Wickes uses online reviews to increase brand loyalty

CASE STUDY: WICKES

Situation

Do-it-yourself (DIY) retailer Wickes wanted to increase awareness of the fact that 95 per cent of the products it sells are own-brand, as part of a new multichannel campaign around the tagline: "It's got our name on it."

"Wickes is a major brand in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector, but many people are surprised when they discover the fantastic quality of our Wickes brand products," said Keith Hamilton, Wickes' ecommerce general manager.

The retailer wanted to enhance trust in its brand and products by encouraging greater customer interaction. It wanted to give users the power to influence the buyer decisions of others by introducing ratings and reviews on its website.

Solution

The retailer added the Ratings & Reviews solution from provider Bazaarvoice to its website just before last year's traditional Easter holidays' DIY rush, in order to help shoppers make more informed buying decisions.

The fact that many other retailers were using web rating and reviews features persuaded the company that it was a proven method of creating a useful customer conversation about products, according to Lubna Seago, Wickes' customer experience manager.

"Also, in our sector home improvement and DIY we were one of the first to look at this," she said, adding the implementation was "very straightforward".

Wickes initially persuaded customers to contribute reviews by offering incentives either discounts on future purchases or the opportunity to win gift vouchers.