E Business

Website purpose

Argos

Aims of Argos website:

The main aim of the website Argos is to attract customers to buy goods and services online. As you enter the website, there is a range of services offered: there are many promotional offers online, search and reserve, looking for goods in stock in your local store, insurance, and many others. One of the aims of the website is to maximize revenue for the company.

By having an online website Argos is able to; introduce new customers, keep existing customers happy, news updates, staff section and most importantly show customers what their organization is about and what they sell. The Argos website aims to cut cost, being able to purchase online will cut down on staff costs and many others. The website offers discounts on certain products to attract customers to purchase goods online, sharing the burden of the stores. Cutting costs could be another aim for the Argos website. Here are the aims explained in full:

"We provide our customers with the best value for money through the most convenient shopping experience"

Increasing sales & leading to maximizing profits:

Argos.co.uk does certainly aim to increase it sales. The way the website has been designed, allows anyone using the companies to feel comfort and ease as they browse the website. The website aim is to increase sales as argos.co.uk is like other Argos stores but it is virtual and can be accessed only by World Wide Web (www) which in other words means that their website is another channel of distribution.

However the company Argos sells more than simply its fundamental products. Argos.co.uk focuses on increasing its range of goods and services so that sales are increased. For example a customer can purchase more ranges and varieties of goods and services like insurance and loans etc on the Argos website but cannot access these facilities upon entering their stores, therefore increasing sales online.

In addition argos.co.uk increases sales by putting up further discounts when shopping online. Argos.co.uk do this as another way to increase their sales online. By shopping online, the customers of Argos can enjoy a less stressful journey to their local stores and save more money. Nevertheless this makes customer want to join and therefore argos.co.uk is gaining more customers, who shop online, which increases their sales.

Cutting costs:

Having an online presence means that a business cost will go up. In the long run it will also make the company more money and save some as well. The good thing about an online presence for a company means that the business can save money in other areas. the website can provide the same goods and services and much more, without having to go into a store.

This means that Argos is saving a hell of a lot of money because if they were to have a store that provides all the goods and services they offer on their websites, it will cost them a lot more to hire or buy the store and bills, staff wages etc and other things will come into the equation.

With the website they can have less staff hired, saving them money and they can be more efficient of their resources and staff. A website doesn't cost too much to build and maintain compared to opening another store and maintaining that. So a website for Argos is a cost effective way of increasing sales and attracting more customers whilst keeping the costs down.

'Argos is one of the country's most popular retailers and we are determined to stay ahead of the competition by constantly evaluating our market and the way we do business to ensure that we are always delivering the best choice, value and convenience to our customers.'

Improving customer service:

Argos.co.uk aims to keep its website updated daily to keep customers satisfied and to always improve the level of customer service. The website always aims to satisfy each customer that visits the site. Hosting special offers and lower prices online almost rewards the customers that visit online, meaning the customers who visit are kept happy and mite repeat sales with company.

Having theses sorts of offers doesn't necessarily mean good customer service, by making the websites easily accessibly, and easy to browse and use, makes the customers feel a lot more comfortable and allow the customer to shop which leads to improved sales. Argos.co.uk has a link where it leads to a questionnaire, which asks customers who have made a purchase a series of questions which monitor the performances of the website and customer service they have received.

They also ask the consumer about any suggestions they might have which the company can use to improve the level of customer service. Ultimately these suggestions lead the customer to come back for repeat sales and also improve the level of sales for Argos. Finding out a about a product or a service is made easy on the website. Any enquiries a customer might have can be easily solved because both Argos has a link where you can type in the number of the product or service, making the enquiries dealt with haste. This is an essential link as it cuts down on time wasted looking for a product.

Yet in addition a section such as Frequently Asked Questions help customers to save time in problems solving. Enabling customers to contact a customer helpline by e-mail is a simple and cost effective way of providing better customer service. However

Customers value the time savings of not having to drive to the store, do the manual labour of picking up the goods or services and not having to stand in line, or queues and then making the journey home. Argos.co.uk is a good link between the customers and the company and it allows the business to improve sales whilst not being face to face saving time and money. Argos has a lot of useful tools and features customers can use before leaving the comforts of their homes. These tools and features are: the check and reserve, stock checker, quick pay kiosks and the Argos direct delivery service. All of which can be accessed via the Argos website.

Appealing to a global market:

Argos website is only available in the U.K hence the address. Argos is currently retailing all over Europe and has a global presence as it is the third largest catalogue store chain in the world. Argos