Ann Taylor's New Website - Product Categories

I am a sucker for unique web design. And I get even more excited when it is useful and unique. Ann Taylor has made a shift on their site that accomplishes both. For the most part, online retailers follow a template when laying out their category pages. Look at Gap, JCrew, Nordstrom, and until recently, Ann Taylor, and it is very hard to decipher any difference. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The standard grid has been proven to work and customers have learned to use it to efficiently scan products.

Enter the new Ann Taylor page design. It is just slightly different, but the small variations make a world of difference. A quick run down of the features that make this new site shine:

1) The customer can change the size of the product grid, allowing them to choose how large the product photo is. This is the first time I have seen this, and I think it is an elegant solution to a problem online retailers have been struggling with for some time.

2) There is no white space between the products, allowing for larger product images regardless of the grid the customer has chosen. Accomplishing this without creating an overwhelming, cluttered experience is very challenging.

3) They have brought forward the important product attributes for their product set. Simply scroll over a product, and the price, in a nice size font, and the additional colors appear. It's important information presented in a manner that does not distract from the most important attribute, the photo.

The rest of the site has is executed well too. Later this month I'll discuss other highlights.

Simplicity for the win

When you are selling basics, should you have a complex strategy? Something doesn't sound quite right about that, but lots of retailers have taken that path. Not Uniqlo, a Japanese private label apparel company. Simplicity is the main theme of their strategy, starting with product design, continuing all the way through to the in-store experience.

Let's start with their product categorization. If you visit their website today, you will find a total of 7. Things like "shirt" and "bottom". And items for both genders (their only departments) are grouped together. The display, both in store and online, reflects the minimalist strategy as well. You can view all of their products at one time, and can see all of the available colors exposed, making the shopping process extremely easy. You can even control the size of the images in their online display, leaving the amount of clicks and scrolling necessary completely in the customer's hands.

This strategy certainly isn't for everyone. Many product lines do not lend themselves to this methodology, but it is working for Uniqlo. Their Manhattan US flagship (also their only US store) is a destination. And the best part - simplicity throughout allows this retailer to keep their prices low, a win for everyone in this economy.

Avoca - an Irish example of product categorization by sensibility

One of my favorite examples of unique product selection and categorization has always been Anthropologie. I thought there was no where else to buy clothes, gifts and housewares that all fit in to one sensibility (except for other stores owned by this company like Urban Outfitters). Imagine my surprise when I found another place that has done this even better - meandering though the shopping district in Dublin!

Enter Avoca. Around since the 1700s, this company specializes in hand-made wool products. But wow have they expanded. In their Dublin store, found just off Grafton Street, sells clothing for women, men and children, housewares, jewelry, gifts, even food, all centered around the same sensibility evoked by their original product - wool scarves. The store is welcoming, in a way that brings to mind a cozy cottage and the layout that at first seems a bit haphazard, but really encourages the customer to make their way all the way through all fives floors of product. You can buy cookbooks, pots and a lot of ingredients for the recipes, while finding sweaters that you'd imagine wearing while enjoying the stew recipe you just read about. Or you can buy a bracelet as gift for a new mom, and a baby blanket that matches her style. It's even possible to purchase a pea coat for yourself and enjoy a lunch that seems perfectly suited for you.

If you can't make it all the way to Ireland for merchandising inspiration, make a stop at their Annapolis, MD location. It sure looks like the Anthrologies folks have!

Would you like extra leg room with that?

In the travel industry, many have been selling ancillary products for years. Hoteliers make a good portion their revenue off of food and beverages that they sell to guests, and cruise lines sell shore excursions and upgraded food options to make their gargantuan ships profitable. Airlines are relatively new to this type of selling. I am sure many of you can remember the days of free meals on all flights and no limits on the number of bags you could bring with you. That has all changed. Most airlines have started to move in the direction of a la carte pricing, but United has taken it to another level.

Leveraging their website and check-in kiosks, they have integrated a shopping process reminiscent of a traditional retailer, increasing their revenues while simultaneously providing unique services that many customers think of as a value ad as opposed to a nuisance. Products offered through the check-in kiosk range from extra legroom for approximately $15, upgrades to first class and mileage excelerators.

But the website is really where they have gotten creative...

Enter Opt - the cutsie name for United's Travel Options shop. Here they are leveraging all the techniques that traditional retailers use when selling hard goods:

1) Unique product categorization - Categories are based on the customer need they satisfy. Comfort is where you can find things like Economy Plus for the year which can afford the frequent traveler extra leg room on every flight. Peace of Mind contains travel insurance.

2) Product Flagging - Little red words call out the fact that they have put some products on a temporary sale.

3) Cross-sells - Head over to the product page of one of their options and you'll see suggestions like "other options" at the bottom of the page. You'll find yourself thinking, "Am I at Amazon or United?"

4) Ancillary on ancillary - Really? Are they suggesting ancillary sells to accompany products that are already ancillary sells? Yes, they are. Thinking about economy plus for the year? Why don't you add on Red Carpet club? Or better yet, give it to your boss as a gift. And it's not only on the product page, they are also at the bottom of the shopping cart (yup, they have a shopping cart and a checkout!)

If all of that weren't enough, they allow you to pay for all of the products that they are selling with the ease of an expert merchandiser with your frequent flier mile.

Kudos United. You're leading the pack of what will surely be a trend in the travel industry.