Specialty/Non-Apparel
For niche e-retailers, content is king

Internet Retailer Web Design Conference 2009

Guide to E-Commerce Technology

Specialty/ Non-Apparel AmericanStationery.com Art.com Bulbs.com Diapers.com DrsFosterSmith.com Levenger.com PetsUnited PlumberSurplus.com PowerEquipmentDirect.com ShopPBS.com Shutterfly.com Step2.com

Content is everything--that is the definitive trend among specialty/non-apparel Internet retailers in the Hot 100. These merchants are bulking up their sites with assorted types of information on everything from pens to plumbing supplies to educate shoppers and help boost sales.

Levenger.com features an abundance of information and how-to tips on every page, from how to fill a fountain pen to the proper way to file. PetsUnited added blogs and customer profile pages to its popular Dog.com forum, and includes extensive information on all dog breeds.

Another pet supplies e-retailer, DrsFosterSmith.com, boasts more than 3,000 articles from veterinarians on staff. A redesign slated for after the holidays will present home page-based links to the articles. What`s more, the merchant soon will add video versions of the articles presented by the veterinary experts. And the videos will be turned into a syndicated TV show.

PowerEquipmentDirect.com features how-to manuals, product demonstration videos and advice from its experts. Similarly, PlumberSurplus.com has a learning center filled with videos and how-to guides. Live chat lets shoppers ask questions and discuss products. And if all that still does not do the trick, shoppers can enter their phone numbers in a special box on pages and get an immediate call-back from staff.

And Step2.com, a toy e-retailer, redesigned its site this year with content high on its list of changes. The new site displays a plethora of information on each product page: Images that put toys into size context in play scenes, including some video and 3-D demonstrations; information on shipping times and costs; views of complementary toys; and detailed assembly instructions.

On a different front, Diapers.com doesn`t need to post much information on its products--parents know what to do. But it initiated a referral program that enables shoppers to earn credits by bringing new customers onboard. When customers refer others to the site, new customers receive $5 off their first purchase by entering a referring customer`s unique code. And when new customers make purchases, the referring customer receives a $1 credit to his account.

Personal done properly

Shoppers can search the site using categories such Hand-Bordered Stationery, Personalized Stationery, New Arrivals, Holiday Gifts & Cards and Personalized Party Wares. It also promotes on the home page monthly features, for example, holiday-related cards and party ware in November.

"AmericanStationery.com is very easy to navigate," says Roseanne Morrison, fashion director, Doneger Consulting. "I like the features by month, and the steps are really easy, especially when ordering something that`s personalized. They keep questioning you to the end to make sure you`ve done all the right steps. That is really what you want."

Customers can preview online about 85% of the personalized products, says Travis Steele, manager of web development. "We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction--we have a 100% guarantee," he says. "One of the ways to ensure that is that we allow a customer to actually see what the finished product is going to look like with our online personalization and preview. That was the biggest part of our site and that was what we really wanted to focus on."

When setting up the personalization process, American Stationery tries to address the questions its catalog operation receives when customers order over the phone, such as whether the print is flat or raised, Steele says. "We want people to get through from step one to the end as easily as possible without being confused," he says. "There are a lot of options per product. We broke it down into steps that flow smoothly."

Product pages feature a customer review section. Customers can rank an item using a five-envelope rating system as well as write a review of the product. The site also offers a Catalog Quick Shop, where customers can order online items in the paper catalog.

"I liked the Catalog Quick Shop," Morrison says. "Their segments are very clear and easy to use." Back to Top

Art to suit

The Art.com home page allows visitors to search by art styles (such as fine art or decorative art), subject matter, artist or collections (such as canvas art versus tapestries). As an alternative, shoppers can click on boxes with images down the center of the page, representing categories such as best sellers, what`s new, framed art, decorating tips and photo art. Shoppers also can mouse over a color chart and click a color to search for artwork containing the chosen hue.

