Bigmouthmedia has praised the winners of the 2010 Drapers Etail Awards for continuing to make a success of online retail despite challenging trading conditions.

Senior Retail Strategist Finlay Clark, who sat on the panel of online retailing experts judging the nominations, commended all 59 of the shortlisted candidates for making this year’s selection process particularly challenging. Highlighting the high standard of entries for the 2010 awards, which celebrate success and innovation in online fashion retailing, he praised the winners of each category for proving that even in difficult economic circumstances, a well-run etailing operation can reap dividends.

“Even in the face of the worst recession to hit the industry for generations, the fashion retail sector has continued to develop, innovate and drive profits through its online retailing operations. The downturn has had the same impact upon the industry as it has every other sector, but the fashion business has demonstrated that focusing on the sales channels which provide the best and most measurable returns will still deliver competitive advantage,” he said.

The winners of each of this year’s 10 categories were unveiled at a stylish ceremony and party at the Bloomsbury Ballroom, one of London’s most prestigious venues. While stressing the extremely high standard of entries for the 2010 Awards, Clark singled out Best Multichannel Retailer winners Schuh and M and M Direct – which came out on top of the Best Pure-play Etailer category.

“Schuh, who won the Best Multichannel Retailer category for the second year running, showed real commitment to the online space, and their ability to integrate in-store stock availability with the products offered on their site was impressive. M and M Direct also stood out because of a fantastic set of results and the phenomenal year-on-year growth they’ve enjoyed,” added Clark.

As Bigmouthmedia’s online shopping specialist, Clark provides retail clients with a clear grasp of the digital marketing issues facing their sector, identifying where the new and future opportunities lie in this highly competitive market. Appearing at the Drapers/Retail Week sponsored E-commerce Summit, he is scheduled to provide attendees an insight into the latest developments in the field with his presentation Catching your Customer: Natural versus Paid Search in online retailing.