Denim retailer NYDJ Apparel LLC plans to switch its e-commerce platform to the Salesforce Commerce Cloud from outsourcing the technology and operations of it via Onestop Internet Inc.
Right now, if NYDJ wants to update any content on its site, such as the homepage banner or images, Onestop has to make the change. The new platform will allow the retailer to operate its own site and make changes for itself.
The new site also will be redesigned with a new look and feel with new navigation, product stories and user-generated content from social media, among other updates, says NYDJ CEO Lisa Collier.
The change, which is planned to roll out in the third quarter, will allow for more personalized content for consumers and the ability for the retailer to A/B test features on the site, Collier says. The retailer sells denim jeans that are geared toward women ages 35 and over of any size or ethnicity.
The platform comes with product recommendation and personalization tools that tailor the site to shoppers based on their previous browsing behaviors, past purchases, device, as well as how they arrived at the site, which NYDJ can’t do on its current e-commerce platform, Collier says. Plus, NYDJ can tap into Salesforce’s well of aggregate shopper data for e-commerce best practices, such as consumers preferring side or top navigation, she says.
The platform also includes a customer relationship management system that it expects will enhance its marketing initiatives, such as showing abandon-cart products to shoppers, which it did not have before. Because about 30% of NYDJ’s shoppers are repeat shoppers, the retailer knows a fair amount of the shoppers on it site, Collier says.
NYDJ.com’s average conversion rate is more than 3.0%, Collier says, which she says is double the typical conversion rate of denim retailers. Of the 264 top online apparel and accessories retailers that Internet Retailer ranks, their average conversion rate in 2016 was 2.9% and the median 2.5%, according to the Internet Retailer’s Top500Guide.com.
“What we see in our .com consumer is a high conversion rate. She comes to our site wanting to purchase,” Collier says.
The retailer hopes that its e-commerce sales will grow 20-25% with the launch of the new site, says Collier without revealing exact figures. This would be a boost from the retailer’s typical year-over-year growth, which is a low double-digit percentage, she says. She expects the increase to stem from both new and current customers.
NYDJ has sold online since 2007. About 20% of its sales are from its e-commerce site, and the rest of its sales come from its four stores (two traditional and two outlet) and its wholesale business to major department stores, such as Nordstrom Inc. (No. 17 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 1000) and Macy’s Inc. (No. 6), as well as Amazon.com Inc. (No 1).
NYDJ has four employees dedicated to the project. Collier would not reveal exact costs, only that the replatform was a “substantial investment” and more than $1 million.
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