According to Miller (2012), John Lewis is one of the leading upmarket chain stores in the Great Britain, dealing in a variety of products ranging from home and garden equipments to sportswear among other products. The organization opened its first outlet in 1964 along the Oxford Street in London. Since then, the business has grown numerous branches in most parts of the United Kingdom. The up-market was initiated as a partnership business between 2 individuals that is John and Lewis friends who have made the business to gain popularity in countries such as England, Scotland and Wales (Miller, 2012). The John Lewis up-market chain store is organized into different departmental stores hence making it much easier for customers to access their products of choice. Besides, the business has embraced a more flexible format with an offer of a wide range of products like fashions and a variety of assortments available on shop floors hence drawing the attention of customers and further enhances their loyalty.

Analysis of John Lewis website using the ABC segmentation method

Through the use of the ABC segmentation model, John Lewis has properly classified its products on the website depending on the customers to calibrate resources and allocate them easily for sales and marketing. Further, the organization has deployed an ABC technique as part of the part of customers’ investment and retention practice. The process has been embraced to fast track the need for customers and offers them a technical support in a more affordable way that also increases target to enhance revenue margins. Based on the ABC segmentation model, John Lewis classifies products in various categories depending on the need where A represents extremely important, B represents moderately important and C not very important (Dalton and Stone, 2011).

A: items

A spot-check from john Lewis website indicates home and garden furniture as the first link. The layout has been designed due to the fact that home garden and furniture equipments forms part of the vital items in the most homesteads. As such, up on loading of the lewis website, customers are able to check on the link that deduce them in to buying of John Lewis products that they can afford to miss from their homes. Besides, pointing at the written links gives a provision of a dropdown menu with a continuous list of items designed for a specific unit or premise (Vidyamurthy, 2004). Following a focus on the management prospects, the website layout makes it clear that products that have been pinned on the first link are more likely to generate an uproar of over 60% in revenues s from the customers’ purchases (Vidyamurthy, 2004).

The “A items” part of the ABC segmentation pose a great importance regardless of the fact that it is not possible for it to work independently. Being in close association with a bigger percentage of the business metrics, the A part of the model maximizes the effectiveness of John Lewis, marketing effort towards the understanding of the customers’ needs and impacts on their motivation to buy the rest of the other products that do even fall in the similar segment. In addition, fashion wares that constitute both women, men, beauty, children and toys have been allocated within the same cluster thus creating a combination of relationship strength and readiness for customers who would want top model easily across similar line of products. First glimpse on the John Lewis website layout indicates that A part of the ABC Model gives an overview of the warehouse arrangement and storage pattern where A items are deemed closer to the customers’ usage point.

Vidyamurthy (2004), argues that to scale up the efficiency and effect of expansion, John Lewis focuses a lot of effort on the expansion effort of customers’ potentiality to buy certain products perceived to be in high demand. For instance, John Lewis website users do not strain to allocate products in need because a simple placement cursor on a definite link gives provision to a wide list of products where they can simply place an order (Datta, 2006).

B items

Based on the customer segmentation model, products that are perceived second in generating organizations are promoted in a similar cluster. As such, a similar assumption has not been ignored by John Lewis in the designing of their website towards customers’ accessibility towards a variety of products (Datta, 2006; Rosenberg, 2004). In essence, John Lewis has designed the company’s website layout by allocating links for electrical, men and women accessories in the second cluster after home and garden accessories because customers’ access to such products may not draw much investment into the organizational revenue. However, with proper encouragement nurturing, a good number of customers can be easily convinced to turn them into A items. While accessing the B items, products by customers from the John Lewis website, some of the products are located in the last column of the column of every link (Tolkien, 2014). Such a design gives clear evidence that the products are not in high demand or are meant for promotional purposes. As such, they entice customers into purchasing of goods and services in addition to what is contained in their price list clarify (Tolkien, 2014).

C items

With respect to ABC segmentation model, C items form part of the customers and products that may have very minimal impact top the business (Hatch, 2013; Lewis & Patterson, 2014). Such a consideration has enabled john Lewis to consider placing gifts, special offers and shop brands at the extreme edge on the website. As explained by (CIM & Marketing Knowledge, 2005), the layout has been mainly designed to reduce the waste management time and attention of customers into purchasing products that are less committal towards the generation of the organizational revenue. As pointed out by Leon (2008), from the website layout, a list of such products has been grouped into common regions; types and specificity hence they do not require unsophisticated technique or subsequent review. By designing the link for special offer with a very minimal number of links, the business has put in place enough strategies to improve users who are either of annoying personalities into buying products that would generate more returns to the organization (CIM & Marketing Knowledge, 2005).

Web site evaluation

From the general perspective layout and the design of the John Lewis website is absolutely and luminous. Up on loading the website, the user is prompted by the company name John Lewis written in blue colors that gives users an immediate impression that that one is on the right site. To the extreme right hand side, there is a sign in interface where users or customers who may also be prospective buyers can sign in using their credential in case they would want to make transactions online. Besides, it also helps in building trust with the prospective customers that their credentials are secured while accessing the site.

