Wednesday 18th March 2020
Bestway makes digital developments to improve shopping experience for online customers
Bestway Wholesale, the UK’s largest independent wholesaler, has made advancements to its digital platforms to improve the customer online shopping experience. The changes include improved product search, better web speed, easier multi-buy shopping and further utilisation of RNF’s customer engagement platform ‘Beam’.
The new search function launched on www.best-one.co.uk, which is automatically updated every day, enables customers to see the most popular products and the most-searched terms. Product recommendations are also shown to customers now, based on their basket and using data from other customers’ purchases.
For Bestway Wholesale and BB Foodservice customers it’s now easier to shop multi-buy promotions too, as prompts will display to ensure they select free promotional stock when the offer threshold is met. This not only adds value for customers; it also makes multi-buys a more attractive sales tool for suppliers by maximising the sales uplift online.
Kenton Burchell, Trading Director Bestway Wholesale comments: “Our digital developments are geared to make the customer online shopping experience more convenient, as we seek to maintain our position as digital leaders within wholesale. We also look for ways to help suppliers drive sales too.
“Recent updates are based on analysis of user behavior across our apps and websites. For example, we use ‘Beam’ - the customer engagement platform developed by our digital agency RNF - to manage supplier advertising campaigns across our apps. Through customer feedback, we have established the need to adapt this software and have worked with RNF to do this.”
Utilising the new functionality of Beam, Bestway is now able to advertise based on an app customer’s user behavior. Previously the same advertising campaign appeared every time a customer opened the app, even if the app was reopened after just a few minutes. With the new functionality, Bestway can limit the number of times a customer sees the same advert and the customer can dismiss ads they don’t want to see, guaranteeing they feel in control. This benefits suppliers too as their adverts are less likely to be dismissed as spam.
Rob Mannion founder and Managing Director of RNF said: “User experience is everything and customers that are high frequency app users do not want to be bombarded with the same ad multiple times a day. This new functionality allows Bestway to tailor this to its customers to ensure an optimum experience and better response rates to marketing communications.”
Bestway also rolled out new brand guidelines for supplier banner ads, providing a more-consistent experience and making adverts easier to shop, always including POR which is a key purchasing-decision factor. And, campaigns have become an integral part of the website, enabling customers to make more relevant and informed purchases during key occasions such as Pancake Day and Easter.
Products supply route is also now identified on the website within the customer basket too, so that customers can see when they’ve reached minimum order quantities for products from local depots and from the central chilled distribution centre.