As customers and retailers look across all touchpoints rather than siloed channels, so IR retailer reviews look at the entire retailer’s eco-system of website, mobile, the use of digital in store and their overall strategy. Longer in-depth analysis of the four areas can be viewed online at www.internetretailing.net. This issue our reviewers examine Argos .
RETAIL STRATEGY 25/25
Emma Robertson, Managing Director, Transform
For a retailer whose ‘check and reserve’ model pre-empted the stock availability and immediacy benefits of click and collect (albeit through a less digitised approach) it’s no surprise that Argos has long been perceived as a leader within multichannel retail. This is supported by the fact that multichannel now accounts for 51%, and mobile around 10%, of total company sales.
It’s worth admitting a bias upfront. Argos is a longstanding client of Transform’s, from the development of its first transactional website to the implementation of an ambitious multichannel strategy which now allows customers to choose from 14 order and fulfilment combinations.
Core to the Argos proposition is a shopping experience that is more local and accessible than that of its competitors, and even the likes of Amazon and John Lewis, who compete fiercely with Argos on range and service, would struggle to replicate its high street heritage. It is perhaps in the past year that Argos has made the greatest strides with a focus on three key areas: online customer experience, mobile and delivery proposition.
Full review here.
WEB EFFECTIVENESS 18/25
Jamie Sands, User Experience Consultant, User Vision
Argos offers the user a reasonably good online shopping experience with clear navigation and product refinement. However the user experience is not as strong when viewing products.The site’s product pages focus too strongly on alternative, upselling or purchase options. As a result, these pages reduce the perceived importance of the customer experience on these pages.
Full review here.
MOBILE 17/25
Chris Brassington, CEO, Starfish 360
On first impressions, it’s easy to see why Argos accounts for the second largest share of mobile site visits in the UK. However, delve a little deeper and you begin to ask, how much could that share be if they improved their engagement strategy for mobile shoppers? The mobile site and apps do what they are designed for but there is a real need for more attention to detail in the overall mobile proposition.
There are some minor design issues with the user experience and the user journeys are not very engaging, but more importantly the current mobile offering has not been developed as part of an integrated customer engagement strategy. For example, existing online accounts are not accessible on mobile thus preventing the customer journey continuing across multiple touchpoints.
Overall the Argos mobile site and apps are generally fit for purpose and easy to use, but they are standalone experiences for the customer rather than an extension of their relationship with Argos.
Full review here.
INTERNET RETAILING IN STORE 15/25
Reeta Junankar, Consulting Manager, Javelin
Argos is the one of the UK’s leading multichannel retailers with an offering spanning web, mobile, tablet and stores; yet digital technology in store is somewhat limited. New digital catalogues sit alongside the paper version in store and enable customers to browse and check store stock on a screen but the customer is still forced to manually note down the catalogue number and take it to either a second ‘Quick Pay’ terminal or till to pay.
Check & Reserve accounts for a large percentage of total sales and the use of the Quick Pay terminals in store is designed to expedite this journey. User experience on both digital aids is functional but is not particularly inspiring or customer-friendly.
Full review here.
