DFS is relaunching its website this month to better appeal to the growing number of shoppers accessing its digital offer via tablets.
The sofa giant said more than 50% of its web traffic comes from mobile devices and that 33% comes from tablets specifically. DFS has noticed that traffic to its site peaks immediately after TV ads are aired as shoppers browse from their sofa on mobile devices.
Furniture and homewares retailers have traditionally been behind the curve in etail and multichannel development and Tim Stacey, DFS’ online and business development director, said the retailer is working hard to improve its offer.
He said: “We started work two years ago on researching the end to end customer journey for DFS as a whole. We found a huge amount of traffic coming to the website - 80% of visitors - were using it as a research tool prior to going into the store. We realised the current site wasn’t doing a great job of engaging customers on research.”
He added the site works well on desktop computers but that it is designed to work best on tablet screens. The user experience is designed around a touchscreen rather than a mouse, for instance.
The site uses high quality imagery and CGI technology to allow customers to view sofas in different colours and the retailer is looking at providing a personalisation service that will allow shoppers to design their own sofas.
The site also contains more in-depth descriptions of products including detailed sofa measurements. Stacey said: “We looked at analytics from customers and we found they want specific details. We spent a huge amount of time and resources coming up with measurements for every variable.”
The site also provides live chat and video, and the retailer is trialling a system in Scotland that allows online users to book store appointments.
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