eCommerce Competitive and Comparative Analysis

David’s BridalComparative Analysis

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Table of Contents

1. Project Goals and Research Methodology2. Addressing the Needs of the Bride3. Websites Researched4. Online Sales Analysis and Recommendations5. Registration Analysis and Recommendations6. Vendor Relationship Analysis and Recommendations7. Recommendations Summary8. Conclusion and Next Steps

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Project Goals and Research Methodology

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Project and Comparative Analysis GoalsProject Goals

Increase registration rates Increase online sales Increase engagement with vendors through content &

placement

Comparative Analysis Goals Identify industry best practices Recommend changes that can be implemented by start of

2010

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Research Methodology

Determine Core Needs of the

Bride

Develop Mission Statement for

DavidsBridal.com

Identify Websites To Be Researched

Conduct Research and

Develop Strategic Recommendation

s for Online Sales,

Registration and Vendors

Evaluate Impact vs. Effort

of Recommendation

s

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Addressing the Needs of the Bride

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Certainty that she is at a website that specializes in wedding gowns

A clear and focused online experience that will help her purchase a gown

To not be overwhelmed by ancillary wedding products and services

Faith in the site’s helpfulness

A Bride Visiting DavidsBridal.com Needs

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By creating a website mission statement which will guide all recommended strategies and tactics

By developing recommendations for tactics that align with the website mission statement

How We Address the Bride’s Needs

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Outcomes of a Website Mission Statement

The website mission statement will reduce “noise” on the site by helping the bride find what she needs quickly and easily

Because the bride is not overwhelmed by the options available to her, she will be more receptive to other product and service promotions therefore increasing sales in these areas

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Working Website Mission StatementDavidsBridal.com offers a full assortment of high-value wedding gowns as its primary focus.

As a secondary focus, DavidsBridal.com offers a wide range of wedding products and services that support a bride’s personal vision for her wedding.

DavidsBridal.com offers the same knowledgeable and respectful customer service that a bride can find in her local store.

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Websites Researched

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Website Selection

No site serves as a simple 1:1 comparison because of the breadth of David’s Bridal’s offerings

We identified websites that offer insights into Online Sales, Registration and Vendors

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Final Websites Chosen

Registration• David's Bridal• Martha Stewart Weddings• The Knot• Eden Bridals• Baby Center

Online Sales • David's Bridal• House of Brides• The Knot• Dessy• Cold Water Creek

Vendors• David's Bridal• Martha Stewart Weddings• The Knot• WebMD• Baby Center

The following sites were reviewed but not included in our final comparison: Anthropologie, Alfred Angelo, Allure Bridals, Best Bridal, Bridal Guide, Bridal Online Store, Brides.com,

Facebook, Home Depot, iVillage, J Crew, Jordan Fashions, Land's End, Macy’s, Michael’s, OneWed.com OneStopWeddingPlanner.com, PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, Priscilla of Boston, Style Me Pretty, Target, Things Remembered, Wal-Mart, Wedding Channel, Wedding Solutions, Lowes

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Online Sales Analysis and Recommendations

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When Purchasing Online, a Bride Needs To be able to search for a gown using the terms that are

important to her (i.e. color, size, shape, etc.) An easy to use and intuitive experience from initial search

to order confirmation Certainty that she will find all of the information she needs

before making a final purchasing decision

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Online Sales Process The online sales process involves four steps We have focused on the bride’s needs within three steps of

this four step process

SearchProduct Evaluati

on

Decision to Buy

Purchasing Process – Shopping

Cart

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Our Focus Within the Online Sales Process We have not included the shopping cart in our analysis

because changes to that area will not be possible within our project timeline

Our recommendations focus on improving the wedding gown buying experience

We think this focus will yield the greatest impact within our project timeline

The bride’s success purchasing a wedding gown will positively affect her decision to continue purchasing other products online

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Who Is Doing Online Sales Right?We went to over 20 fashion related sites and found ten that do online sales well. At these ten sites we bought gowns and tested all features.