"They do an exceptional job of sorting their products because they cover a lot of territory," says Kim Painley, president of Kinetic Marketing Consultants.

Much of the artwork can be purchased with a customized frame. Shoppers select the style and color of frame and the color of the mat, and can crop the artwork to their taste. They then can view the customized piece before buying.

"They do a great job of not only selling the prints but also selling the upgrades," Painley says. "They make it so you can see the product framed on your wall."

Art.com also is continually adding to site content. Its most recent addition, Artist Rising, offers the work of lesser known artists.

"Artist Rising gives consumers access to a significantly larger selection of work direct from artists than they find almost anywhere else in the world," says Rob Giglio, chief marketing officer. "We offer many originals from the same artists, which further enhances the opportunity for our customers to discover art that they love."

The most popular pieces from the Artist Rising section are promoted to Art.com and AllPosters.com, where they appear alongside more famous works of art. "For our artists," Giglio says, "we provide a platform from which they can share and sell their work, giving them access to consumers that otherwise they wouldn`t have access to." Back to Top

Lighting the way

Bulbs.com offers bulbs and light fixtures for locations ranging from parking lots and airfields to home driveways and dining rooms, an inventory that can be mind-boggling to consumers. With that in mind, the retailer tries to make navigating the site as easy as possible, says Michael Connors, vice president of sales and marketing.

"It`s very, very important that with about 3,000 products users be able to identify what they need and then make a purchase without making a mistake," Connors says.

To that end, Bulbs.com lets users refine a search by product attribute, for example, wattage and voltage of a particular bulb. Bulbs.com also indexes by part numbers--including products not sold on the site. That enables users to find similar products from another brand.

"There`s a cross-referencing capability on the site," Connors says. "Maybe you`ve got a bulb that`s made by GE that you`ve just taken out of your fixture. While we may not have the GE product, we`ve indexed that GE product to the Philips product."

The site also offers education about bulbs and lighting, and allows shoppers to compare up to four items on a page. Bulbs.com makes it easy for returning visitors to re-order items by allowing them to save their purchase history on the site.

"The people who they`re selling to probably can find what they`re looking for because they already know what they want," says Kim Painley, president of Kinetic Marketing Consultants.

But consumers that don`t have a clear idea of what they`re looking for may have trouble finding the right product, Painley says.

"Everybody wants to use these compact fluorescent bulbs now but nobody understands the wattage," she says. "They don`t give you the equivalent incandescence. If I went here, I wouldn`t know which bulb to buy because I wouldn`t know which one was like a 100-watt incandescent bulb." Back to Top

Parent-friendly

Dressed in soft pastel colors, the site is uncluttered and straightforward. Unlike its customers, the design is the antithesis of busy, eschewing visual distractions.

"We`ve tried to make it a very easy, simple and fast experience," says Vinit Bharara, CEO of the Montclair, N.J.-based online vendor of diapers and other baby care products.

"The landing page has a very clean design," observes Gene Alvarez, vice president of Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn.-based technology research and consulting firm. "There`s not a lot there, and look how prominent the product search is."

The company not only has designed a web site that is facile to use, it also has tried to make it financially attractive to customers. It claims to offer competitive pricing for its products and also gives customers several ways to earn savings on future purchases. For instance, a referral program enables customers to earn cash credits by bringing new customers to the site.

Customers get a personalized code, similar to a password. When they refer others to the site, those newcomers earn $5 off their initial purchase by listing their sponsor`s code. And every time that newcomer makes a purchase, the original customer receives a dollar credit.

Bharara says customers can list their codes at doctors` offices, on community bulletin boards, or anywhere else they might be seen by potential customers. Sometimes customers get credits a year or two later, he says, thanks to strangers who have seen their codes listed somewhere.

Diapers.com further offers regular customers 5% credit every time they buy $75 worth of merchandise and provides free shipping--and delivery within 48 hours--for every purchase of at least $50.

