Supershoes.com Launches new Ajax Based Site
Introduces One Page Checkout and Continuously Viewable Shopping Cart Features
Andover, MA (February 4, 2008): Online footwear retailer Supershoes.com will relaunch February 5th, unveiling a new site based on Ajax technology. Ajax, an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is noted for achieving increased responsiveness and interactivity of web pages by exchanging small amounts of data with the server "behind the scenes" so that the entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user performs an action. For the user, Ajax provides a more streamlined experience: rather than moving from page to page, Ajax-enabled pages change around the user, based on the actions they take. Citing the website’s new One Page Checkout, Continuously Viewable Shopping Cart and improved sorting functions to aid shoppers in finding what they want quicker, Frank Malsbenden, VP and General Manager describes the relaunch as “the best application of Ajax in an ecommerce environment on the web.”
After attending an Ajax conference in 2005 Malsbenden explains “based on the clear benefits to the user, we quickly became aware that Ajax was the best technology we could employ to improve the key areas of our site that needed the most attention”. This included a cumbersome checkout process and what Malsbenden describes as a category sorting functionality that was “pedestrian at best.” And, when the team noticed that their shopping cart link was the most clicked link on the site, an Ajax based strategy was developed for the site’s shopping cart functionality as well.
The site’s new One Page Checkout allows customers to complete each stage of the checkout process from a single webpage: the page works like an accordion, unveiling each subsequent step in process when the step before it is complete. The process greatly simplifies the experience for the user making checkout quicker, more seamless and allowing the shopper to view all the information she has input on one page or to toggle back and forth between checkout steps without losing any information already inputted.
One of the more complicated implementations was the site’s new Continuously Viewable Shopping Cart which appears within the active viewing area of the webpage as soon as an item is placed into the cart and follows the user from page to page as she moves throughout the site. According to a survey of over 200 e-tailers conducted by Internet Retailer in 2007, fewer than 20% were using Ajax technology and only 6% use it for more advanced techniques like increasing functionality in shopping carts - a fact echoed by Malsbenden who states “we knew we were among the first breaking new ground.”
Ajax was also leveraged to offer new dynamic sorting functionality. Now customers can sort product by gender, brand, category, color and price and watch the page dynamically update before their eyes, rather than being shuffled to another page to view the sort results.
Citing the level of difficulty in applying Ajax specifically, Malsbenden explains “despite the technological obstacles you encounter when using a new technology, our belief is that if it greatly enhances the customer experience it is our responsibility to overcome them.” Indeed, Supershoes.com had to work closely with service provider More Visibility to ensure their search engine optimization would not suffer as a result of using Ajax. While search engines recognize distinct urls to calculate the relevance of a site based on the searchers’ terms, and Ajax operates by reducing the number pages (and hence urls) in a given site, there is a risk of losing search engine placement that would normally be attained through redundancy of terms.
The new site, which will officially relaunch February, 5th, 2008 will also boast product videos that bring key styles to life, a Wish List function that allows customers to keep track of styles they like while locking in the current price for a month-long period, and will embrace user generated content in the form of customer reviews and the “Return-o-Meter”, a site design element that uses actual return history data to visually represent how often a particular style is returned, giving customers insight into how likely they are to be satisfied with a given product.
About Supershoes.com
Supershoes.com is an online shoe retailer carrying a range of comfort, casual, dress, work and athletic footwear brands and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of parent company Vision Retailing Incorporated, an e-commerce consulting company based in Andover, MA. An experienced e-tailer committed to innovation, Vision Retailing owns online properties Shoeline.com, SuperShoes.com and AddingtonFalls.com and has consulted a number of high end Department Stores, brick and mortar retailers and consumer goods manufacturers.
For More Information or to schedule an interview:
Mary Jane Mellet
Office: 978 933 4843
Cell: 203 536 6071
melletm@hhbrown.com
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