VictoriaPlumb.com launches new mobile experience
By Retail Technology | Tuesday September 3 2013
Optimised shopping experience makes buying bathrooms even easier for customers visiting UK online retailer via mobile
UK online bathroom retailer VictoriaPlum.com announced today that it has launched a new adaptive version of its website.
Tailored towards mobile users, the new site has recently been introduced to capitalise on Victoria Plumb’s extensive TV campaign, by offering a quality shopping experience to the ‘second-screening’ TV audience. At the same time, the site makes it easy for bathroom shoppers to ‘showroom’ and compare Victoria Plumb’s range while browsing instore at its bricks and mortar competitors.
Serving both consumers and trade
The retailer added that its new site is not just aimed at showroom browsers. For the busy trade sector, the ability to access bathroom products while working on a construction site is a real advantage. In a recent survey the retailer carried out, 74% of its trade account holders said the new mobile site would help them and their business.
Rather than a separate mobile site or cut down version of the desktop site, the brand has gone for an overall adaptive design approach – using the same web address. This use of responsive design technologies such as media queries provides the best possible layout and performance for the wide variety of smartphones available. This means that the shopper’s experience is precisely tailored to their mobile device.
Instead of presenting information in lists, as many mobile sites do, Victoria Plumb has opted for a more visually pleasing representation of its categories and product ranges. The new one-page checkout process keeps things as simple as possible, with as few steps as possible needed to get from product selection to sale confirmation.
Designed for optimised mobile experience
The new mobile layout also takes advantage of its adaptive design by presenting all the product information you would expect from a desktop site while remaining lightweight and quick to load, allowing for smoother, faster product filtering.
Sam Jenkinson, Victoria Plumb marketing manager, stated: “The new mobile experience is part of a joined-up approach to driving sales. All our visitors can enjoy quick and simple purchasing whether on desktop, tablet or smartphone. We know that online shopping is carried out across several devices, especially in a market where the purchase decision takes weeks, if not months. It makes sense to ensure every stage in buying a bathroom from Victoria Plumb is made as easy as possible.”
To mark the launch of the new site, Victoria Plumb is also exploiting its social brand presence, offering a free iPhone in its latest Facebook ‘Like & Share’ draw promotion.