Post campaign: live testing of online stores

The four target groups digital moms, shopping queens, tech freaks and hipsters tested online stores.Store or flop? This was the question posed by Swiss Post as part of an online campaign in January 2016. As Swiss Post has a strategic focus on the growing e-commerce market, the aim was to use a campaign to raise awareness of services for online retailers and highlight the importance of services for online stores and delivery.Target groups test storesTo this end, Swiss Post conducted a live test of online stores for the first time in Switzerland. Online retailers were able to test their store for three days free of charge by a selectable target group (Digital Moms, Shopping Queens, Tech Freaks or Hipster) and watch the reactions of the "customers" live via webcam. If they wished, they were then advised by an e-commerce expert from Swiss Post. The following target groups were selected:2200 Swiss Post customers with an online store were contacted via a specially designed e-mail and invited to the live tests. On the microsite www.post.ch/live-test they were able to select from the four test groups the one that best suited their clientele.Deficits in deliveriesThe live tests showed that ordering from most stores was quick and easy. It was the first campaign of its kind in Switzerland, so implementing it was a challenge," says Christian Suter, project manager for marketing communications at PostLogistics, the division of Swiss Post responsible for the campaign.Campaign is successfulThe campaign was a success. For the online retailers, it was valuable to observe the testers live and hear their comments. "Interestingly, the testers often put their finger on the very points that the online stores themselves considered optimized or improved," says Suter "Many online retailers were also surprised that the testers value different delivery options when shopping online."