Elevating eCommerce Experiences for Outdoor Enthusiasts; O&CC delivers

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At Vue.ai, we sit down with leaders, changemakers and every passionate professional who fuels change and growth in organizations across the globe. As we usher in an era of digital transformation, these trailblazers are crucial to move the needle. Today, we’re in conversation with Nick Henderson, Senior Product Content Executive at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts (O&CC).

Outdoor and Cycle Concepts is one of the largest outdoor retailers in the UK. It houses some of the most well-known high street brands such as Snow+Rock, Cotswold Outdoor, and Runners Need. Their expert, passionate outdoor enthusiasts are curating the perfect kits and experiences for everyone. With this, everyone can enjoy their time outside the best they can. 

It’s (customer) storytime. Let’s dive in,

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you began your journey here at O&CC.

Hi, I’m Nick. I’ve been working in eCommerce now, specifically product content for over 5 years. The basis is ensuring the copy and images on the site are delivered to a high standard to our customers. This will in turn ensure a premium shopping experience.

You are someone who has navigated through the last 3 years in retail. How is this year different and what is something that you think retailers are/should be doing to grow?

The retail industry is still difficult for a lot of us at this current time, especially here in the UK. We strive to be bold and brave and that might mean going into the unknown with a few of our decisions. Experimenting and staying ahead of competitors is a fundamental aspect of this fast-paced environment.  

As a Senior Product Content Executive, let us know what a day in your life looks like.

This can involve many aspects of setting up products online. However, my key role is to help maximize the user experience. We do this through imagery that we use of the products on site. This includes working with brands, photography studios, and Vue.

What are you doing differently to create an impact on a customer’s journey?

The main area we work on is common A/B testing to determine if a change is needed on the site if we have seen a successful uplift in conversion. As you can imagine, this process is ongoing throughout various stages of the customer journey.

What are the ways you create enhanced shopping experiences using AI and what kind of ROI are you seeing at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts (O&CC)?

We have seen a positive ROI with the AI models that we currently use on the site and as such, have continued to experiment with different poses and footwear options related to our fascias e.g. ski boots for models on our snow site.

How have you been working with Vue.ai to offer your customers an enhanced shopping experience?

Vue.ai have enhanced the shopping experience by generating models through our stock photos to give the customer an idea of what the product looks like on a model and not just on its own.

Where do you think the future of retail tech is headed and where do you see your org investing in tech?

Technology is developing so quickly as we have seen with AI so who knows what we will be investing in come 5 – 10 years’ time. I would imagine we will have more technology in stores than we have had in the past to help our customers determine what product is specific and tailored towards them.

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