Woolworths has revamped its website with a fresh look and a number of new features to offer its customers an enhanced online shopping experience. “It features almost everything our customers would find in-store,” says Nikki Cockcroft, head of online at Woolworths. “From groceries to clothing, home, beauty and financial services, we’ve integrated all our services into one easy-to-navigate destination.”
“We’ve listened to thousands of Woolworths customers who wanted a simpler, more seamless integration between online and in-store shopping, with the added convenience of being able to access all their Woolies favourites no matter the time, place or device,” explains Cockcroft. “By using responsive design, their shopping experience remains exactly the same regardless of their device of choice – whether it’s a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.”
More than 2 000 respondents were interviewed during focus group sessions to establish what customers would most like to see from a new Woolworths online shopping experience. The results, which came from both in-store and online shoppers, formed the foundation of the development planning for the revamped site.
The content has strong social integration, and the site has been purposefully designed to be visually appealing with magazine-style photography and an array of beautifully shot how-to videos. Although online sales have accounted for a relatively small percentage of Woolworths business to date, the company believes that South Africans will become more enthusiastic online shoppers as bandwidth connections become cheaper and faster, and customers become more comfortable with online and mobile shopping.