An easy-to-remember 800 phone number--1-800-DIAPERS--is listed prominently on the home page. "They make it as easy as possible, because if they don`t, customers will go to the store," Alvarez says. "Consumers with children have a never-wait mindset." Back to Top

Trading on `vet cred`

"Vet cred" is what sets Drs. Foster and Smith apart from myriad web sites and catalogs catering to pet owners. Founded by a pair of practicing veterinarians from northern Wisconsin in 1983, a 16-page informational flyer has grown to the largest pet-supply operation on the Internet.

The company, still based in Rhinelander, Wis., works hard to maintain its stature as an authority. Many of the staff are practicing vets. The main retail site has helpful articles in each pet category--more than 3,000 at last count. Sister site PetEducation.com does virtually no selling, and is so comprehensive that college and university web sites cite it as a reference.

At the main commerce site, superb top-of-page tab navigation helps customers find their way through thousands of products for all kinds of animals. A redesign eliminated a layer of navigation in the interest of speedy service, says Gordon Magee, Internet marketing and analysis manager. A request for dog crates, for example, elicits the full product selection rather than a list of subcategories; at the right, customers can narrow or sort results by price, brand and other criteria.

A further redesign, slated to debut after Christmas, spotlights the educational articles with an expanded "below the fold" section. "It`s certainly a marketing strategy because the articles will refer to products, but it also fits with our ethos of educating customers," Magee says. "And it helps people want to stay on the site longer." The company is considering developing communities for other pets similar to its Ferret Forum, which it acquired along with The Ferret Store.

"This site is the BabyCenter of the pet world, with a lot of content that drives awareness of the brand," says Sucharita Mulpuru, principal analyst with Forrester Research. "It becomes a natural place for someone to go during the research process."

The redesign will also add Flash animation, and, eventually, video. The video supply should be plentiful: the company has recently agreed to produce a syndicated television show featuring the doctors and other experts, along with celebrities and their animals. It will debut in February. Back to Top

Content is everything

"Content is everything," says Lynnette Montgomery, vice president of e-commerce at Levenger, based in Delray Beach, Fla. "We want to show our prospects and customers that we are an authority in pens, organizers, paper."

Montgomery also wants visitors to spend a lot of time on the site, drilling down into the product offerings and finding answers to their questions. To that end, the site has been enhanced in the past year with more and larger photos, color swatches, and zoom.

Product reviews were added in September and customers responded enthusiastically. "We did an e-mail soliciting customers to write reviews on everything they have bought and it generated 2,100 reviews," Montgomery says. And that was in just three days.

Another feature added this fall allows customers to customize their 3x5 note cards, selecting card style, color and stock, and adding text, such as their name, in a variety of fonts and colors. The conversion rate on custom cards is 15%, versus 6.5% for the site as a whole, Montgomery says. "That has been an amazing success," she says. "Our customers are so happy."

Overall, she says, time spent on the site is up nearly 20% this year, and the conversion rate is up 18%.

Levenger.com gets high marks for ease of navigation, an uncluttered look and the prominent display of a 100% satisfaction guarantee, says Chris Vicente, senior retail practice manager at consulting firm BearingPoint. He adds that the gift guide should be more prominent during the holiday season.

As for the wealth of information offered on the site, Vicente says, "That might be overwhelming to the casual shopper. But the target market is people who want detail about the products, and this is a good site for them." Back to Top

To each its own

"We call our sites `big hairy sites,`" chief operating officer Greg Patterson says. "They`re not just niche sites that you can do with a cookie-cutter. We have large product selections, community features and information centers. It`s a lot of work to really have them done right."

Like many of his customers, Patterson is the "father" of animal companions--three dogs--and knows how important it is to be able to talk dogs, swap pictures and interact with other dog owners. A lively dog forum was joined in September by blogs and profile pages, which already are pulling 5,000 to 7,000 visitors a day. "We feel if we can give customers a spot to talk about their dogs, we`ll be front of mind for new dog stuff," Patterson says. "But it`s a soft sell." Similar features are due to roll out soon at Horse.com and Ferret.com.

