MEET THE

EDITORS Welcome to our Christmas issue of The Store! It’s the time of year for that dreaded Christmas shopping task! So, here at The Store, we thought we’d take a look at three department store’s websites and see how they have created their websites against a formal criteria suggested by the digital guru himself, Dave Chaffey.

We’ve chosen Fenwick, Harrods and House of Fraser and have compared them to one another in other to see who has won the battle of most effective website.

Fenwick was chosen because it is generally a brand that slips under the radar when it comes to comparing department stores so we thought we would hide it no longer and bring it to life for our readers.

Harrods was chosen because it is a well known and well loved luxurious brand that is infamous.

House of Fraser was chosen as the representative for the lower end department stores (not that it itself provides lower end quality products) but it provides quality products from different brands at a much more affordable price. House of Fraser is also a more easily accessible store and we wondered whether this would have any impact on the results of our department store battle!

So kick back, relax and let the debating begin!

The Store Magazine Team

Contents page

Market Context Fenwick Harrods House of Fraser Secondary Research Website Design Objectives The 5’s Aesthetics Page Design Navigation & Structure Copywriting Customer Orientation Personalisation Online Value Proposition Interaction Interactivity Integrated Design Web Analytics AIDA Social Media New Technology Primary Research Conclusions References

Background Fenwick was founded in 1882 by John James Fenwick. Today Fenwick is an upmarket department store chain with high profile stores in major UK cities. As well as Fenwick, the company operates two Bentalls stores and one Williams & Griffin outlet. The store is still owned by the Fenwick family and the company is chaired by Mark Fenwick. Fenwick is valued at £452million.

Consumer profile, by age and affluence- Mintel 2012

Customer Profile The chain targets the upper mass market and it is mainly popular within the ABC1 socio-economic group. Although the precise positioning of stores varies by location. The Bond Street store is more upmarket, the Bentalls stores appeal to more affluent customers and Fenwick's department stores have broader target market.

Position in the Market Fenwick has continually expanded its store portfolio, now owning 11 stores. Modernisation programme for its flagship Bond Street store was key driver for the growth on Fenwick’s sales in 2011. The company shifted slightly towards transactional online functionality, with its Newcastle store introducing click and collect service. With a small network of stores, operating online enables Fenwick to increase the company’s target market and to market itself more widely. London and the South East stores have above-average penetration. Whereas in the North East, both Newcastle and Yorkshire stores are driving high popularity there.

Background Harrods is the world-famous London department store and the most popular tourist destinations in London. In may 2010 it was sold to the Qatar royal family for £1.5bm. The luxury retailer delivered in 2011 high growth in its turnover driven by its flagship in London, eight outlets at Heathrow and Gatwick airport, and online. The chain has build up its online offer and now delivers products to more than 30 countries including Australia, India.

The online strategy is the key to improve Harrods’ global appeal and it could contributes to even greater growth in sales in the future.

Position in the Market

Despite the poor economic climate, Harrods revealed very strong year of growth in 2010/11. Revenues increased 12.7% to &651.7m and overall 46.1% over the past five years. Operating profits rose strongly again in the year, reaching 43.7% year on year, helping operating margins to a staggering 17.4%.

Harrods Strategies and Values • Harrods aim is to be number one

department store in the world for luxury branded merchandise.

• Maintain their standards on the top level to provide every customer with a unforgettable experience.

• Embracing the diversity of modern Britain

• Rich heritage and history, with a number of unique traditions.

• Magical store experience.

Consumer Profile Harrods has a young customer profile due to tourist being its main consumer base. The store promotes young, trendy and fashionable brands and therefore that helped boost the company’s appeal. The chain targets the above average social –economic group market (ABC1), although Harrods does appeal to the lower socio-demographics as well in terms of browsing via its website, showing it does have a broad audiences.

Harrods consumer profile – demographics 2011

House of Fraser

House of Fraser is a leading department store in the UK with 62 stores currently with over 16,000 staff members.

The brand first floated on the stock market in 1994, in 2005 it acquired 12 Beatties stores and 4 Jenners stores .

For 2010/2011 they had an operating profit of £30m which is a 15.4% increase on the year before.

House of Fraser have show year on year growth in gross profit and operating profit.

Their menswear section has increased the most in profit with a 6% rise and is one of the strongest performing categories.

Womens wear grew like for like sales by 2% each year which is good considering the tough economic situation of the UK high street market.

Business Objectives

• Improving product proposition

• Investing in store environments

• Offer merchandise with genuine appeal and variety

• Improve and develop new features of the multi-channel operation

• Develop the house brand store to produce profit margins as big as the fashion store.

House of Fraser is the fourth top online retailer with 60 million online sales in 2010/2011. However competitors John Lewis have 457 million online sales in 2010/2011.

Although Harrods and Fenwick are not in the top four, house of Fraser still only have a very small share of online sales. This could be greatly improved.

The most likely consumer of House of Fraser is females aged 45 and over of social class AB. However, it is noted on Mintel that House of Fraser now appeals to an above average amount of C1 shoppers, which for the status of the brand is unusual.

The sectors that generate the most sales are fashion followed by home and then beauty and then restaurants and services.

Swot Analysis • Department stores afford floor space

to trial new product , or services such as beauty bars or spas.

• Potential flexibility in shifting between big-name brands or own-brand ranges: greater choice of products.

• Prestigious image. Big name brands, spacious stores, and sleek beauty halls offer a hint of glamour on the high street

• Department stores tent to attract older customers, therefore ageing population means bigger customer base.

