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In the piece ‘Trying on the Future’ in the weekend’s Financial Times, Fiona Harkin discusses the current and future landscape of web-based retail.

“Consumers are about to be able to shop for anything, everywhere, all the time”, she says. A tall order – but one that can certainly met by retailers who have the right vision and expertise to hand.

In the article, Lynne Murray from Holition warns of a downside to the trend of profiling customers according to what they most recently bought (a method familiar to anyone who’s bought anything on Amazon recently). Murray worries that this may have a negative effect due to a “constant ambush of communication from retailers.”

Some of the more aggressive consumer targeting online could indeed end up the web equivalent of being chased down the High Street by an over-enthusiastic shop assistant shouting “You liked this, so you might like this.”

But retailers as well as consumers are becoming much more sophisticated thanks to the opportunities the Internet is opening up for them. At Quantiv we believe that those retailers who will make the most success out of online retail will know all about what customers want and be savvy enough to make the online experience truly consumer-centric and truly engaging.

Our client Matches Fashion‘s online activity has really been causing a positive stir in the fashion consumer press recently.

In the Sunday Times Style Magazine, Claudia Croft says: “Matches … is applying what it has learnt from its successful webiste across the brand, and the latest innovation is a private shopping service that takes the persoanlised experience to the nth degree.”

At Quantiv we’re proud to work with Matches Fashion on their innovative online activity, and if things learned from web retail can be helpful across all consumer relations, even better.

Croft finishes her article with a resounding pat on the back for Matches that echoes Quantiv’s modus operandi around online retail activity: “that is where the future of shopping truly lies – in tailoring an experience to fit the customer’s life.”

Fashion bible Drapers runs an article this week about Quantiv’s work for Matches Fashion …

Fast Company magazine in the US has named its Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Retail.

Groupon heads the list, with Marks & Spencer getting the bronze medal. Usual suspects Amazon, eBay and Apple are also up there.

It’s interesting that although the accolade is for ‘most innovative’ companies in retail, those that top the list are certainly those that pay close attention to what customers want, stay ahead of the curve as far as technology is concerned, and create ‘customer communities’ online that feel welcoming, inclusive and appropriate – including when former offline customers of the brands venture online, as in the case of M&S.

The ultimate ‘retail innovation’ awards would, of course, be judged by the users (customers) themselves, but in the meantime Fast Company are doing a great job celebrating those brands that do well by serving customers well.