From this set we selected four sites that offer insights for David’s Bridal:

House of Brides The Knot Dessy Cold Water Creek

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Online Sales Feature Comparison David's Bridal House of Brides The Knot Dessy Cold Water Creek

Navigation and Search Integration of Sitemap 2 5 2 2 1 Product Search 5 3 2 0 0

Shop by Color 4 0 0 5 5

Shop by Style 4 5 5 5 0

Shop by Newest 2 0 2 0 4

Shop by Size 2 3 4 5 3

Shop by Popularity 0 0 1 0 0

Product Evaluation Film Clip 4 0 0 0 0

Community Reviews within eCom 4 0 2 0 0

Designer Microsites 1 0 4 0 0

Multiple Views and Zoom 3 3 2 4 4Decision to Buy Send to Friend 3 3 5 0 5

Send to Social Media Site 5 0 0 2 5

Size Guide 2 4 2 0 0

Workflow Alignment 2 4 3 4 5

0 5 Feature Not Implemented Feature Fully Implemented

KEY:

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Areas We Focused On

1. Online Gown Purchasing2. Relevant Promotions 3. Gown Identification4. Sizing Guide5. Site Map6. Product Search

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Weakness: It is difficult to quickly determine how to buy a gown online at DavidsBridal.com. On the homepage and subpages, the link to online sales is hard to find.

Implications: The bride needs to move quickly from the home page to buying a gown online. If the bride has difficulty finding online sales, she may decide to leave the site.

1. Online Gown Purchasing

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The link to online sales on DavidsBridal.com is not on

the home page.

On pages where it does appear, it is difficult to find.

It is included among product categories instead

of on its own level.


David’s Bridal has the unique challenge of offering both in-store and online only gowns.

Purchasing will be easier for the bride when it is clear which gowns are available online and

which gowns are only available in stores.

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If gown sales are of primary importance to online sales,

then the link for “Bridal Gowns” should be moved to

the top of the list.

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House of Brides makes online sales very clear by integrating

it into its home page and tagline.


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On The Knot, every significant category has its own label.

The Knot also accommodates users who think of their wedding

gown as a subset of wedding attire.

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Make it clear to the bride how she can buy a gown online. Place a link to online sales on the home page.

At the highest level of site organization, make online sales a distinct category. It should not fall within any other category.

Clarify which gowns are available online only, in-stores only, and in both places.

1. Online Gown Purchasing Recommendations

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Weakness: David’s Bridal distracts brides with non relevant promotions during the online buying process.

Implications: Non relevant promotions may confuse and overwhelm the bride. Many brides are daunted by the challenge of finding and purchasing their gown before they even come to the site. Do not overwhelm them further. They may leave the site or get diverted from the purchasing process.

2. Relevant Promotions

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David's Bridal includes too many non relevant

promotions throughout the online sales process.


David's Bridal tries to take the bride off of the product page when she should be

putting a gown in her shopping cart.

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House of Brides limits non relevant promotions


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Make everything within the online sales workflow relevant to buying a gown. The content on each page must keep a bride focused on purchasing her gown.

2. Relevant Promotions Recommendation

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3. Gown Identification

Weakness: A bride needs to search for a gown based on categories and features that are important to her (i.e. cut, color, size, cost, etc.)

Implications: A bride will have difficulty finding her gown if the gowns are defined by a limited set of attributes or given unusual names. These things will slow down her search and make buying decisions difficult.

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The categorization of gowns in the David's Bridal

navigation is confusing.

It is does not allow the bride to search based on features

that are important to her.

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Dessy presents a range of parameters in order to

capture the wide variety of ways that brides think about

their gowns.

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3. Gown Identification Recommendation

Offer a wider and more relevant range of parameters (i.e. cut, color, size, cost, etc.) that a bride can use to search for her gown. These parameters should be included in the left side navigation.

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4. Sizing GuideWeakness: The DavidsBridal.com sizing guide is not easy to

find. Some users say the sizing guide is easier to find through Google than David's Bridal navigation.

Implications: A bride needs sizing information in order to begin her online gown search. She may leave the site if she can’t easily find this information.

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4. Sizing Guide

David’s Bridal waits to introduce the sizing guide too late in the Online Sales

process -- at the product page.

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4. Sizing GuideHouse of Brides makes it easy to find their sizing guide.

House of Brides presents its sizing guide in the navigation throughout the Online Sales

process.

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4. Sizing Guide RecommendationOffer clear access to the sizing guide before the bride arrives at the product page. Brides need this information before they start their gown search.

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Weakness: Not all brides think the same way. The traditional left side navigation schema is not the easiest way for everyone to search for their gown.

Implications: If a bride cannot easily search for her gown, she may go elsewhere.

5. Site Map

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5. Site Map

David’s Bridal’s site map link is at the bottom of every page

and is easy to miss.

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House of Brides places its site map link prominently at the

top of every page.

5. Site Map

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Brides need many ways to navigate. Promote the site map as an alternate tool for quickly finding gowns and understanding the overall site.

Place the site map link in the navigation on every page. Make it prominent and easy to find.

