WEBSITE AESTHETICS

Brick and Mortar vs E-commerce   

Since its inception in 2007 The Lacoste E-commerce store has made great strides in achieving revenue and improving brand positioning. Previously Lacoste didn’t have an online presence which hindered the brand here in the United States as the product offering was much difference from France. Lacoste and brick and mortar stores provide a great aesthetic to the brand from its Flagship on Madison Ave. to the boutiques set up in Macy’s departments. The flagship store on 5th avenue has classic Lacoste design. It has a floating staircase, glass balustrades, illuminated pans and leather wrapped hand rails. Also the chandeliers and faux crocodile upholstered on the walls is a must see. 

Lacoste 541 Broadway, SOHO

Polo Bar

Floating Glass Staircase

E-Commerce Experience

 Although the website isn’t able to to provide  the same aesthetic it has its own strong points. The U.S. e-commerce store makes up for its the unique and fulfilling shopping experience it provides to all its customers while maintaining a high standard for quality product. Lacoste E-commerce store makes up for more than half of its U.S. revenue. On the e-commerce site you can view the same product line but tend to experience deeper discounts due to Flash Sales and promotional sales.

When you first log on to www.lacoste.com you are brought to Flash based home screen which contains links for all the content on the website. This includes news, upcoming events, fragrances, accessories, blogs, shop locations and social media content. Also included here is a link that takes you the U.S. e-commerce shop. The interactivity of this home screen makes for an exciting and fun experience that is also pleasing to the eye because it has many colorful images and beautiful models wearing Lacoste sportswear.

As you click on the link to the web shop for Lacoste you are taken to the e-commerce main page which features NOIR which is Lacoste's brand new fragrance that launched earlier this month. If you stay on that page for a few minutes you will notice a slide show of the products they want to feature and promote.

This page also features many links to begin your shopping experience and help you navigate to any content on the website. The options that you have to choose from include but are not limited to company information, shopping product, customer assistance and shipping/returns. Also on this main page are opportunities to create a Lacoste account to limit your transaction time and there are also links to all social networking accounts for the company.

 

To maintain the traditional and historical theme the website maintains a very simple layout with little to no color. The site was only launched six years ago and this is evident by the crowded home page in which all the necessary information is thrown at the eyes of the viewer. They continue to make improvements on the site by adding various information and interactive opportunities to the site. This simple display makes the shopping experience seamless and memory is not an issue here. The advantages of having basic layout is the ease of going from page to page and makes the opening of various links extremely fast. 

All product images are taken on a model and then edited for use on the e-commerce site. The images are provided in various colors and allow you to zoom in as you hover over them for a better idea on how the garment looks. There is little to no product description here other than fabric content. This can hinder those customers who are new to the site and the brand. They are unable to know how an item fits and what size they should be purchasing. 

One great feature is the online chat. The company places focus on customer service and this chat is the best example of that. Speaking to a live person about your order and the product you want to purchase enhances the shopping experience and can sometimes be the deciding factor in making a sale in e-commerce 

With Mother's Day right around the corner there is a GIFT option on the main page to help the customer find something special for the women in their family. This kind of interactive option allows for easy shopping which saves the customer lots of time in this day and age where instant gratification is key.

Here is a video showing the ease of use for the site by showing the steps from the home page to the checkout screen.