With over 40% of sales now fulfilled online, Sainsbury's Bank has re-launched its online proposition to make it even more user-friendly and interactive for customers.
As part of the redesign, which aligns with Sainsbury's 'Try Something New Today' branding, a number of new online discounts will be made available. Additionally a new microsite, 'Money Made Simple' will provide useful tips and tools to help customers save money and make more informed financial decisions.
'Money Made Simple' has been constructed using intelligence from various sources including the FSA, energy suppliers and travel companies. It has been designed to provide helpful tips and ideas on how to save money when purchasing a financial product and useful guides, such as how to reduce the cost of running a home. Practical calculation tools will also enable customers to work out loan or car repayments, how much they can afford to borrow and potential earnings from savings. The microsite also has a jargon buster of regularly used financial terms.
Kevin Barrett, Director of E-commerce at Sainsbury's Bank said: "Over the last year, around 43% of internet users searched for financial information online with 41% comparing different suppliers and 37% obtaining quotes. In the same period Sainsbury's Bank has seen a 44% increase in visits to its site. With the internet becoming an increasingly popular financial services destination we want to ensure our customers enjoy the best possible online experience when managing their finances. One where they can quickly find what they need, make informed decisions by tapping into useful finance tips and easily manage their accounts online."
Analysis of the Sainsbury's Bank website shows that people are managing their finances around the clock. Indeed, around 5% of visitors go to the site between 11pm and 8am. The most popular times for logging on are between 9am and 11am and 7pm and 8pm, whilst the credit card, car insurance and personal loan sections attract the most hits. Nearly 18% of visitors stay on the site for more than 10 minutes and it records over 200,000 log-ins from customers checking their online accounts every month.
Kevin Barrett continues: "The online financial services industry has witnessed huge growth in the last few years and it is estimated that 14 million people now manage their finances online. Society operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the traditional banking model no longer offers the flexibility that consumers need. With an average of nearly 30,000 visits to our website each day, our internet capability is key to the strength and continued success of the bank. We will continuously look to see how we can improve our web offering and we have more exciting developments in the pipeline."
The Sainsbury's Bank's website, which receives well over a million visitors per month, has made several other changes to the refreshed site including a new navigation structure and an improved layout.