Speedier content, zoom and separates boost Jos. A. Bank`s web sales 166%

Internet sales at Hampstead, MD-based Jos. A. Bank Clothiers rose 166% in September over September 2000, compared with total sales which rose 13.3% year over year. Comparable store sales stayed flat with an increase of 0.7%, and catalog sales rose 15.2%.

Helping to fuel the increase in web sales is customers` growing response to enhancements the company made to the site in a June relaunch, the company says. With the relaunch, Bank speeded up page downloads by boosting server capacity as well as simplifying programming on the back end without diminishing the display at the customer interface, says Chief Financial Officer David Ullman. And it streamlined the checkout process from six to three clicks.

Enhancements to the web site’s Build a Suit feature have contributed to sales by making it easier for shoppers to buy suits – one of the higher-margin products at Jos. A Bank – online. While the feature has been available on the site since last year, the June relaunch added zoom capacity that lets shoppers greatly enlarge product images so as to be able to see details as small as fabric texture and stitching, Ullman says.

Build a Suit was already one of the few places on the web to offer shoppers a separates program affording a degree of customization, a direct answer to sizing and measurement issues that have limited online sales of tailored suits. “With a suit off the rack, there’s a six-inch drop from the chest to the waist. If you get a 42-inch chest in the jacket, you get pants with a waist of 36 inches. But not everyone’s built the same,” Ullman says. Build a Suit lets shoppers order suit jackets and pants based on their own rather than the standard measurements.

Combining customized sizing for suit pieces with an improved ability to view product details has pushed suits up to 20% of Jos. A Bank’s online sales. While Ullman won’t disclose numbers for online suit sales prior to the June relaunch, he says the increase since then has been “substantial.” Ullman also says that Internet sales continue to grow significantly as a contributor to overall sales at Jos. A. Bank, which were $206 million for its fiscal year ended Feb. 3.