9xb Tech

The retailer, which operates 172 stores nationwide and employs over 500 people, said it expected the new site to lead to stronger online growth. Claire Bayliss, CMO of Bathstore, said online sales currently represented over 10 per cent of the businessand have seen growth of 48 per cent year on year. "Our focus for the past 12 months has been on improving the shopping experience at every touch point, from expanding our product range to refreshing our stores," she said. "The main objective now is to showcase our products and make ordering as easy as possible for the growing digital and mobile internet market." She said mobile was a key part of Bathstore's digital strategy and confirmed that 9xb.com had also been working on a bespoke mobile site. Ms Bayliss said the company wanted to achieve a more integrated marketing approach so that customers could relate what they saw in store with the information available to them online, in its book and in other Bathstore communications. "It's all about making life easier for the customer and creating a seamless link between the store and online shopping experience," she added. Ms Bayliss said a unique online quote conversion facility was a key feature of the new site. "This is something no other retailer in the sector currently offers and will make it possible for customers to access a quote given in store to order and pay from home. The retailer's free design service, previously only available in store, is also being brought online enabling customers to design their bathrooms using a 2D planner on the website. Chris Kell, of 9xb.com, said the objective was to communicate the quality, design and visual attributes of the products as effectively online as in store. e said the 9xb.com team had worked closely with user experience specialists Pixel Group on the project. 9xb.com is using its own bespoke ecommerce framework for the project which incorporates real time stock control and availability. "One of the key elements of the site is its integration with Bathstore's stock systems which closes the loop and prevents data being lost," explained Mr Kell. "Product filters on all category pages will help customers access relevant items more easily and the steps between basket and payment will be simplified to improve sales." Ms Bayliss added: "Bathstore is committed to providing a first class shopping experience to its customers. 9xb.com has extensive experience in ecommerce which will help us further enhance our online offering making the customer journey as straightforward and stress free as possible and uniting the shopping and buying processes whether they occur online or in store." Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.