Ocado confirms float
Grocery etailer Ocado has formally announced its intention to float on the stock market. Shares will be offered to customers who have spent more than £300 with Ocado between January 2010 and 24th June, as well as to Ocado employees and institutional investors in the UK and abroad.

H&M to sell online
Following the announcement earlier this month that fashion brand Zara will sell online in the UK from 2nd September, rival apparel retailer H&M has confirmed that September 2010 will also see it launch a UK ecommerce site.

Supplier of the Year Awards: Open for nominations
Behind every successful catalogue or online merchant is a dedicated team of suppliers, on hand to lend support every step of the way. The ECMOD/Catalogue Exchange Supplier Awards are one way of recognising the hard work and effort suppliers to the multichannel commerce sector put into securing the success of their clients.
Show your support by voting in one or more of seven categories. Entry is free! To nominate your chosen suppliers, download the official form here. All entries must be received before 3rd September 2010, with the award ceremony taking place on 6th October to coincide with the annual ECMOD Conference and Exhibition.

Like-for-likes dip at HMV and Waterstone’s
Like-for-like sales at HMV UK and Ireland declined 2.4 percent in the 52 weeks to 24th April. At sister company Waterstone's, the decline was steeper—like-for-like sales fell 6.2 percent. The good news, however, is that total group sales increased in the period, by 3.1 percent to £2.02 billion. Pretax profit also rose, up 17.7 percent to £74.2 million.

Appointments at The Consortium
Simon Leggett has joined educational supplies distributor The Consortium as sales and marketing director from office supplies business Staples. Jo Trigg is promoted to the newly created role of head of marketing and Brian Potter, who joined the business in January 2005 as operations director, marketing and sales, has retired.

UK sales down at Dixons
Total group sales at PC World and Currys parent company DSGi—including those from now closed businesses—are up 3 percent to £8.53 billion for the 52 weeks ended 1st May. In the UK and Ireland, however, sales declined 5 percent to £4.01 billion. Online sales for the year hit £1.4 billion, representing 16 percent of total group sales.

The Linen House opens its doors online
The Linen House, which trades under the name Oxted Linen Company, has launched its first online shop. No stranger to retail, The Linen House opened its first shop in Surrey in 1960. However, it is a late adopter of ecommerce technology, having only just started selling online. It chose Screen Pages to design and build its new site, linenhouse.co.uk.

Personal service online
It seems that the more technology has enabled retail and service brands, the worse customer experience has become. So what can be done about it? Click here for some tips and advice on techniques that can make online shopping every bit as personal and exciting as going in-store.