• Large stores are still strong performers, with a more insulated customer base and benefitting from affluent foreign consumers continuing to come to London to spend.

• As mobile devices become the key connecting point for cross-channel they will have a major impact on how companies communicate with their customers; they could become the perfect conduit for delivering more messages about the advantages of ‘click and collect’ services.

• As generalists in many categories, department stores are competing with specialists that may offer superior choice.

• Growing threat of the grocers. The major grocers increasingly offer low-price non-food products.

• High unemployment levels led to declining disposable income and consumer confidence as individuals became unsure about their financial future.

• The percentage of UK shoppers using department stores has fallen back since 2010, with low financial confidence. However, remodelled price architectures and improvements to the shopping experience have helped to justify price points, preventing shopper numbers from sinking further

• Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer have broadened their price architectures to include good-better-best product offers across most sectors, allowing C1C2 consumers to shop more ranges as they can now trade up or down. This has lead to a rise in department store shoppers in the C1 and C2 socioeconomic segments

Market Size

Department stores sector size stood at £11.6 billion in 2010/11. The leading five department stores are M&S, John Lewis, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Harrods. 2010/11 saw M&S’s underperformance cost it share of sector sales. With the exception of House of Fraser (whose 2009/10 year was 53 weeks), all the other sector leaders grew share in 2010/11 with John Lewis recording a strong outperformance of the sector.

The department store sector performed very strongly in 2010 and 2011, driven by the premium and luxury end of the sector. Investment continued apace from the likes of John Lewis, Harrods, and Selfridges, shoring up their appeal to the affluent shopper.

Market Trends

UK Department Stores : The department store channel proved to be resilient in 2010, however, it has grown again in 2011, despite disposable incomes coming under significant pressure from rising prices of basic commodities including food and fuel. For the department store sector just one variable was identified as having the most influence on the market – personal disposable income. The best and worst case forecasts take the value of department stores from an expected £14.1 billion (inc VAT) in 2011 to £18.1billion (best case) and £13.9 billion (worst case) in 2016. Mintel expects the department store sector to marginally underperform all retail sales growth over the period, and look to sales of around £15.5 billion (inc VAT) in 2016.

Retailers will need to start a review of their physical store requirements to decide which are the most profitable formats, layouts and product ranges to serve their future needs

Online sales have now reached the point where their growth is accounting for a larger and larger share of turnover, impacting performance in physical stores.

The main function of a website is as follows:

Website Design = Function + Content + Form + Organisation + Interaction

It is also a chance for brands to enhance their personality.

Especially in the case of the department store sector, the online website will be further to that portrayed in the high street shops.

It is an online space completely utilised by the brand where they can showcase their brand and convey their core messages and values and show off their product ranges in order to enhance the shopping experience for existing customers and attract in new ones. All of which leads up to customer retention.

Every website needs to have objectives in order to be accurately created, with the customer in mind also.

In order to create an effective website the site owners need to ask themselves how can my website help my customers. This could be through. According to Smith and Chaffey (2008) a website’s objectives will do at least one of the following: • Helping them buy something • Helping them find information • Helping them save money and time • Helping them talk to the organisation • Helping them to experience a better brand

Further to this a website can be analysed against the 5 S’s in order to make sure it is producing effective results.

Sell

Serve

Speak

Save

Sizzle

It’s a good idea to review the website regularly against this criteria in order to make sure that all of the contributing elements are up to date.

As tome moves forward, trends change and so does the target audience therefore reviewing the website regularly is of great importance.

See on the next page how Harrods, Fenwick and House of Fraser each compare against the %’s and further how each element of their website contributes to it’s success or leaves room for improvement.

Serve- Harrods has continuous slideshows which adds value to the customers to provide them with different products the store provides. The effective colours shows the items that are important to customers are in bright colours so stands out and the dark colours sometimes are underneath the bright colours to create effect.

Using images adds value to the customer as they are appealing and makes the customer want to have a look at the clothing and provides benefits. The website has different fonts small and big.

Speak - The store provides a contact us button therefore helps the customer speak to staff member from the store with any enquiries or questions they want to know.

However, the store does not provide chat rooms, questionnaires or forums where the customer can have a conversation with the staff member.

Smith and Chaffey (2001) suggest there are five broad benefits, reasons or objectives of e-marketing. This framework is useful since it presents a comprehensive range of objectives. Marketers will decide whether all or only some will drive e-marketing:-

Sell – offering a wider product range online in order to maximise sales and profits.

Serve – is anything that adds value to customers and informs product development.

Speak – two way communication with customers through online interviews, chat rooms and tracking their activity.

Save – saves the company costs on staff and resources found in shops. This enables companies to offer products at cheaper prices online.

Sizzle – the online website enhances the brands values and awareness among customers.

Harrods

Sell- Harrods is very appealing as it contains a lot of different colours to attract and has an effective web design using animations to create effect and capturer customers.

There are different varieties of clothing for men, women and children and there is also seasonal offers and a gift department.

The website is for women so would not appeal to men or children, which does not help the business as contains women’s luxuries.

They provide gift cards, gifts and different Fenwick stores so this would help women as they do not have to get their products from just one store

Serve- Fenwick has continuous slideshows which adds value to the customers to provide them with different products the store provides. The effective colours stand out and create an effect on their customers.

The layouts are different throughout the website, effective and appealing towards the customer. The homepage is the most attractive page as it has different colours used for effect.

