What recent technological advances/successes in the industry have surprised you the most?

Burrell: To be honest, over the past few months, we've so much had our heads down focusing on the delivery of our current services and implementation of new services, that that's a difficult one to answer. But I would say the growth in broadband has been staggering. And our own online video service--adding video to the QVC website--has been significant for us. We knew we were good at making TV that sells but the web was largely a static medium. But with broadband now, people can watch--and are watching--videos of shows that they've missed, and they can also search either by product or by show. The speed of take-up of this has been a fantastic surprise.

NewsShop: How does QVC's approach to innovation compare with other e-retailers and TV retailers? Do you have a large team of in-house innovators?

Burrell: We have a media technology team, which I manage, but we force them to continue to operate with the day-to-day technological running of our systems. Being forced into a room and told to "innovate!" doesn't really work. Innovations come from the day-to-day experiences. But my department has a very strong policy of encouraging and nurturing the development of prototype ideas. A good example of this is with the QVC online video center, which developed from an idea a young systems engineer in the department came to us with. He then presented a prototype at our regular strategy meeting in front of the senior management (quaking in his boots!). They liked the idea and he was given the job of seeing it through to the launch. We believe in the ownership of ideas, not the situation where you present something, it's given the green light for go-ahead, and then someone more senior is given the job of carrying it forward. The atmosphere we are trying to create is very much about empowering people and creating a positive environment for creativity.

NewsShop: What can we look forward to seeing next from QVC?

Burrell: Ha! You didn't expect me to tell you that did you! I'll just say, "watch this space!"

Robert Logie is editor of ERA Europe's NewsShop.