Internet lighting retailer 1000Bulbs.com has revealed a variety of customer experience improvements to their website in recent months. The aesthetic and functional changes are the product of suggestions by the lighting retailer's customer base and lighting industry experts. The improvements include a cleaner look, intuitive navigation, intelligent search, social network integration, customer reviews and a variety of tools for both businesses and consumers.
One of the most significant improvements to the website is an integrated product search that intelligently returns accurate search results while omitting any irrelevant results, a drastic change from the website's previous simple text search. The search also helps customers find products with "faceted" navigation of results, enabling the customer to filter results by price, manufacturer and other product specifications.
Customers may also save their frequently ordered products to "Favorites" folders. This feature provides users with the ability to repeat recent orders without re-adding each product to their shopping cart. Similar customer-oriented features include an address book and payment method selector, which allow users to save multiple addresses and credit card numbers for shipping or payment. For the first time, international customers may also order from the site and ship to addresses outside the US.
Customers, too, have enhanced the 1000Bulbs.com shopping experience by writing more than 5,000 product reviews. The site’s new review functionality allows customers to write a review, give a product a rating from one to five stars and evaluate the effectiveness and value of the product. The review area also encourages customers to upload application photos for display on the product page. Other customers can vote on the helpfulness of individual reviews and share their favorite reviews via Facebook, Twitter or Digg. 1000Bulbs.com customer reviews are also archived at dedicated subdomain of the site as a customer shopping aid.
An improved feature aimed at commercial clients is the new “quotes” area. The feature allows a 1000Bulbs.com sales representative to send quotes for large-quantity orders to clients’ account pages for their review. Customers may review the quotes for a 30-day period by logging into their account. The quotes area is one of many features designed to integrate the company’s web and person-to-person sales experiences.
1000Bulbs.com also enhanced preexisting features after carefully assessing customer feedback. The site's well-known category-based navigation tool is still intact but is cleaner and simpler with the added advantage of side-by-side product comparisons. The company also reworked its product recommendation tool to collect previous client data and deliver corresponding and related products to the client. "The site will only get better with time," says CEO Kim Pedersen. "We believe the website will provide the same ease-of-use customers are used to, but with constantly-evolving features that will stay one step ahead of their needs."
Indeed, 1000Bulbs.com also plans to launch several more features and improvements in the coming months. Some of these features include tighter integration with social media sites, further streamlined faceted navigation, and interactive "finder" tools that allow customers to select ballasts based on lamp type and number and to find batteries and automotive lamps based on vehicle make and model.
About 1000Bulbs.com: 1000Bulbs.com is an award-winning Internet-based lighting retailer. The company offers everything from simple, household light bulbs to cutting-edge specialty lighting systems. Nationally recognized for growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction, 1000Bulbs.com is an influential force in the lighting industry.
