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Press Release - DEC 07- Peacocks eCommerce

Peacocks’ e-commerce initiative an instant success with customers

Innovative ‘build the look’ product selector lets customers quickly and easily design and order a complete top-to-toe outfit.

Peacocks, one of the UK’s largest value fashion retailers, has launched a new e-commerce initiative designed to simplify the online buying process and help customers shop in the same way that they would in the real world.
Designed and implemented by e-commerce specialists Red Technology, the new web site incorporates several innovative functions including:

• A ‘shop the look’ outfit builder that lets customers quickly and easily choose and customise a complete outfit, mixing and matching colours, styles and accessories; all achieved on one easy to use page, cutting out the need to constantly reload the page and navigate between different areas of the site.
• Improved ‘email a friend’ functionality that lets customers send images and fashion ideas to friends. Customers can inspire friends or seek their advice on an outfit before going ahead with a purchase.
• A shopping basket that clearly displays product images, ensuring that the customer has confidence that the correct product, in the correct size, has been added to their order.

"We wanted to take online clothes shopping to the next level and introduce features that more closely reflected how people shop for fashion clothing in the real world.  The outfit builder is extremely popular, accounting for a large proportion of sales and customers love the email a friend function that allows them to discuss and chat about the latest looks”.
Richard Antrum, Head of Marketing, Peacocks

Peacocks chose Red Technology because of the strength and versatility of their tradeIT ecommerce platform which incorporates a wide variety of easy to use e-marketing and content management tools. The product catalogue, online marketing, site layout and email campaigns can be managed in house without the need for technology experts. Each department within the business can take control of, manage and update specific areas of the web site in real time. Not only does this cut out the time lag involved when relying on external agencies to update site content, but also cuts out the cost.

“Given that Peacocks had not previously traded online before, we were pleasantly surprised with their understanding of e-commerce and the issues involved. Their determination to ensure a smooth online experience for customers was a good fit with our philosophy and technologies”.
Calvin Litchfield, Managing Director, Red Technology

In addition to improving the customer online shopping experience, Peacocks hopes to reduce customer returns – something that has traditionally been an issue for mail order clothing retailers. Giving their customers greater opportunity to see images of a complete outfit easily and ensuring greater clarity within the shopping basket should help reduce ordering errors. This in turn will help keep distribution costs down and save the customer the disappointment of having to return unsuitable goods. The email a friend function lets customers seek advice before purchasing; reducing purchase dissonance, again helping to reduce returns.
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Contact:
Andrew Deacon, Press Officer, Red Technology
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 880 800
Email: press@redtechnology.com
Web: www.redtechnology.com

Red Technology
Oakfield Industrial Estate
Eynsham
Oxfordshire
OX29 4AG

About Red Technology
Red Technology has been a leading UK e-commerce solution provider since 1996. Their development specialists have built more than 400 e-commerce solutions selling products and services online, to both businesses and consumers. Customers include high street retailers, specialist online retailers and large corporations across the private, public and not for profit market sectors.

Their flagship product, tradeIT™, is a feature rich e-commerce platform that can be quickly customised to leverage brands online, attract new customers, and keep them coming back. Not just any e-commerce solution though, tradeIT™ seamlessly combines full multi-site web content management, merchandising and e-marketing tools; allowing customers to manage portals, intranets, extranets, B2B and B2C online shops in-house to drive sales forwards while seamlessly integrating with fulfilment and Enterprise Resource Planning systems.

About Peacocks
Peacocks employs over 5,000 people, has been awarded Investors in People accreditation and has an open, entrepreneurial and friendly culture. Since 1884, when the first Peacock store opened in Warrington, the chain has been adding new stores and today has 460 nationwide and 46 franchises overseas in Turkey, the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia. Peacocks is part of The Peacock Group who also own bonmarche. The company was taken private in January 2006.

The secret of Peacock's success is its ability to react quickly to fashion trends at fantastic prices delivering fast value fashion to its customers day in and day out. Between, 30 and 50 new womenswear lines arrive in store every week. Peacocks also takes its responsibilities seriously and has been awarded Cancer Research's Flame of Hope Award as business supporter of the year 2006. The retailer is continuing its support for the charity this year by selling a range of pink clothing and fashion accessories being sold in all its stores this autumn.