Macys.com to provide audio help

By Marvin Lazaro -- Home Textiles Today, 12/18/2000 12:00:00 AM

SAUSALITO, CA -Visitors to macys.com will be hearing voices providing instructions and help through an agreement with AudioBase and its audio e-commerce solution.

The newly enhanced site is designed to ensure that surfers have a favorable shopping experience and fewer errors while browsing and looking for particular products, hopefully turning browsers into customers. Shoppers will have the option of being greeted by an audio assistant providing instructions, descriptions and buying tips on the home, registration, specialty shop and electronic gift card pages of macys.com.

The audio can be controlled by users and may be paused at any time. It is also Java-based, making it accessible to more than 95 percent of Web users without the need for plug-ins.

"Macy's customers deserve, and expect, a shopping experience that is unparalleled regardless of how they choose to shop with us," said Kent Anderson, president of macys.com. "Loyalty is the key to success in our industry; adding audio to the macys.com shopping environment is a powerful means of ensuring continued satisfaction of our online customer base."

Additional voice instructions to help customers ship their order and check out are also in the planning stages as well as an audio-enabled credit application process and privacy policy.

"Whether walking into the world's largest store on 34th Street in Manhattan or their local mall locations, Macy's shoppers expect to have a friendly voice guide them through the aisles if they need help," said David Haynes, ceo and co-founder of AudioBase. "Macys.com is an excellent example of how AudioBase can bring a similar level of immediate, human customer service to an already established site."