Selfridges uses Good Technology

Good Technology has been appointed to undertake a radical redesign of upmarket department store Selfridges’ website and Intranet, as it seeks to better reflect its regional growth.

The overhauled website, www.selfridges.com, is scheduled to be unveiled in the summer. The project is worth a five-figure fee.

It is a root-and-branch redesign, says Good Technology account manager Jez Dutton. ‘We will be tearing it apart, looking at content, layout, speed and structure of the entire site,’ he says.

The revamp is designed to incorporate a more regional, less London-centric bias to reflect the opening of stores outside the capital and will include more information about individual stores to appeal to communities local to them, Dutton adds.

Selfridges is opening a store in central Manchester in September, which will join the existing Manchester Trafford store just outside the city. A third store is scheduled to open in Birmingham next year.

No decision has yet been taken as to whether the website will incorporate e-commerce capabilities, Dutton says. The existing site does not enable consumers to shop on-line. The revamp follows an assessment of Selfridges’ digital output and a review of consultancies working with the store by marketing director James Bidwell, who was appointed last July.

Usability studies among consumers were also commissioned by Selfridges to ascertain how well the existing website was working.

The research revealed the existing website was difficult to navigate, says Dutton. ‘Visitors to the website found they had to dig deep to obtain information,’ he says.

Good Technology was appointed after winning a four-way pitch against unnamed rivals, overseen by Bidwell. Good Technology lead creative John Downie is heading the project.

The Selfridges website was last redesigned, by Good Technology, in 1999.