PCUniverse.com unveiling a new look and focus

PC Universe Inc. knows precisely who its core shoppers are and is rebuilding its web site to attract even more of them.

The online computer retailer, No. 289 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, sells primarily to information technology workers, serious home computer users and small businesses, says president and co-founder Tom Livia.

To appeal to its core audience and boost the site’s repeat business, PC Universe is redesigning major parts of PCUniverse.com. The product pages have been reconfigured to include a cleaner layout and larger product images. Product pages also now include more product reviews, technical specifications, buyer’s guides and other details. Once a shopper clicks on a particular brand the resulting product page now features similar search results and products already filtered by brand and price.

PC Universe spent about six months researching and implementing its new design pages. The retailer also used LeftClick LABS to collect and analyze customer feedback. “We paid particular attention to the product pages because we noticed that 80% of our visitors were entering and exiting on a product page,” Livia says. “The customers coming to our site know exactly what they want.”

Presenting customers with a more complete view of products and accessories also was a goal of the redesign, Livia says. For instance, product pages now detail what accessories are included with the main item. A new box also gives shoppers details on shipping costs and options and available warranties. “People want to know up front what they are getting,” Livia says.

Now that the first part of the redesign is complete, next comes enhancing the shopping cart, beginning with reducing the steps to checkout. With a streamlined web site, PC Universe expects both its total sales and repeat business to grow. In 2005 PCUniverse.com posted sales of $13.2 million, an increase of 28.1% from sales of $10.3 million in 2004. “We now are attracting more of the serious-minded computer shoppers. The redesign is helping us attract and keep them,” Livia says.