AO are ranked #4 in the top 100 eCommerce companies in the North!
We are really excited that the Top 100 eCommerce companies in the North has ranked AO #4. It’s great to be recognised for making our customers the happiest out there.
Read Managing Director, Dave Lawson’s interview with Prolific North about putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.
What do you think are the key factors that make your eCommerce business so successful?Any success we experience, we believe comes from always putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We obsess about making sure that every decision we make adds value. We want to control every touch point of our customers’ journey, whether it’s on-site, at delivery or even recycling their old appliances, we don’ trust anyone to do it as well as we can.
Collecting up-to-date customer data is also a key priority. We run customer labs internally, which give us a great opportunity to understand how customers are using the site and any frustrations they have, so that we can make changes if necessary.
Success also stems from having an exceptional team in place. We have a unique culture here at AO and having people who care about what they do, live and breathe our values, are empowered to make their own decisions and have a real sense of the
importance of the customer is vital.
What, if any, recruitment challenges do you face when building your eCommerce team?
The North West is a competitive job market, especially when it comes to recruiting digital roles. Finding the right person for a job as well as AO, is always our priority. This is why we recruit against our values; care, driven, fun, bold and smart. We search for people with the ‘AO DNA’. Attracting the best digital talent was one of the biggest drivers behind opening our new ‘digital hub’ in Manchester city centre. ‘AO Manchester’ is home to our in-house multimedia and creative teams, a large proportion of our IT team as well as our sales team. It’s a great space that’s been designed to be creative and inspiring, with a particular focus on collaborative working.
What will be the key challenges to your online business in the next 5 years?
The ever changing retail climate is something we always have to be aware of. Retail as we know it is changing and as the shift to online grows, we need to keep up to date with evolving technologies. We’re always looking to develop new ways
to simplify a customer’s journey. Cybercrime is more of a challenge than ever before, because of this we’ve invested heavily in our IT security and employs a dedicated team of professionals who constantly monitor and test our systems.
We use the latest technology to identify potential attacks to provide a safe and secure shopping environment for our customers.