Not everyone wants to buy a king-size mattress set online that can cost up to $4,500, but there are shoppers that do.
And whether they’re coming to make a purchase, research a new mattress system or find a retailer, bedding manufacturer and marketer Tempur-Pedic International Inc. has made over its e-commerce site and back-end platform to make the process easier and more personal.
After nearly a year of planning and implementing, and moving most of its e-commerce technology to a new platform from ShopVisible, Tempur-Pedic, No. 218 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, recently took the wraps off an entirely redesigned web site.
The new site, which Tempur-Pedic rebuilt with help from web design firm Silverback Studio of Lexington, KY, features bigger graphics, better navigation and better shopping features including a new application that lets shoppers build their ideal bed and complete the purchase online with a one-step checkout. “E-commerce is important to us and we wanted to make the process easier,” says Tempur-Pedic senior vice president of direct to consumer Patrice Varni. “We took the time to better understand how people research and shop for a bed and applied those lessons to the new design.”
The new Tempur-Pedic.com home page features better left-side navigation that lets users shop or research a purchase by type of bedding system, including by collection and accessories. A new comparison tool also lets shoppers compare various types of bedding systems on the same page and filter the results by size and height. “95% of shoppers buy their bed in store, but if they want to make a purchase online we’ve made it easier to do that,” says Varni, who joined Tempur-Pedic in late 2009 after working for many years as the chief e-commerce executive at Levi Strauss & Co (No. 337).
Product pages have been updated with merchandising recommendations and customer ratings and reviews. A new set of tools also lets shoppers finance a purchase through a linked-in application process with Wells Fargo & Co., split a payment across different arrangements such as by charging more than one credit card, and purchase and redeem gift cards.
In the next few months, Tempur-Pedic also will be updated with a gift registry, live chat and click-to-call, says Varni. The new ShopVisible e-commerce platform also will be integrated with a new customer relationship management system and a bigger direct-to-consumer fulfillment center. “The site does a much better job communicating our product architecture and allows us to more effectively link our direct activities with our retailer network’s distribution,” CEO Mark Sarvary told Wall Street analysts on Tempur-Pedic’s recent third quarter earnings call. “It’s also designed to be much easier for the consumer to use.”
Tempur-Pedic isn’t saying exactly how much sales have increased as result of the newly redesigned web site, but for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company reported:
- Direct sales, which include direct response and e-commerce, increased 39.3% to $17 million from $12.2 million in the third quarter of 2009.
- Total sales increased 32.1% to $295.8 million from $224.0 million.
- Net income rose 72.3% to $44.1 million from $25.6 million in the third quarter of 2009.