Faster site search isn`t a game for online retailer eToys

Getting even more up-close and personal with shoppers and delivering faster site search tops the list of e-commerce priorities at eToys Direct Inc. in 2007.

In 2006, eToys, No. 126 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, grew its total merchandise sales by 12% to $117.5 million from $105 million in 2005. In 2006, eToys, which owns eToys.com and MyTwinn.com and operates KBtoys.com under a long-term licensing agreement, also expanded into new merchandise categories with the launch of a new party goods department.

But in 2007, eToys wants to leverage its extensive investment in data warehousing and improve site search in ways that will result in customers realizing a more personalized shopping experience. “We know that our core customer is 80% female, but they also shop on multiple occasions for multiple recipients,” says eToys CEO Michael Wagner. “It may be a Christmas present for a daughter on one occasion and a gift for a nephew on another.”

EToys already does segmentation of its e-mail list to promote personalization and currently enables online customers to search for merchandise by department, age, character and brand. The retailer also plans to update its site search function with more guided navigation. EToys currently uses site search technology from Endeca Technologies Inc. “We want to create a little better fit for the customer,” Wagner says.

With better site search and making more use of its data warehouse, eToys expects to create more cross-selling opportunities. “We have one customer who is a multiple end user,” Wagner says. “We are going to make some changes by summer that will help them do less clicking around when they are shopping.”

In the highly competitive online toys business, eToys had a good year in 2006 with sales on eToys.com increasing by 20% and by 23% for MyTwinns.com, which sells personalized My Twinn Dolls and accessories.