The Challenge
Du is the UAE’s new national telecommunications provider. du's launch plans included a nationwide mobile service to be built on a strong foundation of telecom operations based on infrastructure, business capabilities and human capital. Their goal was to offer a choice for consumers in the UAE telecom sector for the very first time. Their brief, to build an online shop that made choosing and purchasing a mobile service uncomplicated from point of entry to the final point of sale. Flip Media was selected to provide that expertise and use its technical know-how and business acumen to establish a powerful web presence that would also strengthen du’s reputation for innovation.
The Solution
Flip worked alongside Impact Proximity to create an architecture and interface that would make searching and finding the right mobile for consumers an easy process. Flip’s technical solution to delivering these and future functions had to come within du cost constraints while providing a scalable platform for future growth. The chosen architecture was Flip's CMS with its powerful ecommerce module which allows the retailer to be more reactive, to make changes quickly and to effectively manage its customer relationships. Du e shop provides customers with a one-stop shop experience enabling them to choose a plan and then match the phone, accessories and web special offers available with that plan before purchase. Network International which is part of the Emirates Bank Group, provided a payment gateway interface.
The Results
Consumers responded well to the launch of the new du eshop with over 3 - 7% of unique visitors making an online purchase on an average month. The average time spent on the site, is over 5 mins and 30 seconds per visit - Maher, du Retail Director. Due to our web based content management system's extendable, flexible development environment, the rapid implementation of new functionality was possible and delivered significant performance improvements instantly. du has used this framework to deliver front-end experience and back-office improvements namely - number-browsing functionality, Contract Printing and a new reporting suite planned. “The CMS back-end allows us to execute a complicated sales process. The main challenge with our site is that the sales process does not finish when goods are paid for by the end user and then shipped. When Customers receive their delivery, they must sign and return document copies with the courier before their line can be activated. This means that we have had to build “order status” functionality to keep track of orders and take the right action at each step of the process.” Gordon Newman, du eChannel Director.
