Leicester, UK – June 2022 – three of the powerful business partnerships that represent the heart of the Williams Commerce approach to digital engagement have been recognised as shortlisted entries for this year’s More 2 Direct Commerce Awards. There’s much excitement in anticipation of the Awards Dinner at the Millennium Hotel Conference Centre in London on 23 June. (Now changed to 3rd October 2022)
Rob Williams, CEO at Williams Commerce says: “The DCA was founded by retailers for retailers, so we are very proud to receive recognition in multiple categories from direct commerce leaders. Our aim is always to build long-term partnerships with our clients and to help them scale their businesses in a multichannel world. After a turbulent two years it’s a tribute to the commitment and resilience of the sector that we can continue to look forward with a positive attitude.”
For over 20 years the Direct Commerce Awards have celebrated the best in the industry and this year they also highlight those who have responded successfully in challenging times. The Awards recognise unique brands that deliver something special to their customers. They are also highly motivational appreciation for the exceptional teams involved.
The shortlisted award categories
City Lit in partnership with Williams Commerce for the Best Business to Business Performance – Education & Training Products
City Lit provides retail-focused online and classroom-based courses for adults. They range from workshops to year-long learning programmes in everything from art and design to health and wellbeing.
Williams Commerce worked with the City Lit team to migrate to a new online platform that would support their growth plans with minimal disruption. The goal was to deliver outstanding user experiences (UX) at all their online touchpoints with prospective and existing customers.
This included integrated payment and customer support, improved content-led email marketing, and safe migration of all their products, content and customer information to their new Adobe Commerce Cloud ecosystem.
The quality and performance of their new ecommerce solution has improved organisational resilience and increased financial growth. Students can now enjoy a more intuitive offering and there’s been a noticeable increase in online conversion rates and rankings.
John Smedley in partnership with Williams Commerce for the Best Business to Consumer Performance – Fashion & Accessories
The long-established John Smedley fashion brand creates luxury knitwear for men and women at the world’s oldest manufacturing factory in rural Derbyshire.
The company wanted to increase conversion rates and enhance its digital offering for contemporary audiences by providing exceptional user experiences without losing its sense of tradition. It chose Adobe Commerce for the new platform, embracing powerful tools including a reward scheme, customer segmentation, content staging and visual merchandising.
The site has a new design and multiple stores can be selected through its country select option. Custom pages can now be built in as little as 10 minutes and bespoke modules were added to the platform’s core along with key integrations with Prima, Feefo and Ometria.
The John Smedley team has seen year on year revenue increase by more than 10.5%, with 30% more site users and the average order value rising by over 20%.
The Courtauld in partnership with Un.titled (part of Williams Commerce) Best Business to Consumer Performance – Charity
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a major public gallery for fine art and is home to an internationally-renowned centre for research and learning about the visual arts. The breadth of The Courtauld’s offering and the range of audiences made the project both exciting and challenging.
Un.titled, part of the Williams Commerce family since 2017, has 20 years’ experience of developing websites for other visitor-focused organisations. The Courtauld’s existing website could not meet its future goals to create awareness, drive footfall and increase revenue.
The team worked with brand design agency Spy to embed The Courtauld’s updated identity into every aspect of its redeveloped site. The data-driven and audience-focused process included a three-year digital marketing roadmap, ecommerce development and integration, ticketing integration and a performance framework with KPI-focused dashboards.
The results so far have been impressive, delivering significant increases in transactions, online revenue and sessions. New user flows, optimised user experiences (UX), improved user interfaces (UI) and accessibility are all helping The Courtauld begin a new digital chapter.
Background
Shaun Williamson, who played Eastenders character Barry Evans for a decade before returning to the theatre, will be the celebrity host for the Direct Commerce Awards event. He is a patron of Action Medical Research. Action Medical Research funds research into diseases that affect sick and disabled babies, children and young people. The charity will benefit from monies raised on the night.
Since Williams Commerce was founded in 2009 the focus has always been on delivering transformational digital outcomes for clients. We focus on the intersection between incredible customer experience and deep technical capability. Expertise ranges from building new ecommerce experiences to improving online revenue growth and delivering integration across multiple systems. This is why we have been the ecommerce partner of choice for many leading businesses and brands.
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