November 26 2007

Who’s buying what 26-11-07

The latest round up of software and services purchased by online and offline retailers featuring John Lewis, Optimost, ChateauOnline, Avail Intelligence, Debenhams, Nomensa, Vonage, inQ, Betfair, Speed-Trap, buy.at, WAYN, Matthews Foods, and Couponstar.

John Lewis Direct appoints Optimost

John Lewis Direct has appointed Optimost to conduct multi-variable testing across its website to increase conversion and reduce abandonment rates.

Optimost will carry out multi-variable testing on key pages, including sign-in and shopping basket pages as well as focusing on changes in graphics and text to key product pages that optimise conversion. They will also test landing pages and function buttons such as ‘add to cart’ to boost conversion.

Optimost most recently added enhanced targeting capabilities now enable marketers to track and target content based on geographic location, browser, operating system, and device type.

ChateauOnline uncorks Avail Intelligence

Online wine merchant ChateauOnline, will use intelligence from its customers to guide users to popular choices in its 3000-strong wine collection.

The website will implement technology from Avail Intelligence, which uses algorithms built up from customer behaviour on the site such as popular searches and previous purchases, to provide real-time recommendations for other customers browsing similar products.

ChateauOnline’s resident wine experts already pre-taste every wine available on the site and provide an expert opinion. However, ChateauOnline believe the addition of recommendations from other customers will help build a sense of trust and community between new and returning customers.

Avail Intelligence’s technology is expected to deliver significant, immediate and measurable improvements to conversion rates and average order values per customer – with increase of up to 20 per cent.

Debenhams appoint Nomensa to revamp homepage

Digital agency Nomensa, has been taken on by Debenhams to develop a creative design for their website’s homepage. Launched in time for Christmas, the new design is designed to be highly usable, and will allow visitors to intuitively find their way deeper into the Debenhams website, and increase conversion rates for Debenhams and provide a better online user experience for its customers.

Brett Bennett, web development manager, Debenhams comments: “We are convinced this design will make a dramatic difference to our user experience, user volumes beyond the homepage and overall revenue in this crucial trading period”.

Nomensa was chosen because of their user experience expertise and ability to react quickly and work collaboratively with Debenhams other partners.

Vonage adds ‘click2chat’ from inQ

VoIP operator Vonage UK has announced a deal with US chatCommerce expert, inQ, to re-create a high quality in-store shopping experience online and boost sales.

Users will be able to use pro-active live online ‘chats’ with real Vonage representatives. Certain visitors to the Vonage site will be identified by a set of predetermined rules (for example those who spend too long on a page or jump back and forth between two/three pages) and automatically contacted by a Vonage representative in the form of a ‘chat’ box. With the intention of recreating the high quality, personalised sales experience a user would get in a shop.

Reactive ‘chats’ will also be available to Vonage website visitors via an ever-present embedded ‘chat’ button. inQ think this is the first time a fully integrated approach to ‘click2chat’ will be taken in the UK. All aspects of the chatCommerce process will be managed under one roof by inQ: the software, optimisation services, web analytics and ‘chat’ agents.

Betfair bets on Speed-Trap

Customer insight software from Speed-Trap has been selected by Betfair to monitor and dynamically manage the content of the Betfair website, www.betfair.com. The Speed-Trap software uses Web 2.0 technology to capture and deliver complete, real-time data on every individual on-line customer and prospect.

Based upon detailed analysis of their current and historic on-line behaviour and experience, the Speed-Trap software will allow Betfair to drive and monitor its on-line marketing activity and business processes. The service allows Betfair to see what people are doing on the site including; seeing what they look at, where they ‘hover’ and how they get to the end point they want.

Flash imagery is a key part of the construction of the Betfair site, so it was essential that Speed-Trap had the capability to cope with the nuances of the Betfair web-sites, which are primarily based on AJAX technology, especially on their marketplace pages. The new software from Speed-Trap will replace bespoke monitoring technology and a web log analysis system which had been written internally by Betfair IT staff.

buy.at links up with WAYN for web 2.0 Shopping

Affiliate network buy.at is working with travel and lifestyle social networking site WAYN (Where Are You Now?), to offer it’s users a way to make money from social networking. The agreement enables WAYN’s UK members to develop fully customisable ‘web shops’ as part of their advanced profile. Members use a wizard to create wish lists of products they would like to own or recommend to others which are then displayed in their profile. When contacts or random browsers buy from their web shop the member will receive commission from WAYN.

The partnership uses buy.at’s existing infrastructure, including its relationship with 200 brands, and technology such as its ContentEngine, tracking and analytics products.

Matthews Foods works with Couponstar

Matthews Foods, the producer of Pure Spreads, has teamed up with Couponstar to enhance its customer loyalty programme and extend the reach of its coupon offers.

Matthews will use Couponstar’s Bricks technology, an online proprietary coupon platform, Pure Spreads is able to distribute coupons directly to interested consumers efficiently and securely through its own website without increasing internal workload.

Prior to using Couponstar all registrations and coupon production were handled internally, Couponstar’s technology provides secure, simple, personalised and trackable coupons via the internet.

In addition Matthews will also promote its coupon offers across various CouponNET Publisher partners including UKTV Food, Closer Diets, Bounty and iVillage amongst many others.

Following its use of CouponNET, Matthews Foods is looking at the possibility of integrating coupons into its email CRM activities.

If you’d like to make an announcement for this section of the website then email us at press@internetretailing.net

by Marcus Austin (Web Editor)