Speak – Fenwick’s store provides a contact us button therefore helps the customer speak to staff member from the store with any enquiries or questions they want to know.

However, the store does not provide chat rooms, questionnaires or forums where the customer can have a conversation with the staff member.

Save - Harrods has been designed very well due to the fact it is a very well-known shop and there are lots around the world.

Using a lot of imagery, animations and features makes it an effective website. It has high levels of communication to customers.

Sizzle - Harrods has a card that provides help to communicate to their customers and provides them with products, benefits and special offers they could use their card to receive a discount. Customers can register for the exclusive benefits the store provides for them.

They have a customer service drop down menu for their customers to contact the store if they have any enquiries or questions. They provide a drop down menu of the different brands the store provides which speaks to the customer to help them locate their specific brand.

Fenwick

Sell - Fenwick’s homepage has a sense of colour but not very effective. The white background is quite dull and the business is not attracting customers as it is continuous throughout the website.

The quickest way of buying products is shown in the homepage scroll down by so helps those customers who want products sooner.

Serve - House of Fraser has Continuous slideshows which adds value to the customers to provide them with different products the store provides. The background is white not very effective, however the frames and layouts makes the page stand out.

A variety of different brands for women, men and children therefore this adds value to the customer as makes them want to look at each one or a particular one.

The customer can find what they are looking for with the search bar which is on the homepage.

Speak - The store provides a contact us button therefore helps the customer speak to staff member from the store with any enquiries or questions they want to know.

However, the store does not provide chat rooms, questionnaires or forums where the customer can have a conversation with the staff member.

Save- Fenwick has an effective website however the website does not contain a lot of aesthetics. It may not appeal to some women as it is not a well-known shop however it uses levels of communication to customers.

Sizzle- Fenwick provides a store card where customer can use in any Fenwick store and a gift card for birthdays, anniversaries and house-warming.

This provides a variety of products for the customer and they can contact the store to make sure they have the product for a particular occasion.

They have a careers area which contains current vacancies, graduate careers this speaks to their customers as they contact the store to get more information or enquire about the job.

House of Fraser

Sell - House of Fraser has a white background however the frame changes from each slide throughout which stands out to customers. The House of Fraser card is in black and pink so stands out to customers as it is eye catching.

It targets women, men, children and babies so contains a huge range of products for each and special offers.

Save - House of Fraser has an effective design uses different slides that contain different products. It is well-known to customers and has a great reputation so would appeal to a lot of people and it uses levels of communication to customers.

Sizzle - House of Fraser’s store provides recognition MasterCard . This contains exclusive offers, benefits, double points. Customers receive discounts and a recognition reward card to collect points to receive offers, an effective way to encourage customers to purchase a card.

They provide a drop down menu of the different brands the store provides which speaks to the customer as helps them locate their specific brand. They have a customer service drop down menu for their customers to contact the store if they have any enquiries or questions.

To summarize the five S’s the most effective website is Harrods as it contains a lot of imagery, effective colours and illustrations and uses a variety of layouts. Having an effective website makes it appeal more to customers and want them to have a browse.

To summarize, Harrods appears more creative and therefore visually appealing. Fenwick to improve could adopt a more dominant theme. House of Fraser could be improved by using more bright and effective colours, having the style and layout produced neatly so the website looks more organised.

Aesthetics = Graphics + Colour + Style + Layout and Typography

Effective website design includes both form and function. Form means the aesthetics created by the visual design and function means interaction, navigation and structure.

A site with powerful aesthetic appeal can help communicate a brand’s essential values.

Aesthetics creates a personality for the site.

The layout needs to be consistent to keep the customer’s attention as having a different layout may look jumbled and messy which would be a negative effect on customers as they would find the website “boring’’ or uninteresting. The crucial element for page design is looking interactive, appealing and effective for customers to look through and possibly buy items online. The stores need to be careful with maintaining the links as they have to link back to the homepage.

Harrods

Menu and sub menus for navigation.

Footer for reference to copyright and privacy

information.

Company name and logo for

identity link to the homepage.

Fenwick

Company name and logo for

identity link to the homepage.

Menu and submenus for

navigation.

Footer for reference to copyright and privacy

information.

House of Fraser

Company name and

logo for identity

link to the homepage

.

Menu and sub menus

for navigation.

Footer for reference to copyright and privacy

information.

understand to be able to maximise online profits.

Below is a diagram illustrating what each website has in comparison with the others. Although all three of the websites chosen have the same basic elements incorporated into their websites, some websites have certain features that stand out against others and make ease of use even more prominent.

The navigation and structure of a website design is to help the ease of use for individuals browsing the website.

Ease of use = Structure + Navigation + Page Layout + Interaction

This is especially important for department store websites as they are most likely to have potential consumers browse a lot of content to find what they’re looking for. Therefore it is important the structure and navigation of the websites are extremely easy to

As seen from the site maps on this page also each website varies in complexity.

The two best websites for navigation and structure are Harrods and Fenwick, the two higher end department stores.

This is because they offer extra ease of use options for customers therefore by appearing to be extremely useful they are more likely to attract and retain customers.

Extra features such as extra filter options and ways to browse for exactly what the customer is looking for, therefore trying to maximise sales.

Comparing the site maps to the features table the more features a website offers it’s customers, the more complex the site map is for the user to navigate. This could be an area for improvement as the site map’s function is to clearly layout the different browsing options available.

Product site map continues down.

Site map continues down.

Fenwick

Harrods

House of Fraser

A good rule to adopt when writing content for a website is CRABS.

