L’Oréal puts a new face on Lancome-USA.com
L’Oréal USA Inc. has coined a unique phrase for the extensive makeover it just gave Lancome-USA.com: Eliminate the back button.
The company, No. 328 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, recently culminated a year-long review and redesign of its primary U.S. e-commerce site with a new architecture and features that virtually eliminate the need for shoppers and visitors to use the back button to locate earlier product pages.
Instead, working with Digital Pulp Inc., a New York-based interactive design and information architecture agency, Digital Instincts Inc., a Tuckahoe, N.Y., site design firm, and BT INS Inc., a Mountain View, Calif., information technology consulting and software applications provider, L’Oréal USA developed a new look and layout that allows visitors to complete an e-commerce transaction and keep all previously viewed items on the same page.
The company spent six months studying the key features and functions of cutting-edge sites in retailing and in other industries such as automotive. The company, which carries about 1,100 SKUs online, designed a new site architecture based on feedback from top sales associates that sell cosmetics to customers at leading department stores.
The result is a redesigned Lancome-USA.com that features a top of the page and left hand side of the page layout that enables visitors to shop by category and topic and choose colors. Another new site feature, Quick Shop, gives customers the ability to mouse over a product and see a box that presents the viewer with information on quantity, item and price, add the item to their wish list or complete a transaction. On each page a visitor can also see a list of recently viewed items.
“Buying cosmetics is complicated,” says L’Oréal USA vice president of e-commerce and customer relationship management Sarah Williams. “This new design enables shoppers to make a purchase from anywhere on the site.”
A major goal of the redesign was to eliminate the need for customers to constantly use the back button to find earlier pages. The new redesign features new rich media applications and navigation that makes it easier for customers to compare and find products. For instance, Lancome call center reps field a constant array of calls from shoppers asking if a particular older product is available and, if so, where it might still be available.
A new feature on Lancome-USA.com enables customers to type in the name of a discontinued cosmetic or fragrance, select the proper shade or scent, and see suggestions on new products that are similar. “Beauty products are constantly changing, but if a customer has a particular shade of lipstick that they’ve had in the cabinet for a while and want to see if it’s still available, or what’s replacing it, they can do that task online.”
The new Lancome-USA.com also features extensive content and rich tools that allow customers to personalize their cosmetics and group together similar products such as a purifying cleanser packaged with the right makeup remover.
L’Oréal will promote the new web site in a series of upcoming segmented e-mail campaigns. But the redesign already is paying dividends. “The average order is about 10% higher for people using the new design,” says Williams.
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