The shopping experience itself is complete but not cluttered on all the PetsUnited sites, and a full array of products is joined by extensive information on all breeds. And a pet adoption search tool enables customers to find pets in their area that need homes.

George Whalin, president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants, notes the company`s efforts to promote its print catalogs on all the sites. "Consumers who buy from more than one channel nearly always spend more than those who only shop online or in a store," he says. Customers are encouraged to request a print catalog and use the web site`s catalog quick-order feature. And Dog.com`s catalog is available on the site in a rich-media format that ties in with product pages. Back to Top

The knowledge pipeline

The web site is designed to give them the tools they need.

It offers a learning center with videos, definitions, and how-to guides. The home page invites customers to comparison shop so they not only can learn what product they might need but also compare brands and prices.

There`s also a live chat feature that lets shoppers ask questions and discuss products. When a customer shows signs of confusion, such as going back and forth between pages repeatedly, specialists in such areas as water heaters and lighting will reach out by popping up a window inviting the customer to ask a question.

And if they`re still befuddled, customers can click in their phone numbers and ask to have a customer service rep call them--without having to wait in a telephone queue.

The learning center "helps you understand the product and how to use it," says Gene Alvarez, vice president of the Stamford, Conn.-based technology research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. "That`s the kind of information you`d typically get from an associate in a store. They`ve put that help online."

Another helpful tool, he says, is a peek-ahead preview pad that provides information on a product without the visitor having to navigate to another page. PlumberSurplus.com recently added product reviews, which "generate a lot of trust in the site," says Timothy Jackson, one of the owners and managing partners of the Riverside, Calif.-based e-retailer.

"The true shopper at the top of the purchasing funnel doesn`t always know what they`re looking for," says Brian Chelette, the other partner. "They can come to our site and utilize it not only as a place to make a final purchase," Jackson chimes in, "but as a place to learn." Back to Top

Power play

Hoch had already started to forge his own path when, as a public relations manager for a manufacturer of power generators, he volunteered to redesign its information-only web site, realized the potential for e-commerce sales and set out to prove it to a skeptical industry. "At first manufacturers just rolled their eyes," Hoch says. "They didn`t understand the potential of the Internet."

In 2002, Hoch founded Power Equipment Direct Inc. and a string of sites, ElectricGeneratorsDirect.com, PowerWashersDirect.com, AirCompressorsDirect.com and, this fall, SnowBlowersDirect.com.

Hoch`s staff of 19 constantly monitors national weather reports for communities in the line of severe weather like hurricanes and snowstorms. Then they search the web for local radio stations and newspapers and e-mail them audio clips and print ads that advertise Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Power Equipment Direct`s web addresses. The strategy has helped drive overall sales to $15 million in 2006, up from $9 million in 2005.

Through a combination of drop-shipping and fulfilling orders from its own warehouse, the e-retailer will guarantee next-day shipping and delivery times from two to 10 days. Shoppers on its web sites can click on a map that shows how long it takes to ship to their region.

For the many shoppers who know little about generators or even the differences among snowblowers, Hoch`s sites offer plenty of how-to manuals, product demonstration videos and advice designed to ease the purchase process.

"The `Good, Better, Best` shopping advice is a fantastic concept for making it easy for someone who needs a household air compressor but would not even know where to start," says David Schofman, an e-commerce consultant and founder and former CEO of Callaway Golf Interactive. "These niche plays that understand their products and their consumers will always have a place in e-commerce." Back to Top

Tuning in to film buffs

Thanks to a redesigned web site, those shoppers more easily found those products in the exact mix they wanted. They can enter "war" in the site search window to see the wide range of products about the Burns film as well as other war-related productions, then click one of several links--format, price range, production date, and the date a program aired on TV--to automatically narrow and re-sort the search results.

