Growing trade sales across online and branch

Webinar summary
 

One merchant stated its £150 free-delivery threshold four times across its website. In the basket, customers had to work out for themselves how much more to spend to qualify.

Our September 2026 review of five leading UK trade merchants found other benefits missing where buyers might need them. Trade account benefits were sometimes absent beside product pricing. Loyalty schemes went unmentioned at registration.

The review covered the website before login. Beyond that, trade ordering raises harder questions. Can customers see their agreed price? Can they rely on collection stock? Can they reorder without calling the branch?

For digital leaders, the challenge is deciding which problems deserve investment and getting the right teams to act. Some changes sit within the website. Others require decisions about pricing, accounts and branch operations.

Join Chris Other from Toolstation to discuss what to fix first, where new investment is needed and whether online growth means more profit and less time spent taking orders over the phone.

Questions we’ll discuss

• Why does an online order still need a phone call? Where pricing, stock information and account processes leave customers needing branch support.
• Are your trade benefits helping customers decide where to buy? What buyers can see when checking prices, opening an account and placing an order.
• Which problems should digital and branch teams fix first? How to agree priorities when the work involves pricing, stock and account processes.
• What is an increase in online orders worth? How to account for existing orders moving online, margin after discounts and fulfilment, and time saved in the branch.
• What would justify spending on new technology? What to check in existing systems and processes before approving an investment.

Who should attend

Digital and ecommerce directors, heads of digital trading, and commercial and customer leaders at trade merchants, distributors and suppliers with branch networks.

For those deciding how to grow online ordering while improving the economics of the wider trade business.