Right below the company name, the company has uses links to group categories of products with a continuous list of various products in a subsequent drop down list. Most of all, the products layout is written on white background, thus improving the users’ visibility while accessing the list, the list of products (In Quarter et al. 2014).

A spot-check on the center of the John Lewis website are animations of product samples that moves from that moves from the left to the right. Such animations have been designed to draw the attention of customers concerning new, discounted or trending products. The website has been designed of very cool and less shouting color that gives an impression which assimilates an impression to the customers that whatever the type of products and services they shall receive from the business are of good quality. Moreover, a broader section almost 75% has been covered by images that form part of the organizational products characterized by links that links the users to the products location where they can access the exact features of the product and place orders.

At the bottom of the John Lewis website are forward links for customer service, help center and more information about the organization. At the bottom of such links are lists of provisional links that make it easier to narrow down the search depending on what on what the user wants. The website design also gives provision for users to sign in for news letters or offers and post in their ideas on improvements that users expect out of the business. At the right hand side are several links integrated into 3different forms hence making it easier for customers to explore a wide range of products other information about the that have not been placed on the other sections of the website.

Ranking in the search engine

Locating of John Lewis through the Google search engine indicates that the website has been highly optimized because the link to the company will load at the top most on the first page on the Google search engine (Peterson, 2005). In addition, the page also displays additional links showing how the organization has been rated globally hence it clarifies on the popularity of the company against other rival firms that operates in a similar line of products.

Moreover, an initial search gives a sneak review on various products that are offered by the company. As such, it draws much attention of the customers that they are on the right path towards John Lewis products and services. In addition, john Lewis has been has featured 5, 271 times as the top most pages in the search engine. Ultimately, an SEO preview of the word john Lewis shows that the company maintaining position 1with Ipad Air and having been clicked by most of the users.

The website has been customized to load very first that most than most of the other sites. However, a review of john Lewis website using Skyfu shows that that organization has gained recommendation as one of the most lucrative site through online marketing software hence making as one of the most popular upmarket in the Great Britain. Moreover, the Skyfu keyword gains indicates that john Lewis Google search has gained tremendous improvement by over 15 positive re views in terms of position change right from 17 and ma monthly charge value of $151 (Farber, 2011). Therefore, online optimization of john Lewis URL indicates an organization as a lucrative business in terms of online users’ accessibility.

Recommendation of areas that need to be improved

Despite the fact john Lewis Company has gained recommendable reputation in terms of stock and in the online platform, the organizational website requires a bit of adjustments son as to enhance the profitability of the company. For instance, some of the company’s fonts are very small and have been designed in very faint colors. As such, adjustments would be required to increase the font sizes and the colors so as to draw the attention of the users. In addition, the company’s physical address and contact information has been located is written at the extreme bottom of the page and is likely to give most users difficult time in accessibility. As such, it should be moved to a visible position at the top most part of the page to enhance accessibility.

The website has several links with almost every product having an independent link that makes it tedious and slows down accessibility to such products. Therefore, it is recommended that the company should consider redesigning the layout in form of a simple list and instead redirect the links to the shopping basket for the customers who have may have made a decision to place an order.

Conclusion

John Lewis has gained reputation as an up-market in the Great Britain with several outlets across the United Kingdom. The paper has given a sneak preview how the company maximizes returns through simplistic design of the website characterized by simple colors and use of images. The paper also illustrates how the company uses animations on the site to draw attention of customers concerning new, discounted or trending products. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates the company’s ranking with the aid of Google search engine while points on various measures that need to be improved on the website layout so as to advance the company’s profitability.

Reference list

Miller, D. (2012). Consumption and its consequences. Cambridge: Polity.

Dalton, N and Stone, D. (2011). Frommer’s England 2012 & the best of Wales. West Sussex,     UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Vidyamurthy, G. (2004). Pairs trading: Quantitative methods and analysis. Hoboken, N.J: J.     Wiley.

Datta, Y. (2006). Market segmentation: an integrated framework. Long Range Planning, 29(6),     797-811.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (2014). The letters of JRR Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Hatch, L. (2013). Keys to Terrific Customer Service: 4th Edition. TCR Press.

Leon, A. (2008). Enterprise resource planning. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.

Chartered Institute of Marketing and Marketing Knowledge. (2005). Analysis and evaluation.     Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.

In Quarter, J., In Ryan, S., and In Chan, A. (2014). Social purposes enterprises: Case studies for     social change.

Peterson, E. T. (2005). Web site measurement hacks. Beijing [u.a.: O’Reilly.

Farber, R. (2011). CUDA application design and development. Waltham, MA: Morgan     Kaufmann.

Lewis, J., and Patterson, J. (2014). Romans and Work.

Rosenberg, L., Palmer, J. R., Zauber, A. G., Warshauer, M. E., Lewis, J. L., Strom, B. L., … &     Shapiro, S. (2004). A case-control study of oral contraceptive use and invasive epithelial     ovarian cancer. American journal of epidemiology, 139(7), 654-661.