Although Blanket World is a brand new website, the business behind it has been in existence since 1986, selling blankets and other homewares from a base in rural Shropshire. The blankets themselves are a selection of beautifully crafted items from top quality manufacturers, primarily from within the UK.
Historically the business has generated most of its sales through third party e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay. Blanket World came to Ascendancy with the brief that they wanted to sell more volume to customers direct through their own new website and offset the large commission fees on sales.
In order to reach out to a broad audience, Blanket World wanted to be able to offer multiple methods of payment, including digital wallets (Google and Apple Pay) and the option to pay in instalments or delay payment (using Klarna or similar platform).
The website design needed to reflect the high-quality nature of the blankets, and get across clearly to the user that they are primarily sourced from UK manufacturers. Free delivery across the UK was another key selling point that needed to be featured strongly on the site.
We made sure that the business’ USPs (UK-sourced products, free delivery, flexible payment options) were clearly visible to promote trust and reassurance for the customer.
A key requirement of the site was not only to show the quality and luxury of the blankets but also to make the shopping experience a positive and friendly one for the customer. With a colourful design, friendly tone of voice and easily searchable and bespoke filterable product listings, Ascendancy were able to create a clean, user-friendly experience.
On Blanket World’s previous website, the various colour and pattern options of each blanket were listed as separate products. We simplified this by unifying the separate products into variable products, with easy-to-use drop-downs for the customer to select their preferred colour or pattern.
Customers are able to choose between paying via Klarna or Stripe at the checkout – two of the most current popular payment gateways available. Klarna enables them to pay in instalments, or delay payment should they wish. Stripe supports credit and debit cards as well as Apple and Google Pay, so customers who already have these set up on their device can check out in seconds using their stored payment details.
Away from the customer-facing side of the website, Ascendancy have also simplified the order dispatch process for Blanket World, by integrating WooCommerce with Royal Mail Click & Drop. This handles the generation of shipping labels and automated SMS messages and emails to customers with order tracking details. Blanket World are regularly kept up to date with their orders via email allowing them to simply be notified when a new order comes in.
“Ascendancy has definitely come through for us with our new website, this is our third online selling platform & have been in retail for 35 years, but have never experienced such a reaction to our new website as this post launch!
We have seen a huge uplift in sales and traffic since the Ascendancy upgrade, we are all agreed it’s been like upgrading from a comfortable but steady Fiat Uno to a brand new shiny Ferrari, our new selling platform has made us feel relevant and now feel we are punching above our weight in the online stratosphere.
Ascendancy makes you feel like you are part of a family, one that listens and helps you with your homework when you get stuck, but make no mistake they are cutting edge when it comes to the design, ideas & getting the job done.
We have no hesitation in recommending Ascendancy for your first website or an upgraded facelift to expand your online presence.”
Nick Clark owner of Blanket World
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