5. Site Map Recommendation

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6. Product Search

Weakness: Because they all think differently, brides need a variety of ways to navigate. Offering a variety of navigation strategies is ideal. DavidsBridal.com offers a strong product search feature, but its unique benefits are not obvious to the user.

Implication: Davidsbridal.com is missing a great opportunity to help a bride find her gown using this existing search feature. Brides looking to search by multiple criteria may decide to shop elsewhere if they cannot find this tool.

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When a bride uses The Knot’s search feature she cannot refine her results with

additional criteria.

The Knot also does not help the bride understand why the results are valid.

This is typical of most wedding sites.

6. Product Search

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DavidsBridal.com helps the bride understand why gowns are included

in her results (i.e. a search for “strapless” shows results with the

word “strapless” in the description).

Unlike the Knot, DavidsBridal.com allows a bride to refine her search results with additional criteria

(i.e. color, price, collection, etc.).

6. Product Search

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6. Product Search

On the negative side, the David’s

Bridal search function hides the

“narrowing” feature within the

categories.

The bride will not see the “narrowing”

feature until she clicks on the “Bridal Gowns” category.

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6. Product Search Recommendation

The bride needs a variety of ways to search for her gown. Promote search as a helpful tool for finding a gown.

Revise the search results to show the narrowing feature immediately.

DavidsBridal.com’s search functionality needs to be

modified so that the extensive narrowing parameters within the category are seen immediately

with the search results

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Online Sales Recommendations

Impact vs. EffortRecommendation Impact Effort

1. Online Gown Purchasing 4 1

2. Relevant Promotions 4 2

3. Gown Identification 4 3

4. Sizing Guide 2 1

5. Site Map 2 1

6. Product Search 2 1

1 5 Low High

KEY:

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Registration Analysis and Recommendations

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When Registering, a Bride Needs

To understand the benefits of registering To understand the conditions of this new relationship The ability to control her privacy

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We are focusing on the first three steps of a four step process.

The engagement step occurs after submission of user information. It is not part of our analysis.

Awareness

Consideration

Conversion

Engagement

Our Focus For Registration

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Who Is Doing Registration Right?We went to over 20 fashion related sites and found eight that do registration well. At these eight sites we registered, gave them our email address, and accessed privileged content and tools.

From this set we selected four sites that offer insights for David’s Bridal: Martha Stewart Weddings The Knot Eden Bridals Baby Center

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Registration Feature Comparison

David's Bridal Martha Stewart The Knot Eden Bridals Baby CenterAwareness Email Sign Up Process 5 5 5 n/a 5 Interruptive 3 5 5 1 1 Promotions 5 2 2 1 3 Store Appointment 5 n/a n/a n/a n/a Wish List / Hanger 5 n/a 3 5 n/aConsideration Clear Benefit in Call to Action 2 5 5 2 5 Helpful Tools 1 5 5 2 5Conversion Communication Preferences 2 5 5 5 5 Opt-Outs in Form 1 5 5 4 5 Privacy Notice 1 5 4 4 5Awareness

Registration has many moving parts. The underlying parameters are common across a variety of businesses.


KEY:

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Areas We Focused On

1. Benefits2. Opt-Outs3. Registration Requests4. Resources5. Privacy Notice

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Weakness: A bride needs to understand the benefits of registration.

Implication: If a bride does not understand the benefits of registration, she will not register. David’s Bridal will lose the ability to contact her and retain an ongoing relationship.

1. Benefits

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The Knot puts registration in terms that are appealing to the bride.

The Knot doesn’t want you to “register”. They want you to “Join”! It’s a party. It’s fun.

1. Benefits

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Find every opportunity to replace the word “Register” with language that describes the benefits of registration to the bride.

Remember that David’s Bridal needs the bride to register. The bride does not. The bride needs information, updates, tools, a community, and more. Help her understand that this is what she will get by registering.

1. Benefits Recommendation

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2. Opt-OutsOpportunity: The bride needs a sense of control.

Implication: If the bride does not have a clear sense of control when she is registering, she may not register.

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2. Opt-Outs

Martha turns opt-outs into a menu of opportunities.

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2. Opt-Outs Recommendation Take the opportunity to reinforce the message that

DavidsBridal.com respects the bride and is at her service. Create opt-outs that allow her to opt out of emails and

vendor communications.

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Weakness: A bride does not want to be confused by multiple requests to register.

Implication: If there are too many ways to register, a bride may not know which way is right and may not register at all. She also may become numb to the registration call to action if it is made too many times.

3. Registration Requests

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After a set period of time, Martha Stewart Weddings stops everyone with an interruptive invitation to register.