C- Chunking

R -Relevance

A- Accuracy

B- Brevity

S- Scannability

Chunking, brevity and scannability go hand in hand together as the first thing a customer will do when presented with a homepage is scan looking for headlines, text that stands out or bold images.

Internal Jargon should also be avoided. Don’t assume the customer has previous knowledge of the company or the product ranges.

Although in the case of these department stores, the customers are likely to know the brand or at least have noticed it as a high street shop. However, the product information still needs to be present as a customer can not physically assess the product through a picture, as they could in store. Therefore information has to be entirely accurate and relevant to avoid complaints and ruined reputation for product quality.

Harrods In the case of Harrods their product information range is concise but detailed. A customer looking for a particular type of information has the option to click a relevant tab to access that information.

However, around 80% of the Harrods site pages are images of the products or are

creative images that reflect the brands personality. This therefore makes it appear there is less wording overall and extra information has to be manually expanded on screen.

House of Fraser

House of Fraser’s copywriting is very similar to Harrods.

Harrods Product Copywriting

The overview of each product is at the very top of each product view. A short phrase summing up the type of dress and for what function accompanied by a picture.

However, the product view then loses appeal due to the different elements such as select a size and select a colour functions make the page look disorganised.

The actual product information is at the very bottom of the page, meaning the customer has to scroll to find it not being able to read the overview and compare what they’re being told to the image on the screen, meaning a lot of scrolling has to be done, which can deter customers.

The copy is also repeated verbatim, which doesn’t attract the customer as it doesn’t tell them anything new about the product. Instead this adds to the disorganised image of the website.

Fenwick Fenwick appears to have the best website for copywriting. It also has the best formatting for product views also which helps to emphasize the job of the content copy.

Fenwick starts with a short description of the product written persuasively assessing the benefits and applications of the product for the customer. Accompanied with a clear image next to the copy this allows the customer to easily compare the written description to what they can actually see.

Product details are also very concise and alongside the copy and image along with different picture views and size selections.

The page also reads left to right making it logical and clear for the customer.

Defining the purpose of your web site and your audience, are fundamental stages of web site development. The answers drive the content, form and structure of the site which is required to fulfil audiences needs. Usability and accessibility are also a key element of customer orientation. Customer orientation is to provide content to appeal to a wide range of audiences and also to prioritize your content for your key customers . Customer orientated web sites are relatively rare compared to product-orientated web sites (main focus on product features). The customer-orientated web sites focus on the customers and their needs . Fenwick, Harrods and House of Fraser audience’s are segmented trough the different products lines: women fashion, men fashion, accessories, shoes, children

beauty, home and food & wine. The key objectives of the sites is obviously to sell the products but also it should try to fully understand and satisfy the different needs which different customers have. The three department stores sites are very much customer orientated as they not only fulfil the basic needs but target each segment by the importance for the company too. Through use of banners on the home page all three websites are able to provide relevant information for a larger promotion of the target markets, yet these are ranked by importance for the company: Fenwick site contains only women fashion whereas House of Fraser and Harrods provide wider range of products but also prioritize women fashion as they main segment.

Harrods can collect feedback from customers about its website, past experience or problems they might have through the questionnaire that pops out at the point of entering Harrods site. House of Fraser and Fenwick provide customers with only e-mail and customer service telephone number, therefore the users might feel that their feedback will not be taken into account . By implementing a form of communication House of Fraser and Fenwick can create a more personal experience for their consumers and show that they care about customers opinion.

All three websites enable visitors to subscribe to the newsletter. This is the main element of consumer segmentation and personalisation where specific offers will be sent via e-mail to the customers based on their chosen preferences. Shoppers can choose to subscribe to women fashion & accessories, men fashion, beauty products, TV, audio and tech, home & furniture, sale events. All three web sites are easy to use: top banners are clear and drop down menus are used to brows the products. It is an advantage considering that visitors have different levels of familiarity with the Internet, therefore customer orientated web sites are built to accommodate all of these different levels of familiarity. House of Fraser, Fenwick and Harrods web sites provide easy access to content and services tailored for a range of

audiences very well.

Web technology, combined with database technology, increase the marketer’s memory so that any number of customers can be recognized, preference remembered and served immediately. Cookies are the key to web personalization. Cookie technology recognizes the visitor when he returns to the web site and displays personal message within the page template according to his profile. Sites are legally obliged to ask the visitor’s permission to add cookies. Personalization makes it easier for customers to select their products. It also enables visitors to select the type of communication they want to receive from company as part of permission marketing. It strengthen the brand and develop the relationship.

A major advantage for these web sites having an online presence is the ability to personalize the content shown to each user through an email log in. All three web sites dynamically provide the personalized information to each visitor. The newsletters keep customer up to date with the latest arrivals, must have looks and local store events. It keeps customer profile and preferences in the data base. House of Fraser web site serves it better that other two web sites: it displays many related products when visitor searches the item saving customers’ time and more efficiently meet their diverse needs. It can not only give the convenience to customer, but also raise sales.

House of Fraser seem to have the most comprehensive grasp on the personalisation web access, with services ranging from my orders, history, my payments, my personal details and point collection on my recognition reward card. All these options give real dynamic personalisation. Fenwick and Harrods sites have a similar level of dynamic personalisation in as much that the user must create a log in account before being able to buy a product. Harrods web site displays product range across the entirety of the page. In order to attract consumer from diverse audiences, as well as having the vast product range available through the site. Harrods site also enables customers to collect their reward points on The Harrods card which is useful addition to online services provided on the site.

