Outfitting online customers

Family apparel retailer Hanna Andersson wanted a Web site that was as sophisticated as the online shoppers who frequent it.

Alison Polenz, VP of marketing for Hanna Andersson, explains, "Our site currently offers the ability to search by item number only. Based on consistent customer feedback, we decided it was time to invest in site search and merchandising. Our customers are sophisticated online shoppers, and want an intuitive and rewarding experience when it comes to looking for just the right clothing item, or complete outfits for the whole family."

She continues, "Improving the browse experience is our first priority. We're looking forward to offering customers an easy way to sort products and dynamically refine their selections. Mercado's merchandising capabilities will also enable us to automate cross-selling and up-selling, so we can, for example, easily and effectively execute our 'complete the look' and family dressing merchandising strategies."

After looking into a number of products, company officials chose Mercado Software. Polenz describes the reasoning behind the choice. "We want our customers to be able to find outfits and not just items—this understanding of merchandising was key to selecting Mercado," she says. "The solution—its merchandising functionality and the underlying technology—was the favorite of both our business and IT teams."

In addition to its online site, Hanna Andersson has more than 10 retail stores and an international mail order catalog business.