New technology helps boost Shop Direct's sales

Liverpool-based e-tailer, Shop Direct, has boosted sales made via mobile on its Very.co.uk, VeryExclusive.co.uk and Littlewoods.com websites, by introducing a new technology platform developed by Tangiblee. The innovative platform, which also operates in Israel and the US, allows customers to compare the size of the products they wish to buy virtually with a model their own size, or items they own already. Due to the success of this trial, Shop Direct and Tangiblee are also now trialling a new version for watches and jewellery.

Relevance: Shop Direct competes with Findel's Studio brand.

Liverpool e-tailer Shop Direct has improved sales on mobile devices after introducing new technology allowing customers to virtually compare the size of products they want to buy with a model in their own size, or items they already own.

The new service has helped boost sales across a number of product categories on its Very.co.uk, VeryExclusive.co.uk and Littlewoods.com websites.

The innovative platform, which has been developed by Shop Direct’s partner Tangiblee which has operations in the US and Israel, helps customers get an accurate perspective of the size of items such as handbags and luggage before they order them.

In Shop Direct’s most recent test the technology was visible to half of mobile device customers visiting all product pages across purses, handbags and luggage.

The platform was not visible to the other half of mobile device customers.

The test found that the technology contributed to a 10.3% and 7.2% increase in net revenue per visitor and customer sales conversion, respectively, across product pages where the tool featured, compared with those pages where it was not present.

Meanwhile, 17.1% of the customers who saw the size comparison tool used it and interacted with it for an average of 28.6 seconds.

Having now successfully rolled-out the technology to all visitors to its sites, Shop Direct is working with Tangiblee to trial the latest version of the platform for watches and jewellery.

The trial will begin in Shop Direct’s in-house user experience lab at its Speke headquarters, where the company will learn how customers interact with the platform before testing it across Very.co.uk, VeryExclusive.co.uk and Littlewoods.com.

Jonathan Wall, group eCommerce director at Shop Direct, said: “We’re committed to working with innovative partners that can make our customers’ online shopping journey the best it can be.

“Tangiblee’s technology is helping us do that, giving our customer confidence in the actual size of items before she buys.

“Our tests indicate the feature can support sales growth.

“We’ve been impressed with the Tangiblee team and their platform since we started working with them in late 2014 – and that’s why we’re trialing the latest version for jewellery and watches.”

Eliad Inbar, co-founder of Tangiblee, added: “We are excited to partner with a leading ecommerce retailer such as Shop Direct, thanks to their advanced A/B testing methodology.

“We were able to rapidly roll out, prove the value of our solution, and improve Shop Direct’s bottom line.

“Going forward we are confident that rolling out additional categories will further increase the value we deliver to Shop Direct and its customers.”