Fenwick has also cookies on their website which allows Fenwick to store customers information such as account info or store preferences. Site displays recommendation box at the bottom of the page with related products which customers might be interested in buying. However, these option seem to be only basic tools available and content of Fenwick site is not highly personalized.

The online value proposition (OVP) should be different to the offline proposition. In a perfect world the OVP should exploit some of the unique and remarkable advantages of being online such as: interactivity, immediacy, and depth of content, faster, more convenient, easier, as well as cheaper to buy online (voucher codes, discounts). OVP should also offer new experiences online as well as more resources and information. The online value proposition must somehow reinforce core brand values and clearly summarize what a customer can get from the company online that they cannot get elsewhere (including competitors and offline offers).

The successful OVP:

• Is different for competitors.

• Is not available in the real-world.

• Makes a difference to customers lives.

TAGLINE

Harrods website tagline tries to state it as the luxury one: ‘Luxury beauty and fragrance, fashion accessories, gifts.’

Fenwick’s tagline wants its customers to think it’s the most exciting department store in UK: ‘Join and explore UK’s most exciting department stores’. House of Fraser has the simple ‘40% off’. It would be better for House of Fraser if they’d change their tagline to something more efficient.

NEWSLETTER Fenwick is the only one out of 3 department stores that are described in this magazine which motivates its customers straight at the very first start of a journey through their website. ‘Fenwick at your fingerprints’ lets the customer to sign up for an exclusive newsletter. Harrods and House of Fraser also let their customer to sign up for their newsletters although Fenwick does it in a more sophisticated way.

MAIN MENU Pictures above illustrate the main tab menus on each page of three department stores: Harrods, Fenwick, and House of Fraser. House of Fraser tab is mainly focused on what their OVP offers: ‘Free buy & collect in store the next day’, ‘Free delivery when you spend over £50’, and ‘FAST international delivery’. Harrods gives an exclusive online ‘SALE UP TO 50%’. Fenwick is the only store that doesn’t offer anything extra. All three websites offer ‘Register’ option where each customer can create their own account and ‘add to wish list’ any products they want. All three websites also offer the search bar to quickly search for the desired products via its name or product code number (that a customer can also write down and take to the nearest store and try the clothes in real-life).

HARRODS - OVP

On the home page Harrods lets its customers to search for products of a particular brand (picture below).

Harrods offers their customers to choose additional products and accessories to the clothes they chose. They call it the Inspiration Tool. Each customer can also create their personal lists: Christmas, wish, etc. Harrods also allows people to filter the products by the brand in different sectors (picture on the right side).

FENWICK

Fenwick’s website is very simple and clear. It doesn’t offer its customers more than Harrods, said more – even less. Their OVP ends with the standard search bar, ‘sort by … ‘ bar, everyone can go through each of Fenwick department stores news as well as the online news.

Picture above shows how especially for Christmas Harrods created a guide for people that purchase their Christmas presents and gifts online. On every page it reminds when a customer needs to purchase the goods in order to get them delivered to their doors before the key Christmas dates.

Harrods provides its customers with a free digital copy of their magazine ‘The Review’ where the editors and journalists talk about fashion, food, and the more sophisticated side of life.

HOUSE OF FRASER

House of Fraser offers a lot more online than Harrods and Fenwick. Firstly, each customer can collect double points by purchasing goods in a particular sector (in that case beauty). House of Fraser also states it clearly that they accept all of the major credit cards online.

House of Fraser also gives its customers the opportunity to follow top products, the most popular brands and to search through the new arrivals. The OVP is more than the sum of features, benefits and prices; it should encompass the complete experience of selecting, buying and using the product or service.

Interaction is about two way communication that brands have online with their customers. This can be through may different formats and mediums, some more effective than others.

Fenwick

Fenwick’s interaction with their customers is very minimal. The website mainly consists of promoting the stores rather than trying to engage their attention for on line purchases.

Upon entering Fenwick’s website there is an newsletter sign up form and this instantly creates engagement. However this form of direct marketing is very outdated and many online users avoid these types of engagement because they don’t want their email accounts to become clogged with junk mail.

Harrods

Harrods interaction with their customers is very regular and effective.

For example not only do Harrods offer their customers seasonal (Christmas) products but they also offer Christmas events. This is a much more effective way of making sure there is traffic into the store as well as online purchases, than Fenwick’s approach.

Harrods, unlike Fenwick also have well managed social media pages to encourage customers to have their say and fully engage with the brand. For a more in depth analysis go to the Social Media Section of this magazine.

House of Fraser

Like Harrods, House of Fraser also have very well managed social media pages to encourage two way communication with their customers. Please refer to the social media section for more information.

House of Fraser also have a feature Harrods and Fenwick lack which can be crucial to gaining customer’s loyalty and respect.

House of Fraser have a separate section on their e-commerce site which includes

an on site blog, new season must haves and a fashion analysis of where these styles originate from and it also integrates on and offline communication as there is an option to book a personal shopper.

These services form a brand that clearly knows what it is talking about and is extremely current when it comes to their fashion sector.

There is also a wide variety of store events and competitions which also encourage customers to look at the brand and appreciate it beyond being just a shop that sells brands.

This therefore means that despite House of Fraser’s website doesn’t look at luxurious as Harrods or Fenwick the two way engagement that is being created and developed by brand and customer is very effective. By offering choice and variety on how to get involved it means that there is more likely to be something for everyone.

