“Zappos.com, which surpassed $1 billion in gross merchandise sales last year after a decade of building a reputation for customer service, plans to fuel the next stage of its growth by offering web pages that customers can customize to their preferences,” reports Internet Retailer:
“People now say ‘Wow’ about our customer service, but we want them to say ‘Wow’ about our web site,” says Brian Kalma, director of user experience, who’s overseeing the new site design.
Using in-house technology and developers, Zappos plans to launch later this year a new site that will offer customers a direct hand in personalizing their pages, Kalma says. In addition to seeing merchandise displays tied to an automated recommendations engine and based on past shopping behavior, shoppers will also be able to rearrange how they view content by category and style, he adds.
“We see an opportunity for customers to create their own experience on Zappos,” Kalma says. “When you come to our site, you can determine what you want to see.”
And, in a video interview at the hi-tech TED conference, CEO Tony Hseih has been revealing more of his plans to take Zappos beyond its roots in shoe retailing to become a world leader in customer service. According to Hseih, the ultimate aim of the Zappos brand is to be the very best when it comes to customer service and consumer experience, reports ReadWriteWeb:
“Our hope is in 10 years people won’t even realize we started out selling shoes online,” he explains, “we sell clothing and handbags, accessories — even electronics and house wares.” He also points out that it doesn’t necessarily need to be online. “20-30 years from now, I wouldn’t rule out Zappos Airlines,” he said.
