Online green gifts retailer Tree2mydoor.com is planning to expand
internationally after relaunching its website on the Magento
platform. Among the new features are enhanced navigation,
improved customer account management and the introduction of a
loyalty programme. The relaunch follows nine years of trading on
its previous website.
Founder and director Gareth Mitchell was the driving force behind
the development and welcomes a new era in eco-friendly gifts.
“Our company has been focused on developing our core
operations, through the deployment of retail systems that didn’t
exist 10 years ago when the company was founded.” This
development of web-based systems makes international expansion a
“realistic and viable option” he says, adding that
Tree2mydoor can use international development “as a way to
generate greater sales growth without massive financial
outlay”.
The new website has been designed to create a clean interface
that customers can more easily navigate, providing an easier
shopping experience. The complete redesign of the website has
been driven by customer retention, satisfaction and service,
Mitchell explains, “A decision was made to rebuild the
Tree2mydoor.com website on a Magento ecommerce platform to allow
Tree2mydoor to develop sales in the UK and to expand into new
markets overseas. We will continue to innovate with our new
product development and our new website will allow us to work
with partner brands on a range of exciting projects in
2013.”
Currently, Tree2mydoor.com ships to the UK and Ireland but has
found constraints shipping to mainland Europe due to the high
price of transport costs. Mitchell says, “As we deal in
live plants and trees, we are currently unable to distribute
outside the EU. Our main focus over the past three years has been
to focus on UK while building up a robust business model that
could be adapted and implemented in other markets.” Going
forward, the focus will shift to replicate the business model in
differing overseas markets through local source and supply of
high quality plants and trees.
Crossing the Atlantic
International sales tend to be from overseas customers shopping
for delivery to UK residents, accounting for 15 percent of
business annually, says Mitchell, adding that since the company’s
inception in 2003, there has been “significant interest
from American consumers”. Naturally, therefore, expansion
to the US is a priority item on his agenda. “We would hope
that the sales within the US market would eclipse the UK sales
within a matter of two years,” he says.
Mitchell says he’s looking different opportunities at to grow the
company, including setting up direct operations, partnerships and
national licensing agreements-all controlled by its centralised
ecommerce platform. Supported by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI),
Mitchell will be undertaking business visits to the US in early
2013 establish business links and working relationships with
suppliers.
Tree2mydoor.com’s new website has gone live and has already had
positive effects on the business with a significant increase in
pre-Christmas gift orders.
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