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Case study | Last updated: 09 Sep 2003 |
Sears, Roebuck & Co. has begun rolling out The Great Indoors, an innovative retail concept that offers everything needed to decorate and furnish a home. |
Business need Sears wanted an online complement to The Great Indoors that could spark customers' imaginations while effectively organising solutions to home decorating issues. |
Key challenges Business challenges The site had to match the store experience, which seeks to entertain customers as well as sell offerings. More than 10,000 products had to be effectively organised while serving as an advanced decorating tool. Technical challenges Visitors had to be able to search for specific times or browse by category or sub-category. Each shopper had to be able to organise listings by such attributes as finish, color or brand. Shoppers also wanted the ability to compare multiple products. |
Solution IBM consultants first helped The Great Indoors map elements in retail stores that could be replicated online. They also identified ways to leverage existing Sears.com process, infrastructure, legacy systems and product catalogues within a completely new "look." Finally, an IBM design and implementation team created the site, hosted by IBM. Special attention was paid to picture quality so that product and other images are among the best found on the Internet. |
Results Like the stores, the site is organised under four categories -- great kitchens, great baths, great bedrooms and great rooms. Shoppers can also browse through products in such categories as housewares, lighting or window coverings. Offerings are displayed in vignettes that provide a snapshot of how products can look in various parts of the home. Advanced search functionality simplifies product retrieval. The site also features a design center that provides decorating tips, how-to questions and product definitions. A virtual decorating tool allows visitors to see how various accessories look with specific products. |
Benefits Thanks to IBM, The Great Indoors now offers a brand experience online that matches its retail stores. Extensive shopping and advisory capabilities provide opportunities for online up-selling. |
Customer testimonial "Prior to designing the Web site, we spoke to thousands of women about what their ideal experience would be. They told us they wanted an extensive array of top-quality merchandise options, the ability to see and evaluate the items clearly, design inspiration and solutions, and an easy-to-navigate site. Our site was built by her, for her. As a leader in forward-thinking business and technology, IBM was the perfect collaborator to help us bring the vision to life for our customer," says John Yung, director of thegreatindoors.com. |
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