Refactoring Technical Product Specifications Led to a 20% CR Lift

Challenge

One of the first things I did when I was hired at Targus, was to launch a post-visit user survey to better understand who was coming to the website and gauge the overall helpfulness of the site experience. Through analysis of the survey data, we

• Nearly 80% of users came to the website to either research or buy products. The rest were there for customer support.

• Less than half (46%) of those users found our website to be helpful

• When asked why, over 65% indicated “product information”

When I shared this information within the marketing organization, we all came to the same conclusion – product specifications. For example, here were the product specifications that we had served to customers for two different 17” laptop backpacks.

What we had was insufficient for determining device compatibility, inconsistent from product to product, and generally unhelpful in aiding purchase decision. Additionally, product specifications also powered filtering on the website and without good product data, it would be difficult to find the right backpack or other accessory compatible with their laptop.

Solution

To provide more helpful information to website visitors, we had to offer better product specifications that:

• Would provide the information customers needed to make an informed purchase decision (i.e. the laptop pocket dimensions)

• Were listed in consistent fashion from product to product

In order to do this, we created unique specification structures for 13 different product categories, from backpacks to docking stations to keyboards and mice, and implemented them across 450+ SKUs. And we made sure that for every product category, specifications were listed in the same order and offered the information that a shopper would need to make a buying decision.

Here are the re-factored specification tables for the same two products mentioned above.

Results

• Improved filtering capability was observed at the category level. Clickthrough rates from the product listing page (PLP) to the product detail page (PDP) increased by over 30%.

• Pre/post analysis of site conversion rates showed more than a 20% improvement

Takeaways

• Improving the quality of product specifications, particularly for accessory products where compatibility information is key, was a significant success.

• While having them improved the site experience, we were also able to distribute them via a feed to large national retailers and resellers.