Although Fenwick may chose not to focus heavily on creating a two way engagement, this could be because they don’t have much traffic on their website, the rate of technology is rapidly developing and soon on line purchases will be just as crucial as in store purchases. It would be better for Fenwick to get ‘ahead of the game’ now before it is too late.

Interaction of a website is particularly important as this form of two way communication is vital in retaining online customers. They feel as though they have greater control over their web experience and like they can communication with the brand.

This helps to overcome to risk that potential customers will feel less important to the brand if they’re not physically dealing with and talking to an advocate of the brand, such as an in-store sales assistant.

The buying process is a good example of two way communication and is of great importance as a customer would appreciate great after sales customer service also in order for the brand to actually retain them as customers.

Interaction functions can typically include drag and drop boxes, search engine boxes, drop down menus,

hyperlink logos, text and images, slides, customer feedback forms, track your order functions. From the table below it is clear that House of Fraser has the best interactivity, despite all of it’s previous flaws in other areas. It encourages two way communication very repeatedly. Harrods is very similar to House of Fraser but without an on-site blog and rating and review systems which could easily be implemented to gain a better dialogue with their customers. Fenwick, true to their style is very simplistic and neatly laid out but they’re also too simplistic when it comes to interactivity. It doesn’t encouraging two way communication. There is no rating systems, no social media links, no on or off site blog, all of which could provide the brand with valuable insight on how to better their service to their customers and enhance their on line experience with the brand.

The buying process is of great importance as mentioned previously. It shouldn’t be assumed that once a customer has made a transaction they are not as important anymore. If a brand offers great after sales care also they are much more likely to retain customers and get repeated sales from them, thus generating more profit.

The buying process typically follows structure of learning, deciding, buying and after sales care.

In the table below is a comparison table of Harrods, Fenwick and House of Fraser’s buying process.

From the table it is clear that every website offers the same basic elements of the buying process. Although these brands may find that their buying process is fine with their customers, there is definitely room for improvement in order to be one step ahead of competitors.

In particular Harrods’ ‘favourite’ button is a simple function and should be implemented in every department store online site. Deciding is arguably the most crucial part of the process as not only is the customer deciding which product to buy but also deciding if they should buy it from this brand.

Web activities won’t work on their own. Isolated web sites are ineffectual. They need to be integrated on several different levels:

1. Communications – consistent communications whether online and offline.

2. Buying models – marketers must facilitate customer transitions between online and offline information sources during the buying process.

3. Databases – databases must be integrated to achieve a consistent view of the customer in order to build long-term relationships.

HARRODS

Harrods lets its customers to search via the product code, or even take it to the store and check it out in-store.

Harrods has also integrated delivery options to buy & collect and to standard delivery (national, international).

FENWICK Once again Fenwick is the last with its poor integration of online and offline. Picture below shows that all Fenwick gives to the customers is the name of the product, price and ‘add to shopping bag’ bar. There is no option ‘Matches with…’, ‘Looks good with…’, etc. Also the products don’t have their unique codes so people can’t quickly find them if they would like to.

HOUSE OF FRASER

Picture above illustrates the product page on House of Fraser’s website.

Each customer can get a unique product code and write it down so they don’t need to spend a lot of time searching for a particular product in-store. House of Fraser also offers its customers the rating system that gives a social edge to the website. People can write reviews and comment on the products. They can exchange thoughts on the product quality and House of Fraser service. The product’s page also contains information about availability of the product in a particular store, its free UK & Ireland delivery and international delivery.

It is good House of Fraser remembers that people prefer different communication tools, channels or modes, particularly when buying.

Fenwick also offers its customers ‘the Christmas Guide’ with the information on when to purchase products and get them before Christmas.

House of Fraser website could have many issues running in different browsers and operational systems. Those issues are not crucial but can affect the functionality and the experience.

House of Fraser is mostly searched by people from England rather than Scotland or Wales. Related tags searched by those people are HoF’s main competitors (such as Debenhams, John Lewis).

Developing a good system of web analytics is vital for controlling website’s digital communications. Web analytics can help checking whether objectives are achieved and should be used for on-going improvements.

House of Fraser does not have any major errors with their source code which is an outstanding score considering how many different pages the website has.

HOUSE OF FRASER

Analysis of Harrods website showed us that Harrods has 72% issues on their inner pages (product pages, etc.) 1 page contains a broken link.

Issues were found with PHP scripts which are vital for a website of that kind to run properly.

Harrods website is not correctly optimized to perform on older versions of Internet Explorer 8 (6.0, 7.0).

House of Fraser has overall 81% inner pages with issues. None of the pages contain broken links. HARRODS Analysis of Harrods website on Google Trends gives a clear view of how many people searched for ‘Harrods’ on Google in the last 12 months

FENWICK

Analysis of Fenwick’s website showed the overall of 72% issues. 0 pages contains broken links.

Fenwick website may have minor issues with IE 5.0 an 6.0 as IE 5 and 6 do not support PNG images with alpha-channel transparency - the transparent area is filled with a random colour. The problem is fixed in IE7.

In the last 12 months Fenwick has been most searched for in comparison with Harrods and House of Fraser.

Aida is attention, interest, desire and action. It is a hierarchy of responses model to communications.

“AIDA stands for: Attention – Attract the customer’s attention, Interest – Demonstrate advantages and benefits, Desire – Show that you can solve the customer’s problem, Action – Get the customer to take action (buy).

