Gap finally plugs its performance gap

After a major upgrade that took all or a portion of its web stores down for almost two weeks, Gap Inc. is finally back online. Gap is also now breaking out its online sales, which were flat in the second quarter of 2005, compared with the same quarter in 2004.

Gap, No. 22 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, took its three principal web sites – Gap.com, OldNavy.com and BananaRepublic.com – down on Aug. 24 for a substantial overhaul. The new update features several new upgrades that help to personalize the shopping experience, says a Gap spokesperson.

For instance, Gap created new tools that help shoppers see more detail such as product overviews and available sizes and colors. Customers can choose an outfit and on the same page see how the clothes look with matching accessories. The shopping cart has also been updated with new and larger images and editing tools.

To drive traffic and sales, Gap.com is consolidating more activity onto a single product page. In an effort to streamline shopping, visitors can see enhanced images of a particular item, including available sizes and colors, and add the item or items to their shopping cart all on a single page. “Quick Look is the fastest shopping around,” Gap says on its new redesigned web site.

Gap is redesigning its web site to become “the best online apparel retailer,” the company says in its recently filed second quarter results.

But web sales were essentially flat for Gap and its e-commerce sites when compared on a quarterly basis with 2004. For the second quarter of its fiscal year, Gap is reporting total online sales of $107 million, including $40 million for Gap.com, $52 million for Old Navy.com and $15 million for BananaRepublic.com. In comparison for the second quarter of 2004, total web sales were $106 million, including $43 million for Gap.com, $46 million for OldNavy.com and $17 million for BananaRepublic.com.

For the first six months of 2005, web sales for all Gap e-commerce sites were $245 million, including $95 million for Gap.com, $114 million for Old Navy.com and $36 million for BananaRepublic.com.

That compares to total e-commerce revenues of $234 million for first six months of 2004, including $101 million for Gap.com, $94 million for Old Navy.com and $39 million for BananaRepublic.com.