Digital publishing for Matalan 'look books'
By Retail Technology | Wednesday June 25 2014
Value retailer deploys digital publishing software for easier online ‘look books’ update
UK clothing and homeware retailer Matalan is using digital publishing as part of its online strategy to facilitate frequent web updates to its product section.
Matalan is using the Zmags Publicator to update various areas of its website, including its HTML5 optimised ‘Life & Style’ ‘look books’ section, in a quicker, more frequent manner.
The aim of digital optimisation is to create a more immersive experience for customers, resulting in more time spent engaging with the content. It’s hoped the solution will drive more revenue for Matalan, as it enables the creation of animations, interactive elements and rich media that can be accessed from desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices.
Early adopter
Matalan has also been announced as an early adopter of the Zmags Creator platform, which is scheduled for wide release this September.
Creator is being used by Matalan to build rich interactive experiences for several of the website’s category landing pages. The retailer’s creative team has used this product, which is still in its Beta, to develop animation and other rich media on what is described by Zmags as “a significantly reduced timeline”.
Matalan was founded in 1985 by John Hargreaves and provides clothing and accessories along with home décor designs at competitive price points.
Online drive
Last year, the value retailer started using a new multivariate e-commerce testing in complement to its physical store growth. While the retailer has a considerable bricks-and-mortar presence, with more than 200 out-of-town stores in the UK and a further 10 stores in the Middle East, the project was designed to help Matalan drive sales and enhance customer engagement online.
Its online store, which launched in 2008, was described as growing at a significant rate and has been identified as a key driver for the future growth of the business.
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