What IMRG does

IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) is the UK's largest ecommerce association, founded in 1990 and headquartered in London. The organization operates as a membership-based community serving a two-sided market of online retailers and solution/technology providers — totaling 34,500+ members across multiple verticals including fashion, beauty, home furnishings, footwear, and retail technology. IMRG's core function is to aggregate and analyze online retail sales data from over 200 UK retailers through the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index (running since April 2000), the IMRG Capgemini Digital Dashboard (an interactive benchmarking tool filtering across 25 product categories and multiple retailer tiers), and the Cross-Border Index (developed with Global-e, covering 270+ UK retailers and 200+ international destinations).

The technology stack centers on a market intelligence platform combining monthly retail sales tracking, interactive benchmarking dashboards, and a research collaboration with the Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion, UAL. Products are delivered through a member login portal, supplemented by the IMRG Podcast, a weekly newsletter, blogs, and reports. IMRG runs a portfolio of events including the invite-only Growth Summit (co-hosted with eCommerce Expo), Tech & AI Connect, Delivery Week, and regular networking lunches.

The business model is subscription-based, generating revenue through two membership tiers — Retail Membership and Solution Provider Membership — both sold via direct enquiry rather than publicly disclosed pricing. Membership fees fund access to benchmarking data, industry reports, networking events, and community engagement. IMRG Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 08487486) and operates under the ownership or control of CloserStill Media Limited, a diversified media and events group. The organization does not disclose revenue figures, raise venture capital, or have a public listing.

Name

IMRG

Legal name

IMRG Limited

Website

https://imrg.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IMRG is the UK's largest ecommerce association, operating a membership community of 34,500+ online retailers and solution providers. It delivers benchmarking data, market intelligence, networking events, and research across UK and cross-border ecommerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Membership: Membership fees for online retailers providing access to benchmarking data, networking events, best practices sharing, and industry insights.
2. Solution Provider Membership: Membership fees for technology and solution providers offering access to online retailers and networking opportunities to build partnerships and drive business growth.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IMRG operates as the UK's largest ecommerce association, delivering two core paid offerings: Retail Membership and Solution Provider Membership. Through these memberships, retailers access benchmarking data (Online Retail Index, Digital Dashboard, Cross-Border Index), industry insights, peer networking events, and best-practice sharing; solution providers gain access to senior retail decision-makers for partnership and lead generation. Additional paid/event offerings include Growth Summit, Tech & AI Connect, and sponsored research reports.

