The Challenge
Between August 2017 and December 2017 the revenue generated by the Stove Supermarket website was £61k, with an average order value of £120 from 512 transactions.
They wanted to maximise the return on their investment on their pre-existing Shopify store, so approached the team at Fantastic Media to come up with ideas for improvement
Project goal:
Increase overall revenue generated.
Increase overall revenue generated.
Actions
After undergoing a heuristics review of the Shopify online store, I identified several quick wins which could be implemented straight away via the admin panel, as well as some optimisations that needed a bit more engineering effort.
Card sorting helped determine the categories that made the most sense to group product collections.
Improvements to product page interactions and checkout flow help boost sales dramatically over a short period.
Results
+570% Increase in revenue
+166% Increase in number of transactions
+152% Increase in average order value
The website saw £262k in revenue generated from over 1,000 transactions between February 2018 and the end of September 2018. September 2018 was, at the time, the highest-performing month on the website to date, boasting a revenue of £86k and an average order value of £268.27.
As well as the monetary performance, website traffic has increased by 164.12%, with a 50.47% increase in traffic coming to the website organically. The business has since expanded its product offering to now include outdoor living furniture and accessories.
+166% Increase in number of transactions
+152% Increase in average order value
The website saw £262k in revenue generated from over 1,000 transactions between February 2018 and the end of September 2018. September 2018 was, at the time, the highest-performing month on the website to date, boasting a revenue of £86k and an average order value of £268.27.
As well as the monetary performance, website traffic has increased by 164.12%, with a 50.47% increase in traffic coming to the website organically. The business has since expanded its product offering to now include outdoor living furniture and accessories.
Re-designing a brand-led, inspirational homepage experience
Engaging lifestyle imagery
First impressions count, and the website didn't currently make good use of the hero banner space to visually merchandise the product in situe.
First impressions count, and the website didn't currently make good use of the hero banner space to visually merchandise the product in situe.
Unique selling propositions
Next day delivery, free installation surveys, a money back guarantee and free installation packs were offered by the retailer, so it was crucial that these were surfaced to users above the fold so they had visible impact.
Next day delivery, free installation surveys, a money back guarantee and free installation packs were offered by the retailer, so it was crucial that these were surfaced to users above the fold so they had visible impact.
Conversational quick-find interface
Based on how the product range was categorised, we added a bespoke quick-find block to help customers find a stove in their preferred style, fuel type and energy output which navigated them to the product list page with filters applied - meaning they were browsing relevant products in a flash.
Based on how the product range was categorised, we added a bespoke quick-find block to help customers find a stove in their preferred style, fuel type and energy output which navigated them to the product list page with filters applied - meaning they were browsing relevant products in a flash.
Shop by fuel type, power usage or style
These were important attributes for customers to start their shopping journey, so each was afforded a content block to offer customers multiple ways to find their perfect stove. It also helped communicate the product range in a variety of different ways.
These were important attributes for customers to start their shopping journey, so each was afforded a content block to offer customers multiple ways to find their perfect stove. It also helped communicate the product range in a variety of different ways.
Trustpilot integration
The retailer had a brilliant set of 5* reviews on Trustpilot, so it was crucial that this value was embedded within the homepage for customers to see and build trust via social proof techniques.
The retailer had a brilliant set of 5* reviews on Trustpilot, so it was crucial that this value was embedded within the homepage for customers to see and build trust via social proof techniques.
Corporate social responsibility & sustainability
In certain parts of the UK, it's illegal to burn fuels that produce smoke in an effort to keep our environment a clean and healthy place. The Defra initiative focuses on smoke-free fuels, so the brand was able to showcase their approved products that meet these requirements, adding value for customers in restricted locations.
In certain parts of the UK, it's illegal to burn fuels that produce smoke in an effort to keep our environment a clean and healthy place. The Defra initiative focuses on smoke-free fuels, so the brand was able to showcase their approved products that meet these requirements, adding value for customers in restricted locations.
"We were very impressed with the proposal and wanted to get started with the improvements to the website straight away. We’ve seen a huge increase in traffic levels, and our staff are incredibly busy fulfilling orders and keeping our customers satisfied!"
Mark Turner, Managing Director – Stove Supermarket
A more engaging list page design
We re-designed the Product List Page (PLP) template to include an engaging, lifestyle shot when customers land on the page so they knew they were in the right section of the site.
SEO descriptive content, high up the page
To help with relevancy, the banner was also expanded to surface descriptive content that helped boost relevancy scores across the website.
Engaging product imagery
Where photoshoot content was available, we opted to show the lifestyle imagery as the default product image as opposed to the 'cutout' shot, as this helped customers see the stove in situ and get a sense of scale, as soon as they saw it.
Extended facets to better filtering
As this is an informed purchase in a specification-driven vertical, a high level of flexibility in the filtering options (facets) helped customers choose a product that met all of their requirements.
SEO descriptive content, high up the page
To help with relevancy, the banner was also expanded to surface descriptive content that helped boost relevancy scores across the website.
Engaging product imagery
Where photoshoot content was available, we opted to show the lifestyle imagery as the default product image as opposed to the 'cutout' shot, as this helped customers see the stove in situ and get a sense of scale, as soon as they saw it.
Extended facets to better filtering
As this is an informed purchase in a specification-driven vertical, a high level of flexibility in the filtering options (facets) helped customers choose a product that met all of their requirements.
Re-structuring the main navigation
To help shoppers find suitable products, we knew they needed to be able to see the full range and get to relevant content within 1-click.
We added groupings to the mega menu to help make sense of all the options.
Reducing Product Detail Page friction to boost add-to-basket efficiency
We discovered that the majority of customers would select 'YES' to add installation materials, then select a flue liner, flue liner length and then add the 'Free installation pack'. All of these interactions (8x clicks) added friction to the journey and hindered the customer's ability to add to the basket easily.
We opted to pre-fill the lowest £ value selections for each dropdown. This meant that customers could see the base price (£1,895.00), 'was' price (if promotions were applied, to further encourage conversion) and the 'Add to cart' button as soon as the page loaded, rather than keeping them hidden.
It's never a good idea to hide or reduce the visibility of primary action buttons on a page. For the product detail page (PDP), the 'add to cart' button should always be the most prominent component on the page - and be noticeable enough to pass the 'squint test'.