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Online Retail Awards 2011 open for entries

Now in their third year, the Online Retail Awards (Editors Note: Not to be confused with the Australian ORIA's, the Online Retail Industry Awards-Australia)  have opened for entries for the 2011 Awards. These international awards are a unique, non-partisan celebration of the best examples of excellent website experiences and effectiveness, coupled with great design, best practice and customer service. Winners are applauded publicly - online, in print and through PR.

The ORAs comprise 22 retail sector category awards, 6 overall achievement awards and a single top accolade, named the Prix d'OR. New for 2011 are the separate category for Jewellery & watches and a category for Mobile sites. Other category descriptions have been refined or rewritten, based on feedback received from the industry.

The Online Retail Awards^¨ are open to any online retailer, their agency or e-commerce company, irrespective of size of operation, provided the website and online activity presented took place between January 1 and December 31, 2010. The entry fee has been reduced by 25%, reflecting the dramatic growth in the number of entries, year on year for these awards. Full details of entry criteria and fees are on the Awards' website: www.OnlineRetailAwards.com. Entrants are asked to provide evidence of their claims in the form of distilled data that allows the judges to understand the aims of the site and customers' responses. Feefo evaluations can be helpful, as can accreditation by sites such as Very Good Service.

Judges, grouped according to retail expertise, vote independently and in secret for the websites and online retail experiences they deem the best. The judging panel will be selected from retailing, retail media, advertising, marketing services, education, and from web designers, developers and online commerce experts from around the world. Information on the judging panel and the judges' decisions will remain confidential, as in previous years.

Entries close at the end of April 2011 and all entries are submitted online through the ORA website. Past winners and commendations can be viewed at the ORA website.

Support for the Awards comes from leading search engines, e-commerce companies, online payment and fulfilment services, ISPs, supply chain companies, optimization and web marketing organizations. Welcome support is received from Retail in Asia and InternetRetailing, Australia. PlanetRetail the global information and research resource also has links to and from the ORA website.