Product overview

IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) is the UK's largest ecommerce association, operating as a membership community rather than a unified SaaS platform. The organization offers a portfolio of data products including the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index (tracking 200+ retailers), the IMRG Capgemini Digital Dashboard (interactive benchmarking), the Cross-Border Index (with Global-e), and the IMRG Podcast. Additional offerings include research collaborations with the Fashion Business School, events such as Tech & AI Connect and Growth Summit, and membership services for both retailers and solution providers. The core value proposition centers on industry data, benchmarking, insights, and peer-to-peer networking for UK ecommerce professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Membership Recurring membership tier for UK online retailers (multichannel and pureplay) providing access to the IMRG community of 34,500+ members, benchmarking data via the Online Retail Index and Digital Dashboard, peer networking events, and industry reports.
• Solution Provider Membership Recurring membership tier for technology vendors and solution providers that grants access to IMRG's retailer community, networking events (Growth Summit, Tech & AI Connect), and business-development opportunities with senior retail decision-makers.
• IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index Industry benchmark index that tracks the online sales performance of over 200 UK retailers, providing Year-on-Year and Month-on-Month growth metrics, category analysis, and retailer type comparisons (multichannel vs. online-only). Developed in partnership with Capgemini and running since April 2000.
• IMRG Capgemini Digital Dashboard Interactive benchmarking and market insight platform developed with Capgemini, providing filterable access to online retail market performance data across 25 product categories, market tier (budget, mid-market, premium), online turnover (small, medium, large), and retailer type (multichannel vs online-only).
• Cross-Border Index Research index produced in collaboration with Global-e that tracks online sales growth from UK retail sites to cross-border destinations worldwide, covering 270+ UK retailers and brands and 200+ destination markets.
• Growth Summit Annual invite-only event for senior retail leaders and innovative solution providers, hosted with eCommerce Expo at ExCeL London, bringing together 250+ top retailers to explore ecommerce growth strategies.
• Tech & AI Connect Annual retail technology and AI conference connecting ecommerce professionals with solution providers and industry experts on emerging tech in online retail.
• Delivery Week Annual event series and accompanying industry report examining retail delivery, fulfilment, and returns trends, with the first virtual edition held in May 2020 (sponsored by Avalara) focused on COVID-19 impacts on fulfilment.
• FBS-IMRG Research Collaboration Research programme conducted with the Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion, UAL, producing site optimisation studies (checkout, Black Friday, international ecommerce, delivery, discounting, returns) on hundreds of ecommerce sites and shared with IMRG members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tracks online sales performance of over 200 UK retailers across 25 product categories
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• eCommerce ExpocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint hosting of Growth Summit, a must-attend invite-only event for senior retail leaders and innovative solution providers. Taking place 23rd September 2026 at ExCeL London, the event brings together 250+ top retailers to explore cutting-edge solutions and refine online growth strategies.
• Global-ecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020Collaboration to produce the Cross-Border Index tracking online sales growth from UK retail sites to cross-border destinations worldwide. Based on data from 270+ UK retailers and brands trading internationally on the Global-e platform. Covers 200+ destination markets.
• Fashion Business School, London College of Fashion, UALcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Research partnership with postgraduate and undergraduate students conducting site optimisation research. Students collect and analyse data across hundreds of ecommerce websites on topics including checkout optimisation, Black Friday, international ecommerce, delivery trends, discounting patterns, and returns. Generates powerful datasets shared with IMRG membership.
• CapgeminicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2000Long-standing research partnership producing the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 UK retailers since April 2000. Also jointly developed the Digital Dashboard solution providing interactive market insight and benchmarking data. Capgemini provides managing consultants who co-author monthly market analysis press releases.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• InternetRetailing: A UK-headquartered B2B media and events brand covering ecommerce, digital retail, and delivery. Highly comparable to IMRG as a peer serving the same UK online-retail community with research, events, and community programming aimed at retail decision-makers.
• Retail Week: A UK B2B retail media brand covering retailers across channels with research, events, and editorial. Directly comparable as a peer information, events, and community provider targeting senior retail leaders in the UK.
• British Retail Consortium (BRC): The UK's leading trade association for retailers, providing benchmarking, policy representation, and industry data. Directly comparable to IMRG as a UK retail trade-association peer, though BRC spans physical and digital retail more broadly.
• eCommerce Expo: A flagship UK B2B expo for ecommerce and retail technology, jointly hosted with IMRG for Growth Summit. Highly comparable as a peer conference/exhibition brand serving the same retailer and solution-provider audiences with overlapping event IP.

Broad incumbents

• National Retail Federation (NRF): The largest US-based retail trade association, running retail's flagship BIG Show and producing broad industry data and policy work. Comparable as a larger incumbent operating an analogous trade-association and benchmarking model for retailers, but at materially broader scope and global scale.
• Similarweb: A digital market intelligence platform providing traffic, conversion, and ecommerce benchmarking data. Comparable as a peer intelligence vendor serving retailers and solution providers with benchmarking data, though it covers all digital categories well beyond ecommerce.
• Coresight Research: A global research and advisory firm focused on retail and the consumer economy, with subscription research and data services. Comparable as a peer retail-focused research and intelligence provider, but operating at much broader geographic and category scope.
• Ecommerce Europe: A pan-European ecommerce trade body representing the industry to EU policymakers and producing pan-European ecommerce data. Comparable as an industry-association peer for ecommerce benchmarking, but operating at broader European scope rather than UK-only.

Emerging players

• Edited (Market Intelligence): A retail market intelligence platform providing pricing, assortment, and trend analytics to fashion and retail brands. Comparable as a peer data-intelligence provider serving retailers with benchmarking and analytics surfaces, though it is technology-platform-led rather than membership-led.

Regional players

• Springboard: A UK-headquartered retail intelligence firm specializing in store footfall, destination, and benchmarking data. Comparable as a peer data and benchmarking provider serving UK retailers, though focused on physical-store performance rather than online.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imrgupdate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imrg

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMRG