Digital Design Blog

Reframing Online Retail Around Experiences, Not Products

The battle for customers, whether online or off, has always been fierce for retailers. But even more so online, where consumers are literally a click away from a potentially cheaper and more efficient competitor. Last year in our Digital Design Outlook we found that a vast majority of consumers (55%) start their digital shopping experiences with a search engine, nearly 3x as many who start with a retailer’s website.

This trend poses great risk to online retailers and none are sitting idly by. Instead, they are choosing to differentiate based on online experience, content and integrated services. We’ve had the privilege of working with two of the best of them –  Best Buy and Williams-Sonoma — recently.

Last week we launched the Best Buy Summer Hub which attempts to help consumers better integrate technology into their lifestyles, not just accumulate products. The site focuses on six primary summer outings — the beach, hiking and camping, the backyard, travel, sports and activities, and the road trip — and focuses on how technology can enhance those experiences.

For example, in the “backyard” section, an rich media presentation shows consumers how they can create an outdoor theater in their backyard by using a bed sheet for a screen, a projector and laptop. Better yet, clicking on a Best Buy “blue shirt” provides a warm, engaging description — as similar to the in-store experience as possible. There’s even a custom Facebook application to help you track your summer adventures.

Williams-Sonoma employs a similar strategy, enhancing the entire retail site with rich media, recipes and other helpful cooking tips. For example, the Great Grilling section is a tour de force of useful information including a five-minute video explaining how to make Coffee-Rubbed Prime Rib, recipes, cooking tips (e.g. “Using a Grill Basket“) and bringing together an assortment of highly relevant products. It’s a brilliant example of how the online experience extends the fantastic displays of the in-store experience.

Williams-Sonoma goes even one step further and takes this same approach to the product-catalog pages. Bucking much of the conventional wisdom of ecommerce (don’t distract consumers!), Williams-Sonoma provides video, recipes and related items — all with the aim of providing the richest and most-useful experience for consumers.

When it comes to mass retailing, obviously Amazon.com sets the bar around selection, price, convenience and “personalized” service. But specialty retailers like Williams-Sonoma and category-specific retailers like Best Buy are betting that rich experiences will continue to differentiate them in an increasingly noisy and fragmented digital landscape.

The good news is that the strategy seems to be paying off, according to InternetRetailer.com, who said the web was the sole bright spot for Williams-Sonoma in Q1 2008 with an 8% YOY increase.