Paperchase says that applying lessons learned from its web analytics has helped to boost online sales by 23%.
The stationery-to-cards-and-gifts multichannel retailer worked with AWA Digital, which specialises in boosting conversion rates. AWA aimed to learn from Paperchase’s web analytics in order to boost conversion rates and ultimately online sales.
AWA analysed Paperchase’s Google Analytics data and ran usability tests to identify how visitors were experiencing the site. Working with the retailer’s in-house design team, it created two versions of several pages and conducted split-tests, pitting one design against the other. The website was changed accordingly, boosting the site’s performance.
The results included a 6% increase in sales from mobile device users, and contributed, said the stationer, to an overall like-for-like online sales improvement of more than 40%.
Adrian Spence, head of ecommerce at Paperchase, which sells through more than 100 outlets including concessions in House of Fraser, Waterstones and Harrods, said: “As a customer-focused organisation, we are keen to ensure that our website visitors enjoy their online experience as much as they would if they visited one of our stores.
“Much of our merchandise is exclusive to Paperchase and we constantly launch new collections, so it’s important that our customers can find what they are looking for and make their purchase quickly and easily. We work hard to attract visitors to our website so we have to maximise their spend and make sure they have a positive buying experience.”
Spence said: “Applied Web Analytics has an excellent understanding of the online retail environment; they analysed the user experience and suggested ways to improve our website – paying particular attention to the product page, the basket page, pages for mobile devices and the placement of our promotions. This has had a massive impact on sales and it has been a hassle-free and easy experience for us with tremendous results in a very short space of time – we got back £51 in extra sales for every £1 we spent with AWA.”
Dan Croxen-John, AWA chief executive, said: “Ecommerce is becoming a much larger proportion of many traditional retailers’ businesses so it’s vital that consumers enjoy their online experience and are encouraged to make purchases.
“Many businesses focus on the design and content of their website but the really smart ones like Paperchase are also developing websites that work in terms of driving online sales that contribute to the ongoing success of their business.”
This piece was updated on March 27 2015 to reflect the fact that Applied Web Analytics has changed its name to AWA Digital since the piece was first written.
