Testing site visualization techniques to win over shoppers
Online retailers should test different site visualization techniques to find the right ones within the right budget that can be most effective at building brands and driving sales, says Fiona Swerdlow, vice president of e-commerce at apparel marketer Tommy Hilfiger and a speaker at next week’s eTail 2004 Conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
“Everyone is still grappling with how much to spend on visualization techniques, but it all comes down to what consumers really need,” says Swerdlow, a former site technology analyst at Jupiter Research. “Retailers should ask themselves, ‘Do I really need product zoom and spin?’”
Swerdlow, who is preparing Hilfiger’s Tommy.com to transition from a marketing brochure site to an e-commerce site, says site visualization strategies have matured since the early days of the web, when apparel site Boo.com emerged as an apparel site on the cutting edge of image management, but one that tried to do too much, too fast. Boo had a grand plan of launching a global site with multiple languages and currencies, and it spent a lot on visualization, including zoom, alternate product views, product spins, and a persona, Miss Boo, who could talk to visitors and comment on their product choices. But Boo ran out of money.”
Learning from Boo and other ambitious sites, many sites have since pulled back on their visualization strategies to focus on what’s most effective at building customer relationships, Swerdlow says. Hilfiger has focused on visualization techniques that support both brand image and product choice, helping customers decide how to mix and match outfits, she adds. “We’ve done a mix-and-match technique, which is like looking at a book with horizontally split pages,” she says. “As you turn the electronic half pages, a different top appears on an outfit. We’ve gotten good feedback on this from customers.”
Swerdlow suggests that a home-furnishings retailer might test conversion rates for different variations of product imaging. If a retailer is selling products like bed sheets, they can test if conversions increase if they show sheets on a bed instead of just color swatches, or on a bed in a large room with drapes and other products, she says.
“The web offers a wonderful opportunity to test things with consumers,” Swerdlow says. “That’s so much of what the Internet is about.”
Swerdlow’s eTail presentation is titled: “Improving Site Visualization to Enhance the Customer Experience and More Effectively Communicate Your Brand.” She will speak at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4, in the Track A Visualization session.
Back...
