SonyStyle.com plugs in more personalization changes
To break through the data overload that often hits shoppers when they click on an online consumer electronics site, SonyStyle.com is being upgraded and expanded with several new self-guided sales and product information tools.
For instance, Sony is working with Modern Creative Services Inc., which develops and markets Advizia, a product information and comparison shopping application. The software is being used to expand the “TV Advisor” section on SonyStyle.com with new applications such as a more robust product catalog, dynamically generated product comparison charts, product data published in multiple languages and upgraded guided navigation that uses a series of questions to direct customers to the product and style they are looking for.
SonyStyle.com is also working with Powered Inc., an interactive marketing products development company, to expand Sony 101, an online education program aimed at helping customers sort through the maze of products and technology on Sony’s main business-to-consumer e-commerce site.
Sony 101 is accessible through the Sony Learning Center available at two other Sony e-learning sites and offers shoppers free online courses on a variety of technology and industry topics, including digital photography, HDTV, wireless networking and data protection. SonyStyle.com offers links to the new learning center on the right side of its navigation bar within several of the product categories.
SonyStyle.com, which is now a part of Sony Electronics Consumer Sales Co., sees better informed customers and easy ways to access information as a critical marketing tool to help its web store stand out in a very competitive online shopping market. "Consumers today are generally overwhelmed by the sheer number of consumer electronics products and various technologies available to them," says Jack Halperin, senior vice president of consumer direct business, SonyStyle.com. "Sony 101 classes offer an abundance of information in a non-threatening environment in which consumers can get comfortable with technology and in turn, make more informed purchasing decisions."
SonyStyle.com, No. 7 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, is using the web to create more multi-channel sales and marketing opportunities, Halperin says.
For instance, the company is expanding its customer loyalty program. SonyStyle’s online finance center is offering a new payments calculator and features deals such as six months of interest-free financing deferred payments for purchases of more than $300 on approved credit through Sony Financing.
For the holidays, SonyStyle.com will also be offering an online gifts card, which can be redeemed on the web or in the company’s 20 concepts stores. “SonyStyle.com is coming of age and going forward will be used in broader ways to support the various initiatives at Sony Electronics Consumer Sales,” Halperin says.
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