Tuesday November 14, 4:02 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Nordstrom.com Enhances Customer Experience Online During Busy Holiday Season
Company to fulfill customers' wishes for convenient shopping and comprehensive selection
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2000--Nordstrom.com, the online fashion specialty retailer, today announced site enhancements such as live chat and assisted browsing, improved online merchandising and fulfillment initiatives designed to answer the needs of its customers. Nordstrom.com has created these initiatives to bring customers the satisfying, hassle-free shopping experience they want and need during hectic holiday times.
``We build our business around our customers, and the holiday season calls for special attention to those customers' needs,'' said Dan Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom.com. ``Our site enhancements, online merchandising efforts that make finding that perfect gift easy, and fulfillment operations are designed with the customer in mind and are structured to best serve them.''
Focus on the Customer:
Nordstrom.com is committed to providing customers with the level of service that they associate with Nordstrom stores. For example, Nordstrom.com is introducing ``live help'' which allows customers to chat online in real time with personal shoppers. These representatives will be available via toll-free phone number or email 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the holiday season, matching the needs of an always-open online store. Personal shoppers also will be able to present pages of content directly so that customers can locate exactly what they want quickly and easily.
Another aspect of making shopping easy for the customer is Nordstrom.com's hassle-free return policy: a Tyvek postage-paid envelope is included with each order or, if a customer chooses, items can also be returned directly to any Nordstrom store.
Merchandising:
Following the fall 2000 launch of online fashion boutiques, Nordstrom.com continues to enhance both the site's selection of merchandise and the ease with which customers navigate through the more than 330,000 items on the site. To address the challenges of holiday gift buying, Nordstrom.com is launching a more robust gift finder allowing customers to choose from a variety of lifestyles, price ranges, as well as gender, to find the perfect gift for friends and family. The site also will feature an array of specialty shops that highlight the convenience of shopping online. For example, there will be a section for gifts in various price ranges as well as specialty shops for popular items such as cashmere and leather. Nordstrom.com offers the same breadth of merchandise as a Nordstrom store. Nordstrom catalogs also can be viewed on the site.
Fulfillment:
Nordstrom.com has developed an innovative approach to inventory management that helps ensure speedy order fulfillment and delivery in time for the holidays. Implementing a unique three-tier system for inventory (its own fulfillment center, secondary warehouses and vendor warehouses), Nordstrom.com can offer a massive merchandise selection while maintaining efficiency and continuing to own and manage the relationship with the customer. This inventive solution allows year-round efficiency but is particularly valuable during the holiday season allowing for last minute orders.
Last-minute orders of in-stock items will be accepted until 10:00 a.m. PST on December 23rd for guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve (December 24th) at overnight rates. Customers can also purchase gifts of in-stock items up until 12 p.m. PST on December 20th for guaranteed delivery by December 24th at standard rates.
Multi-Channel Integration:
Nordstrom.com, in conjunction with parent company Nordstrom Inc., has developed marketing campaigns that maximize a cross-channel synergy from brick-and-mortar to online. For example, as a special holiday marketing and community outreach effort, Nordstrom Inc. and Nordstrom.com will join forces to bring Olive the Other Reindeer to customers throughout the Nordstrom shopping channels. This includes exclusive Olive merchandise and a charity donation to the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation with the purchase of an Olive book.
In addition, cross-channel marketing efforts include the Nordstrom.com URL prominently featured on store bags and other collateral, and incentives for customers to turn to the Web site within Nordstrom direct mail catalogs. Nordstrom.com also will continue its colorful e-mail marketing campaign for registered users. No matter what their preferred shopping environment, customers are encouraged to feel that Nordstrom.com is there to offer the merchandise they want, where and when they want it.
About Nordstrom.com
Nordstrom.com, the online fashion specialty retailer, brings a 99-year history of customer service, selection, quality and value to the Internet. Offering one of the Web's most extensive selections of quality name-brand fashions, shoes and accessories, Nordstrom.com is an enjoyable, convenient online shopping destination designed to meet the needs of each individual customer. Nordstrom.com, which includes the company's online and catalog businesses, was established as a subsidiary of Nordstrom Inc. in the fall of 1999 when it formally launched NORDSTROMshoes.com, the world's biggest shoe store. Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN - news) is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 120 U.S. stores located in 23 states, including 77 full-line stores, 37 Nordstrom Racks, three Faconnable boutiques, two freestanding shoe stores, and one clearance store. Nordstrom also operates 25 Faconnable boutiques throughout Europe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Nordstrom.com
Shasha Richardson, 206/215-7549
shasha.richardson@nordstrom.com
or
Niehaus Ryan Wong
Meghan Searles, 650/827-7057
meghan@nrwpr.com
Andrea Roesch, 650/827-7032
andrea@nrwpr.com |
