Since Nordstrom’s Designer Collections retail site launched in February, shoppers have had to place orders by phone. Starting this weekend, they can buy online through a shopping cart integrated with Nordstrom.com, Nordstrom Direct president Jamie Nordstrom tells Internet Retailer.
Designer Collections, located at Designer.Nordstrom.com, provides shoppers a graphical introduction to an illustrated mall of fashion designer boutiques for labels such as Missoni, Marc Jacobs and Burberry. Clicking on one of the designer boutiques takes a visitor to views of fashions presented on models, and pop-up windows offer access to customer service agents for telephone or live chat shopping assistance and purchasing.
But Nordstrom, No. 40 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, decided to hold off on incorporating an e-commerce function to first concentrate on the presentation of designer fashions themselves, Nordstrom says. “When we launched the designer site last February, we really wanted to make sure we got it right,” he says. “So we took baby steps and let it grow from there. So far, we’re pleased with the response.”
Nordstrom figures that many of its online shoppers started using the Designer Collections site mostly as a research tool before visiting one of its stores. “Our designer web site is being used mostly by store customers as part of the shopping process, to get a look at new trends and styles before shopping with a personal sales assistant in our stores,” he says.
The web site also tries to copy at least part of the in-store personal shopping experience, with customer service agents trained to help online shoppers with ideas on fashion outfits based on records of shopping behavior and the reps’ knowledge of merchandise, Nordstrom says. And recently customers have begun to request the option to complete their purchases online, he adds.
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