Harrods – Attention would be the front page and the different pages throughout the website it is very attractive towards customers. Interest would be the gift cards, special offers that the store provides for their customers. Desire would be the customer service the store offers for any customers with any questions or enquiries. Action would be the bright and vibrant discount animations they use to advertise to customers to buy.

Fenwick - Attention would be the “welcome’’ the store provides on the front page that grabs the customer’s attention and the attraction from the model advertised on the front. Interest would be from the gift and store cards they offer usually advertises new benefits for their customers. Desire would be the customer service they offer with contacting the store with any enquiries they may have. Action would be the models then the phrase that applies look around the store to help you purchase items however, the action is not very accessible for customers. House of Fraser – Attention is not attractive to customers as the back ground is bland. Interest- the benefits and advantages stands out on the homepage mostly. Desire would be down on the footer is a help where customers can use that as a access to talk to a member of staff. Action would be the front page there are lots of links for customers to get gifts, discounts and offers from the products the store provides. Also they have a collect points by purchasing items.

Social media is a relatively new technology that a lot of brands are still very sceptical about implementing as part of their online presence.

A well managed social media presence is no problem and can do a brand more good than it is a risk. It is especially important to be able to access what is being said about your brand online, as this will be the truest of feedback a brand will ever have.

With social media growing to be a rapidly used tool among all types of publics (not just young people), it is crucial more than ever to be up to date and current with what’s interesting your target market so that the brand can relate to them always.

Below is a table (correct as of 11th December 2012 at 20:37pm) that compares Harrods, Fenwick and House of Fraser’s social media presence. With department stores selling everyday household names there is likely to be feedback not only on the level of service the brand offers but also feedback on the products these establishments are selling.

Overall Harrods and House of Fraser’s social media presence is very well kept, regularly updated and both brands attract around a quarter of a million people’s interest on Facebook alone. House of Fraser offer more as they have a blogging service show casing their knowledge and insight on fashion and have an online magazine which encourages engagement.

Fenwick has very little social media presence. Given that their type of customer may be of an older generation that would prefer traditional methods such as a newsletter or emails this is understandable.

However, in order for Fenwick to extend their database and gain new customers social media is becoming a very useful tool when it comes to understanding target markets.

Fenwick need to increase their social media presence if they are to seriously compete with similar department stores.

Social media presence is an extension of the brand’s e-commerce site and helps to endorse and enhance the personality of the brand. Fenwick need to get their brand into the social media market.

A great starting point for them could also be a blog. The brand seems very elite and a blog could help show off their knowledge and expertise on fashion and business.

It is becoming increasingly common nowadays to shop not only on computers or laptops but to also make transactions on a tablet or smart phone.

This means that brands need to develop other versions of their website that is accessible on different devices in order to maximise sales and customer interest.

The table below compares each brand’s new technology developments. As seen from the results the two brands that have developed their social media strategy have also extensively developed their strategy for

new technologies.

Harrods and House of Fraser have both developed full mobile sites and applications for use on all smartphones.

The apps and mobile sites offer both convenience for the customer and new features that aren’t available elsewhere for the brands.

Harrods idea to use their app as a digital magazine is invaluable to their brand. It offers a new function and creates a brand that isn’t just about sales and profit but one that is passionate about their section of fashion and style.

The following images are of how the three websites have utilised their mobile sites to become extensions of their already built up e-commerce sites.

For improvement Fenwick not only need to utilise social media to target their market as mentioned previously but to also design applications and mobile sites to make shopping their stock more convenient for the customer.

Fenwick need to consider doing so otherwise they risk losing customers to a brand that is more aware of their needs, and therefore it will be harder for Fenwick to win back customers than it would be for them to take action now and retain their current customer base.

A sample of 100 people answered a simple questionnaire about people’s behaviours relating to online, mobile, tablet and in store purchasing.

The questionnaire was given to anyone, as there isn’t a specific target market for these department stores as they have a very diverse departments for all different age ranges, life cycles, gender, and so on.

The questions were devised to give an indication as to whether on line websites are fully engaging the consumers of today.

Most of the respondents were female, although this may stereotypical that female prefer shopping, however, it was mostly females who were more willing to stop and answer the questionnaire.

56%

44%

What is your gender? Female Male

8% 12%

36%

29%

4% 6%

5%

What is your age range?

Under 18 18-24 25-30 31-35 36-40 41-50 50+

Most of the respondents were either aged between 25-30 and 31-35. This is because we felt this is more the age range that applies to these department stores.

27%

36%

14%

14%

9%

Where would you be most likely to shop?

in store on laptop/ computer on mobile on tablet other

The majority of respondents would most likely shop online on a computer or a laptop. The second most popular medium for shopping was in-store. Mobile and tablet e-commerce and other mediums were least popular.

23%

29% 37%

11%

Which website are you most likely to shop at?

Fenwick Harrods House of Fraser None of the aboveThe most popular website is House of Fraser, second is Harrods, and third is Fenwick. 11% of respondents said they wouldn’t shop at any of them as a first choice.

24%

27% 18%

6%

20% 5%

Why would you mostly shop at this brand's site?

Used it before Brand loyalty

Ease of use Information provided

Price Other

27% of respondents said they would most likely shop at their chosen online store because of brand loyalty. The second most popular reason is due to ease of use. This implies that information provided, used the website before and price are not as important factors considered by the customer.

The following are comments made by respondents that should be considered when designing a website.

“A price discount when first using the website.”

“If their website had a function to compare products like

John Lewis does, it would be easier to shop online with this brand.”

