Members of the UK’s favourite comparison shopping portal, www.ciao.co.uk, have come out overwhelmingly in favour of the website’s new design, which has been called “cleaner, fresher, sleeker and very
January 28, 2004 (Press Release) --
London, 28th January 2004: Members of the UK’s favourite comparison shopping portal, www.ciao.co.uk, have come out overwhelmingly in favour of the website’s new design, which has been called “cleaner, fresher, sleeker and very [...] upmarket.” The site attracts more than two million visits per month and delivers around one million shopping leads to the site’s partner merchants. Ciao UK forms part of Ciao’s European network of sites covering Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Jointly, these sites attract more than ten million visits per month, making Ciao one of the top 3 comparison shopping portals in Europe.
Launched at the end of November 2003, the new-look product and price comparison portal aims to combine a light, modern design with enhanced functionality and improved usability. Frederick Paul, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of parent company Ciao AG, confirms that “user-friendliness is the key to the site’s success. With consumer reviews at the heart of the Ciao site, our loyal members were asked for their input from the initial planning stage onwards, and over 400 of their suggestions were worked into the design. We’ve put the user at centre stage and made the architecture and organisation of the website much more transparent.”
A new navigation architecture enables users to home in on products from among the million-strong product catalogue, searching by brand, price and a range of other performance criteria, while new price comparison tables help them to find the best price available online at a glance. Said one enthusiastic exponent, a Ciao user who goes by the name of The_mad_cabbie: “it’s simplicity itself to find what you’re after, whether you’re using the search facility or the product listings themselves...[The price comparison] is simply wonderful.”
The enhanced member functionalities are another hit. Registered users can now upload photos to accompany their product reviews and design their own “homepages” within their member areas. They can also see when other members are online and even leave messages in their private guestbooks without needing to exchange e-mail addresses. Personal statistics pages provide members with a complete overview of their activities on Ciao and enable them to sign up to receive automatic alerts every time a new product or a particular review appears on the site.
Despite the success of the relaunch, the Ciao team is not resting on its laurels. Mr Paul sees 2004 as a year of important growth for the portal, as he continues to listen and respond to users’ demands: “By the end of the year, we aim to have expanded the site’s listings to more than 3 million products and added further interactive elements to member areas.” If current trends continue, it will also be a year of significant expansion in site usage: “We are confident that by the end of 2004, more than 5 million people will be visiting Ciao UK every month”.
About the Company
Ciao AG is a multinational media company offering online media and data collection services. The company operates popular media platforms in Europe’s five core markets and provides real-time access to consumers in 32 countries worldwide.
Launched at the end of November 2003, the new-look product and price comparison portal aims to combine a light, modern design with enhanced functionality and improved usability. Frederick Paul, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of parent company Ciao AG, confirms that “user-friendliness is the key to the site’s success. With consumer reviews at the heart of the Ciao site, our loyal members were asked for their input from the initial planning stage onwards, and over 400 of their suggestions were worked into the design. We’ve put the user at centre stage and made the architecture and organisation of the website much more transparent.”
A new navigation architecture enables users to home in on products from among the million-strong product catalogue, searching by brand, price and a range of other performance criteria, while new price comparison tables help them to find the best price available online at a glance. Said one enthusiastic exponent, a Ciao user who goes by the name of The_mad_cabbie: “it’s simplicity itself to find what you’re after, whether you’re using the search facility or the product listings themselves...[The price comparison] is simply wonderful.”
The enhanced member functionalities are another hit. Registered users can now upload photos to accompany their product reviews and design their own “homepages” within their member areas. They can also see when other members are online and even leave messages in their private guestbooks without needing to exchange e-mail addresses. Personal statistics pages provide members with a complete overview of their activities on Ciao and enable them to sign up to receive automatic alerts every time a new product or a particular review appears on the site.
Despite the success of the relaunch, the Ciao team is not resting on its laurels. Mr Paul sees 2004 as a year of important growth for the portal, as he continues to listen and respond to users’ demands: “By the end of the year, we aim to have expanded the site’s listings to more than 3 million products and added further interactive elements to member areas.” If current trends continue, it will also be a year of significant expansion in site usage: “We are confident that by the end of 2004, more than 5 million people will be visiting Ciao UK every month”.
About the Company
Ciao AG is a multinational media company offering online media and data collection services. The company operates popular media platforms in Europe’s five core markets and provides real-time access to consumers in 32 countries worldwide.
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