Schuh expects mobile traffic to overtake desktop within 9 months as it prepares responsive site pilot
Schuh expects its mobile traffic to overtake desktop traffic within the next nine months, its deputy head of e-commerce admitted ahead of the roll out of a pilot for its new responsive website next month.
Speaking to The Drum after a presentation at this year’s Conversion London conference, Stuart McMillan discussed the new site, which will eventually run across desktop, mobile and tablet devices by next summer.
“We’re going to see a percentage drop in desktop traffic every month for the foreseeable future and for us that is sitting at 47 per cent with mobile currently sitting at 32 per cent,” he explained. “It is literally about seven or eight months until we’ll get more mobile traffic than desktop," he said, adding that the company's tablet traffic was currently around 21 per cent and set to grow next year, citing the expected boom in tablet ownership after Christmas as another reason for mobile and tablet user growth.
The new site, which was built in-house, is expected to hold a similar design to the retailer’s Branch309 website, with the pilot scheduled to begin on 23 November and have rolled out across all platforms by next May or June and include product videos.
“What we’re really looking to do is to offer a single digital view of Schuh to our customers. One of the most important things to us is a consistent customer experience online. We believe that no matter what device you are on online, you are going to use any of the services and we’re not going to say because on you’re on mobile you will have limited access. It allows us to have a single view of all Schuh’s services.”
Schuh began trading online in 2001, and rolled out its mobile site 10 years later, followed by its tablet site last year.