“If they had a store that was as easily accessibly for example House of Fraser is found in the high street whereas Fenwick is

located in London.”

The following are comments made by respondents on their opinion of mobile/app/online e-commerce. These comments are points to be considered when developing these brand extensions.

“Online e-commerce seems more secure than using a mobile or app on your phone or tablet. People can’t afford to put their personal details where they don’t feel it’s not safe so they will avoid it if possible.”

“Apps are quick and easy to use when searching for a product, but I wouldn’t use it to buy the product. I use it look up information and look at an image if I’m not near a computer.”

Overall, respondents still prefer online and in store purchasing as there seems to be a major issue with security and trust for mobile and app commerce.

Even though House of Fraser doesn’t have the most visually appealing website or neat layout as mentioned previously it seems to be the most popular choice for respondents.

This could be due to physical location of the stores and the brand is associated with more affordable luxury, This is unlike Harrods and Fenwick that are associated with more elite, expensive luxury and have limited stores in major cities.

Through the analysis that we have conducted in this research, there is varying results for which is the best website as they all clearly have strengths and weaknesses. Harrods Harrods's website has the most effective visual appeal . Although Harrods needs to focus more on their site map as at this moment is not as clear as it could be. Harrods offers a unique OVP option. It has the 2nd best interaction and integrates online and offline effectively. It also has a well managed social media presence. House of Fraser House of Fraser needs to work on their creative appeal. Their pages are very cluttered, however they have a clear web layout and are the best for interaction and integration of new technology. Fenwick Although Fenwick have a tidy website with a clear theme they need to work on their overall online presence.

Our primary research results show that more customers are looking to purchase online and therefore Fenwick need to make sure they create a better online environment for their customers. The Store team think that overall House of Fraser is the best website as it offers the most to their customers in terms of service and engagement.

REFERENCES

Dress Junkie (2010) Retail Therapy [Online] Url: http://dressjunkie.com/2010/03/2990/ [Last Accessed: 9th December 2012] Facebook (2012) Harrods Page [Online] Url: https://www.facebook.com/Harrods [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012] Facebook (2012) House of Fraser Page [Online] Url: https://www.facebook.com/houseoffraser [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012] Fenwick (2012) Homepage; products; site map[Online] Url: https://www.fenwick.co.uk/ [Last Accessed: 13th December 2012] Functional Marketing. (2010-2012) “AIDA Marketing’’ [Online] Url:http://www.functional-marketing.com/aida-marketing.html#axzz2ErIbQE3w [Last Accessed 10 November 2012] Girl in the North (2012) Max Mara at Fenwick Newcastle [Online] Url: http://www.girlinthenorth.com/2012/09/max-mara-at-fenwick-newcastle.html [Last Accessed: 7th December 2012] Guardian (2012) Tablet shopping about browsing as well as shopping this Christmas [Online] Url: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/10/tablet-shopping-christmas-browsing [Last Accessed: 10th December 2012] Harrods (2012) Homepage; products; site map [Online] Url: http://www.harrods.com/ [Last Accessed: 13th December 2012] Harrods (2012) Shopper bags- Products[Online] Url: http://www.harrods.com/gifts/shopper-bags?viewall=yes [Last Accessed: 9th December 2012]

House of Fraser (2012) About Us [Online] Url: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/About+House+of+Fraser/AboutUs,default,pg.html [Last Accessed: 13th December 2012] House of Fraser (2012) Homepage; products; site map [Online] Url: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/ [Last Accessed: 13th December 2012] Inside FMM (N.D) Navigate Harrods with new mobile app [Online] Url: http://insidefmm.com/2011/06/harrods-fashion-mobile-app/ [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012] Internet Retailing (2011) House of Fraser launches mobile site as its mobile sales 660% [Online] Url: http://internetretailing.net/2011/01/house-of-fraser-launches-mobile-site-as-mobile-sales-grow-660/ [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012] Internet Retailing (2012) House of Fraser Launches transactional iPhone app [Online] Url: http://internetretailing.net/2012/04/house-of-fraser-launches-transactional-iphone-app/ ]Last Accessed: 11th December 2012] Kustom Eyes. (2011) “Website Design Christchurch: 5 S’s of Internet Marketing’’ [Online] Url: http://www.kustomeyes.co.nz/website-design-christchurch-5-s%E2%80%99s-of-internet-marketing [Last Accessed 8 November 2012] Marketing Insights. (NA) “E-marketing strategy – an in-depth guide’’ [online] Url: http://www.marketing-insights.co.uk/wnim0402.htm [Last Accessed 8 November 2012] Mintel (2012) Department Store Retailing 2012 [Online] [Last Accessed: 12th December 2012] Mobile Awesomeness (N.D) Harrods [Online] Url: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/harrods/ [Last Accessed: 9th December 2012]

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Open Plus (2011) Retailer Harrods launches mobile app [Online] Url: http://www.openplus.co.uk/news/retailer-harrods-launches-mobile-app/ [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012]

Powermapper (2012) Homepage [Online] Url: http://www.powermapper.com/ [Last Accessed: 11th December 2012]

Smith, PR and Chaffey, D. (2008) eMarketing eXcellence (3rd Ed) Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford

Twitter (2012) Harrods Page [Online] Url: https://twitter.com/Harrods [Last Accessed: 13th December 2012]

Twitter (2012) House of Fraser Page [Online] Url: https://twitter.com/houseoffraser [Last Accessed: 12th December 2012]

REFERENCES