Gem Shopping Network (GSN)
A sparkling Adobe Commerce website enhances a fine jewelry business.
Challenge:
Gem Shopping Network (GSN) is the leading omni-channel platform for selling fine jewelry and colored gemstones in the United States. Started in 1997 as a 24/7 broadcast TV channel, GSN broadened its reach with an eCommerce website.
Recognizing the importance of omni-channel retail, GSN decided to expand its reach and improve customer service by venturing into eCommerce. As a seasoned live television broadcaster, GSN understood that online shopping was the way forward for its brand.
Timeline:
Human Element & Gem Shopping Network Timeline
- 2016: Onboarded the GSN site on Magento 1 and launched a redesign.
- 2017: Built an interactive shopping experience with the 24/7 live broadcast of Gem Shopping Network. Removed the product catalog from the site to focus on the interactive livestream.
- 2019: Upgraded the site to Magento 2 Open Source.
- 2021: Completed a full site redesign and upgraded to Adobe Commerce Cloud, reintroducing the full product catalog alongside Gem Shopping Interactive and other new features.
Services Provided:
- UI/UX Design
- Architecture
- Code Audit
- Platform Upgrade
- Feature Development
- Digital Marketing
- Strategy & Consulting
- Search Engine Optimization
- Pay-Per-Click Consulting
- Partner Management
- ERP integration and call-back service maintenance
Solution:
Adobe Commerce Cloud As The Perfect Solution
The new site introduced a wealth of features and functionality and brought back the full product catalog – targeting a new audience and growing the site’s reach. To fully expand the shopping experience, GSN chose to re-platform on Adobe Commerce Cloud, which provides the reliability and stability needed to support a full eCommerce operation. Many extensions and customizations were implemented to enhance the shopping experience and simplify the process.
1. Personalized Shopping Experience
Gem Shopping Network wanted to provide a personalized shopping experience for customers, so we built and introduced the Gem Shopping Concierge. To create the concierge experience, GSN’s personal shoppers build custom product catalogs for customers based on a survey, allowing them to easily view, add to cart, and check out. This feature also allows the GSN team to see detailed reporting based on customer behaviors.
2. Improved Search & Navigation
To improve product discoverability, we enhanced navigation and search. We added advanced layered navigation for better filtering, incorporated a new Mega Menu by Amasty for quick access to products, and implemented an advanced search for precise results.
3. Improved Payment Functionality
We improved payment functionality by adding ChatPay, allowing representatives to create invoices through chat. We also integrated SplitIt for splitting payments across multiple cards, added PayPal as a payment option, and included Signifyd for fraud protection.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
To boost SEO, we integrated the Mageworx SEO extension, which provided enterprise-level SEO capabilities. This extension allows dynamic application of descriptions and meta descriptions based on product attributes, creating a unique user experience on each page and preventing duplicate content. Before this extension, similar products caused repeated content, leading to keyword cannibalization and user confusion.
5. Interactive Livestream
In 2017 we introduced Gem Shopping Interactive, the livestream of the TV channel where users can shop in real time as the host presents products. And, as part of the redesign in 2021, this feature was significantly improved by Human Element for a better user experience.
6. Marketing Tools
Additionally, HubSpot CRM and marketing tools were integrated to enable real-time data syncing, aiding in recovering abandoned carts, converting leads, and re-engaging existing customers.
Results:
The features of the Adobe Commerce platform and Human Element’s extensive knowledge of them saved time on the project. Human Element’s experience was key for understanding which best practices to use to deliver efficiencies and fool proofing elements to the site, reducing the timeline for delivery and ensuring site stability.
Gem Shopping Network experienced significant growth after the launch of the new site. Site sessions increased exponentially and audience reach expanded. With the increased findability of products and the focus on selling, locating products is much easier. With the livestream, customers can have a seamless shopping experience between the live TV broadcast and the website, bringing an element of engagement that wasn’t available before and also introducing GSN to a new audience. And with Gem Shopping Concierge, GSN can provide a level of personalized customer service. The new site, with its robust extensions and state-of-the art features, is truly an asset to the GSN business.