"ShopPBS.com has done a good job with the user interface given the complexity and massive amount of information and products they have to work with," says David Schofman, an e-commerce consultant and founder and former CEO of Callaway Golf Interactive.

That wasn`t always the case, admits Andrea Downing, vice president of home entertainment and partnerships for PBS and head of e-commerce. "We have so many TV programs that it was hard for shoppers to find what they were looking for," she says. It often took the site`s core group of customers--affluent consumers 55 and older--too long to find the right product to complete a purchase, she adds.

The new ShopPBS.com is now an example of a retailer that understands how its customers shop its web site and has taken the necessary steps to connect customers with a complex product base.

As part of its improved navigation, the site eases the shopping experience by displaying nine shopping categories--from the general "shopping by interests" to the more specific "science and nature"--in a navigation bar across the top of every page. Mousing over each category drops down menus for further shopping options.

The result, Downing says, is that shoppers are finding what they want faster and completing more purchases. "Conversions have gone up, while page views have gone down," she says. Back to Top

Picture perfect

"Our photo books, our cards, our calendars and all the different borders, our collage capabilities--all these things help people really be thoughtful and bring their memories to life," he says.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Shutterfly cultivates a close relationship with its customers, 70% of which are women, Housenbold says.

"We`ve always been a community commerce site, so we`re constantly in touch with our customers, listening to their needs, involving them in beta programs and really being customer-centric," he says. "We`re constantly talking to them about what they want and what experience we can provide to delight them."

Shutterfly updates its web site twice a month, adding new features such as a redesigned home page, new scrapbook pages or new types of greeting cards. Among the most recent additions are products using characters from Nickelodeon TV`s children series Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob Square Pants and Go Diego as well as photo books and greeting cards from Martha Stewart. Shutterfly also offers free unlimited storage of photos.

"Shutterfly has tremendous customization capabilities--you can use them as a storage repository or you can use them to print photos or Christmas cards," says Sucharita Mulpuru, principal analyst-retail at Forrester Research Inc. "They have lovely finish options like `sloppy edges`, black and white borders, matte finishes, etc.--all things that appeal to photo aficionados who want professional quality finishes."

The online photo service also owns its own manufacturing facilities, using the latest technology to make calendars, cards, photo books and enlargements.

"They have by far the best-looking prints of all the photo services I`ve used," Mulpuru says. "They do a nice job of color matching and ensuring that rich tones come out which the other photo services don`t really do. Photo processing is an underrated art." Back to Top

Out of the box

The Step2 Co. knows these challenges well. And the Streetsboro, Ohio-based manufacturer and retailer this year launched a redesigned e-commerce site that brings toy shopping to a new level.

The new site shows Step2 is mindful of the limitations shoppers have online as well as in stores when considering all of a toy`s characteristics before deciding on a purchase. To counter limitations, Step2.com goes above and beyond and displays a wealth of information on a single page: Images that put toys into size context in play scenes, including some video and 3-D demonstrations; information on shipping times and costs; views of complementary toys; and detailed assembly instructions.

"We provide an out-of-the-box shopping experience, and our conversion rates have improved as we`ve added features that help people through the purchase process," says Robert MacKay, vice president of marketing and sales and head of e-commerce.

Doing its best to educate shoppers, Step2 provides consistent page layouts for each product, providing a familiar, easy-to-follow format throughout the site. One shortcoming, though, says Nikki Baird, managing partner with consultants RSR Research, is that listings of product categories don`t always indicate the appropriate child size or age.

But much of this information is provided in customer reviews, which offer valuable insights into how toys go with particular age groups or fit in living rooms, MacKay notes. Indeed, reviews are presented with brief lists of key points making it easy to get to the heart of each review, Baird says.

"Our first responsibility is to provide comprehensive information about our products to our customers," MacKay says. As Step2 shows, doing that well is more than child`s play. Back to Top