Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS @ WORK
Art.com was an early Web pioneer, launching in 1995 with the pur-
pose of selling all kinds of visual art online. Since then, Art.com
has assisted over 4 million customers in decorating their walls by
providing a virtual gallery of approximately 400,000 images. The
company operates in both the United States and Europe and
employs more than 500 worldwide.
Art.com has over 12 million visitors to its Web sites per
month, most of whom visit the site without making a purchase.
Art.com wanted to increase the percentage of visitors that make
purchases—known as the conversion rate—by improving its Web
site. With 12 million visitors, even a small improvement could
mean a major increase in profits. The challenge was that the Web
site had been continuously revised during the company's many
years in business, and Art.com's management did not know what
changes would improve the visitor's experience. They certainly
didn't want to risk changes that might inadvertently turn visitors
away.
With the goal clearly articulated to “increase the conversion
rate by offering the best customer experience,” Art.com systems
analysts began to investigate what portions of the current system
worked well and what portions could be improved.
The systems investigation proved to be no small task. Art.com
draws thousands of images from product lines offered by many
online properties. The company had been using a traditional Web
analytics information system that recorded information such as
number of visitors and which products were most popular; how-
ever, the system did not evaluate information on site obstacles that
might be discouraging sales. Art.com needed a system that could
provide more telling information such as key performance indica-
tors (KPI) that suggested what customers did not like about its site.
The systems team found an off-the-shelf solution that per-
formed more detailed Web analysis. The “online customer experi-
ence management solution” allowed systems investigators to view
key performance indicators and then review the qualitative details
of individual customer sessions on the site. Viewing the basic ana-
lytics allowed the investigators to quickly find trends in customer
activity. Drilling down into those trends allowed the investigators to
“play back” a customer's activities on the site to determine where
the customer experienced problems or decided to leave the site.
Rather than having to guess what was happening on the site,
investigators could track the action in real time.
Using the new online customer experience management solu-
tion allowed Art.com to make several improvements to its Web site
that contributed to a significant increase in conversion rate and
prevented possible disasters.
One example of disaster recovery took place when Art.com
sent sale coupons to many of its customers. Unfortunately, the
coupon numbers were not entered into the back-end system, so
when customers with coupons checked out, they received an
“invalid coupon code” error message. Most abandoned their
purchase at that point. Art.com's new Web analytics tool alerted
management to the problem within hours. The coupon codes were
added to the back-end system, and because user data was collect-
ed by the system, Art.com contacted those who were frustrated by
the error and enticed them back. The quick correction of the prob-
lem probably saved Art.com $25,000 of revenue per day.
In another example, the checkout process at Art.com's French
site was displaying error messages to customers using outdated
browsers. Art.com's new system caught the problem when the
alarm was raised and management corrected the problem within
days. Again, customers who experienced difficulties were contact-
ed and enticed to return.
In a third example, Art.com's new system showed investiga-
tors that up to 20,000 visitors referred by Web search engines were
greeted with a page that informed them that “sorry, this product is
no longer available.” Web developers at Art.com changed the mes-
sage to be less negative and more inviting by providing alternative
products that might interest those visitors.
Systems analysts depend on tools to provide them with infor-
mation on which portions of systems are working and which are
not. Analyzing a Web site such as Art.com is like analyzing pedes-
trian traffic in a major city—it's impossible without appropriate
tools. Using powerful Web analytics and an online customer expe-
rience management system, systems analysts can continuously
review and investigate the effect that the system is having on Web
site visitors, launching systems development projects as needed.
Discussion Questions
1.
What was Art.com's biggest challenge in improving their
customers' online experience?
2.
How does the new online system allow Art.com to launch sys-
tems development projects that can improve sales?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
What are some useful functions of a good Web analytics and
online customer experience management system?
2.
During which stages of the systems development life cycle can
Web analytics be useful, and why?
SOURCES: Tealeaf staff, “Art.com: Purveyor of the World's Largest Selection
of Wall Décor,” Computerworld/TeaLeaf, 2007,
http://
item=13&from= cw&src=cwlp;
Art.com Web site,
www.art.com,
accessed
July 12, 2008; Tealeaf Web site,
www.tealeaf.com,
accessed July 12, 2008.
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