Martha is successful at earning the respect of her

brides. She is in-your-face-aggressive but also polite.

She makes it clear when and where a bride should

register.


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Baby Center uses contextually based pop-ups to drive registration.

Baby Center pushes pop-up windows on top of its pages.

Content is based on the context of the page it

springs from.

It is not clear though if signing up here leads to

registering overall…


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A bride needs to be clear about when to register and what it will do for her. Reduce the number of requests for registration. In exchange for reducing the number of requests, consider a one time full page take-over triggered by a number of clicks or time on the site.

3. Registration Request Recommendation

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Opportunity: A bride needs help with her wedding tasks. She is often willing to give up personal information in exchange for something in return.

Implication: A bride may not register if the benefits of registering are not significant enough.

4. Resources

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The Knot delivers helpful tools in exchange for registering.

Clear Benefits

Clear Call to Action

4. Resources

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Offer the bride resources in exchange for registering. Offer things other than content. Content is readily available on

other sites (i.e. The Knot) and will not be seen as a unique benefit.

Instead, provide unique tools to help the bride plan her wedding.

4. Resource Recommendations

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Weakness: A bride needs to know what you are doing with her information. Most likely she has registered elsewhere and has seen the privacy notice before. She may not have read it, but assume that she may want to.

Implication: If the bride does not have faith that you will handle her personal information respectfully and are transparent about your intentions, she may decide not to register or may give false information.

5. Privacy Notice

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DavidsBridal.com’s privacy policy is at the bottom of

the page and is not contextual to registration.

It will not be obvious to a registering bride that this privacy policy concerns

registration.

5. Privacy Notice

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Both The Knot and Martha Stewart offer clear links to their privacy policies.

Martha, ever polite, makes sure the bride accepts her privacy policy by requiring acceptance of it before the registration process can be

complete.

The Knot gives a link and says what the bride will find

there.

5. Privacy Notice

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Make the privacy policy easy to access Add the privacy policy to the registration process

5. Privacy Notice Recommendation

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Registration Recommendations

Impact vs. Effort

Recommendation Impact Effort

1. Benefits 4 1

2. Opt-Outs 3 2

3. Registration Requests 3 4

4. Resources 3 4

5. Privacy Notice 2 1

1 5 Low High

KEY:

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Vendor Relationship Analysis and Recommendations

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What the Bride Needs From Other Vendors

To learn about other wedding-related products and services A sense that David's Bridal is overseeing the introduction Trust that David's Bridal is being transparent about how her

information is being used

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Our Focus For VendorsWe focus on the first three steps in a four step process

Awareness Consideration

Conversion

Engagement

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Who Is Managing Their Vendors Successfully?We went to over 20 fashion related web sites and found four that we think do a good job integrating vendors into their service offering. We followed these vendors, linked to their websites, lined them up for our wedding, and read what they had to say.

From this set we selected four sites that offer fresh insights for David’s Bridal: Martha Stewart Weddings The Knot Web MD Baby Center

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Vendors Feature ComparisonDavid's Bridal

Martha Stewart The Knot WebMD Baby Center

Awareness Contextual Ad Placement 3 4 3 5 4 Clear Organization of Vendors 1 3 4 2 3 Brand Exposure Through Ad Takes Customer Out of Market 5 2 2 3 2 Integration In Registration Confirmation Email 0 5 5 1 4 Links In Side Bars 5 2 2 2 2

Consideration

Co-sponsored Resources/Content 1 2 2 5 1 Vendors Within Planning Process 4 5 5 n/a n/a Host Vendor Homepage 2 5 5 0 0 Co-branding 2 2 2 5 2Conversion Opt-outs at Registration 0 5 5 4 5


KEY:

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Areas We Focused On

1. Vendor Organization2. Ads3. Co-Sponsored Content4. Vendor Information

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Weakness: The bride needs vendor listings to be clearly organized. The first listing she sees is a matrix that is neither clear nor properly labeled.

Implication: If information on the vendors listing page is difficult to review or understand, the bride will overlook important vendors.

1. Vendor Organization

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DavidsBridal.com’s vendor page is not easy

for the bride to use.

1. Vendor Organization The title “Planning Categories” is confusing. It does not convey that this

page is a listing of vendors who offer these products and

services.

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The Knot organizes vendors by categories in

a column format. It provides tools to help the

bride find the right vendors for her needs.

1. Vendor Organization

The Knot is clear. It tells the bride that this section is for vendors.

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She too organizes vendors in a column

format by category and she provides tools to help the bride find vendors that

are right for her.

