Specsavers

Specsavers is the world's largest privately owned optical group, with more than 1,800 stores operating in 10 countries. Two thirds of the adult population already wear glasses or contact lenses and by the time we are in our 60s, nearly 90% of us will require corrective vision. Currently one in four people who wear glasses buy them from Specsavers. (Source: GfK Marketing Services).

Specsavers is one of the most recognisable brands on the high street. According to a survey by NFO Worldgroup, 96% of the UK general public recognised the Specsavers logo. Its longstanding TV and radio advertising campaign “Should’ve,” has kept the brand name and offer front of mind for consumers. However, by 2013 a vast gap had arisen in the digital space between entry-point advertising and in-store purchase.

Historically, Specsavers had been the local optician in every high street, so the experience of trying on and buying frames happened in-store. But the product experience was no longer just happening on the high street – it was happening on tablets and laptops, where people could research and browse frames before deciding where to buy.

Having focussed its business model on retail expansion and TV/radio advertising, the website had been neglected and looked dated. At this point, the company had woken up to the fact their online presence was critical in ensuring people continued to visit and purchase in-store. They needed to close the digital gap.

According to a projection by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there will be 3.2 million more over-60s in 2024 than in 2014. This ageing population will expand the UK market for glasses and create increased demand for eye examinations and monitoring. New frame styles are introduced continually to keep pace with changes in fashion and technology. And with more than 2,000 styles and colours made from the latest high tech materials, including titanium and stainless steel, Specsavers were well-positioned to take advantage of the surge in demand.

Graham Daldry Creative Director at Specsavers asked me to make it easier for shoppers to browse the Specsavers collection and satisfy their expectations of lifestyle, choice and affordability, whilst ensuring a smooth transition from online discovery to fitting and buying at the nearest store.

I led the small in-house digital team at Specsavers through a process of discovery and design, to firstly identify current thinking and trends that painted a picture of consumer behaviour in the current multi-channel environment and then present a design solution to address the company’s digital shortcomings.

My research indicated that a customer’s buying journey, online and offline, is one joined up channel. And my consumer instincts supported this view. But Specsavers was operating very much as two silos – the retail stores and a website with only a light touch online catalogue – and I saw this as a huge obstacle to overcome.

In order to fully capitalize on the online potential, the business would need to create a seamless and consistent brand experience across multiple touchpoints, including the website, apps and the high street stores.

I presented our research and conclusions to the heads of Creative and Marketing. I then built on our insights to develop ideas for product enhancements that modernized the brand image, improved user interactions and overall product presentation.

I explored a new way to bring transparency to pricing and connect preferences made online to physical stores. And I showed how the brand could become more relevant and contemporary, and make the most of its popular celebrity and designer ranges such as Kylie Minogue, Hugo BOSS, Quiksilver, Monsoon, the excusive Red or Dead collection, and its best-selling own-brand designer range Osiris.

The design improvements I spearheaded manifested in four ways:

· Embrace digital – Publish the full catalogue online. Deliver a uniform brand experience that leverages the ability to personalize, incorporate reviews and ratings, enter prescription details, and dynamically filter options that can be sent to friends and family or directly to the local store.

· Sell personality – Specsavers aren’t just selling frames, but a complete lifestyle and image. This needs to come through more in personal stories about the glasses from the designers who made them and the customers who wear them.

· Make it fun – Create the excitement of trying on glasses in store - out of store! Build a ‘virtual mirror experience’ that people will talk about. Give them the opportunity to try on frames and take pictures of themselves with different backgrounds and filters.

· Raise quality – Frames need to look gorgeous and presented as something of value. Reshoot the catalogue in high-resolution and present each frame in horizontal format instead of the previous angled views. Photograph different angles and close up details, celebrate your products.

Nearly all of my ideas have been implemented and although the brand image hasn’t been fully modernized, it has certainly improved, so it now presents itself and products in a more clear and authentic way.

Some of the main updates include:

· Partnering with software firm Ditto to create a Specsavers app that allows customers to virtually ‘try on’ hundreds of pairs of glasses before they visit a store to purchase them.

· Photographing the entire range of frames at high-resolution and presenting frames in horizontal format viewable from multiple angles.

· Dynamic filtering options for browsing frames on the website, improved descriptions of product information, and addition of Trustpilot reviews.

· Save and share features, a view of what other customers purchase decisions are and a clear drive towards visiting the stores.

“In 2016, Specsavers was the most used optician, growing market share to 38.7% – and way ahead of competitors in terms of volume, capturing more than four times as many spectacle purchasers as Boots or Vision Express.” - Mintel Optical Goods Retailing 2017.