E-retail is a fast growing business, as you’ll know if you’ve been reading this blog over the last year or so. But some experts point the finger at more luxury end fashion retailers as one of the slowest to embrace the on-line trend.

However, there is one top brand that has been has been successful in ecommerce. It was as far back as 2002 that Gucci started to make a big on-line presence and in the last 18 months Gucci.com has had a major overhaul.

The iconic site boasts 2.5 million unique visitors. While a good-looking site, it is also functional and allows customers to browse Gucci fashions and check out of their shopping cart as though in the actual stores.

Perhaps this is the lesson that other e-retailers should learn. It can be all too easy to create a website that is rather more basic in looks and feel that the established high street brand.

The goal of retailers online should be to match the high-end experience of a retail store, so that it does not degrade the quality of a brand.

And don’t forget to also offer customers good service by way of email or live chat customer service, as well as Facebook and Twitter networking. Facebook Gucci has almost a million fans! Not bad for a single fashion brand, eh?

Check out the great ecommerce deals at WebCreationUK. While the prices might be low, you can be assured that the look and quality of the website design is high.

One of the biggest complaints from customers is confusing ecommerce websites. With so many rival websites it’s therefore important that your web design is as slick and customer-friendly as possible.

Here we bring you some top tips for ecommerce web design. If you are looking for great ideas and beautiful ecommerce design then check out the portfolio of WebCreationUK.

Six great tips for ecommerce and e-retail websites

Good navigation: Buying a product should not be a challenge or a bid to get your customers to solve a puzzle. Make the buying process straightforward. From reading about the product, to  popping it in their basket, to getting to the checkout, all processes should be simple and signposted.

Search option: A “search for product” option is a great idea. Sometimes a customer wants to quickly find out if you stock one product and to save them scrolling through long lists of products or accessing various categories they could find exactly the product they want within seconds of searching.

Call to action: Make each part of the purchasing process simple. Add call to action buttons such as “buy now”, “add to shopping basket”, “go to checkout” throughout your ecommerce website.

Less clicks is more: Shorter buying processes will gain you customer friends. If the purchase process is long-winded then they will be tempted to head to another site. It’s important to let customers have a chance to check their purchase list but apart form this the procedure from choosing the product to buying it should be simple and straightforward.

Clear prices and labeling: Customers want to know what a product is and how much it costs. Delivery costs are also important. So make sure all these points are covered, simply and clearly.

Customer service: A customer service that is easily accessible, such as an email response or live chat, will give customers greater confidence and trust in your on-line company.

Latest figures reveal that on-line retail spending in the UK was £5 billion in July, which is the highest of any month this year. The IMRG Capegemini e-Retail Sales Index shows that 
Brits spent an average of £81 per person on-line.

July also marks the biggest jump of any month in two years. The Index has grown by 18% compared to last July. The growth rate was 14% compared to the month before.

Chris Webster, of Capegemini is reported as saying: “Although on-line retail sales survived the recession more convincingly than high street sales, the last two years or so have no doubt been shaky at times.

“It is really encouraging to see growth levels returning to those seen pre-2007 and before consumer confidence was knocked by the financial crisis and recession.”

The most impressive result in July was in the travel sector, which was boosted by shoppers making last-minute bookings to escape the British summer.

The performance of retailers with a high street presence as well as an on-line store also continue to out-perform online-only retailers. Multichannel retailers saw growth of 18% compared to last month, while online-only retailers showed growth of 8%.

Another industry expert said:
”The evidence mounts that high street retailers will need to invest more in their online business and put it at the heart of their retail strategy. Online retailers, on the other hand, will need to continue to innovate as they strive to close the growth gap.”

Looking to set up your own ecommerce store? Speak to WebCreationUK about our e-shop summer special package and more information on website desgin.