1. Vendor OrganizationMartha Stewart is also clear that this

section is for vendors.

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Provide a clearly labeled list of vendors and organize it by category

1. Vendor Organization Recommendation

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2. Ads

Weakness: With so much to do, the bride needs to focus on one thing at a time. Vendor ads in the middle of the online sales workflow detract from the bride’s focus on buying a gown.

Implication: Brides need to stay focused on finding and buying their gown. Otherwise they will be diverted and the sale lost.

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2. Ads

David's Bridal places too many ads in the online sales process.

They compete for the bride’s attention.

This ad for a wedding website takes the bride’s focus away

from buying a gown.

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2. AdsThe Knot integrates vendors seamlessly into the planning

process.

Their intrusion into other activities (such as gown

purchasing) is minimized.

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2. AdsThrough language, Martha Stewart makes vendors an implicit part of the wedding

planning process.

Like The Knot, she minimizes their presence

elsewhere on the site.

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2. Ad Recommendations Help the bride focus on her tasks by seamlessly and

holistically integrating vendors into the service offering of the website.

Make a place for vendors by including them in wedding planning resources and tools. Here they will capture the bride’s attention at the right time. Click through rates will increase.

Place fewer ads in the sales process.

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Weakness: DavidsBridal.com does not offer its vendors a program for co-sponsored content.

Implication: Without co-sponsored content, DavidsBridal.com loses potential revenue as well as specialized content that brides will value.

3. Co-Sponsored Content

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WebMD provides a range of co-sponsored content. While WebMD is a media site, this tactic is relevant to David's Bridal. Co-sponsored content is a way to seamlessly include vendors in bridal planning tools and resources.

3. Co-Sponsored Content

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Integrate co-sponsored content (i.e. helpful articles, customized tools, blog entries, etc.) into DavidsBridal.com.

This will provide: additional vendor revenue for DavidsBridal.com. opportunities to tap into the knowledge and expertise of

outside vendors. This will increase David’s Bridal’s online content offering and better serve the needs of brides.

3. Co-Sponsored Content Recommendation

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Weakness: Brides want to learn more about vendors they are considering. DavidsBridal.com does not consistently provide information on its vendors nor does it bring them together in a single location.

Implications: If the bride cannot easily learn about a vendor, she may not want to work with them.

4. Vendor Information

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DavidsBridal.com is inconsistent. Some vendors have their own vendor page

(i.e. Partner Detail) while others do not.

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4. Vendor Information Some DavidsBridal.com

vendors link from DavidsBridal.com to their own

vendor page on OurWeddingDay.com.

This is confusing to the bride. Her primary relationship is with

David’s Bridal. She doesn’t know the vendor or Our Wedding Day.

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The Knot provides each of its vendors with their own

vendor page.

Placed within the site and easily found in the

navigation, this information is credible and helpful to the

bride.


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Help the bride learn more about vendors by giving each one a page on DavidsBridal.com. Make these pages easy to find.

On-site vendor pages will convey to the bride that these vendors have David’s Bridal’s stamp of approval.

4. Vendor Information Recommendation

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Vendor Recommendations

Impact vs. Effort

Recommendation Impact Effort

1. Vendor Organization 4 1

2. Ads 4 4

3. Co-Sponsored Content 3 3

4. Vendor Information 3 3

1 5 Low High

KEY:

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Recommendations Summary

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Summary of Recommendations

Online Sales 1. Online Gown Purchasing2. Relevant Promotions 3. Gown Identification4. Sizing Guide5. Site Map6. Product Search

Registration1. Benefits2. Opt-Outs3. Registration Requests4. Resources5. Privacy Notice

Vendors1. Vendor Organization2. Ads3. Co-Sponsored Content4. Vendor Information

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All Recommendations: Impact vs. EffortOnline Sales Impact Effort1. Online Gown Purchasing 4 1

2. Relevant Promotions 4 2

3. Gown Identification 4 3

4. Sizing Guide 2 1

5. Site Map 2 1

6. Product Search 2 1

Registration1. Benefits 4 1

2. Opt-Outs 3 2

3. Registration Requests 3 4

4. Resources 3 4

5. Privacy Notice 2 1

Vendors1. Vendor Organization 4 1

2. Ads 4 4

3. Co-Sponsored Content 3 3

4. Vendor Information 3 3

1 5 Low High

KEY:

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Conclusion and Next Steps

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Comparative Analysis: Final Observations

If these recommendations are incorporated, we believe that you will see

Increased registration rates Increased online sales Increased engagement with vendors through content &

ad placement

eCommerce Competitive and Comparative Analysis

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