An online proposition is now a big part of the retail landscape, enhancing consumer shopping experiences with increased product availability, improved product information, price transparency and many delivery options. At Halfords we have recognised that as a 'brick and click' retailer we can harness both the power of the internet and the use of smart devices to attract, retain and delight our customers.

1 Site redesign

The extensive redesign of pages across the desktop and tablet site has eliminated clutter, making navigating around the site quicker and easier. The homepage has been split out across four pillars - Cycling, Motoring, Sat Nav & Car Audio, and Touring & Child Seats. Product list pages have also been redesigned to make key information clearer for each product. As a result of these changes conversion rate is now up by 19% across the site.

2 How can I get it

By removing duplicated content from the product detail page, space has been left for a 'how can I get it ' section. This allows the customer to clearly see the delivery and collection options for all products.

3 Simplified checkout

The previous checkout system was far too long and complex, and didn't allow customers to purchase products reserved from stock in store in combination with goods from the distribution centre. As a result we've removed 50% of the current steps for a more streamlined checkout process, and improved the shopping experience for our customers - leading to a 9% increase in checkout completion.

4 Videos

We've undertaken a huge video project with well over 200 product videos being shot, including the full Boardman 2014 range and many of our other brands such as Apollo, Carrera and Pendleton. Over 50 How To Guides and 45 Buyer's Guides have also been filmed, which are designed to give our customers advice and help them make their purchase decisions. All videos are available to view on Halfords.com or on our Halfords YouTube channel.

5 New advice centre

We've completely redesigned our advice centre in order to make finding help and advice faster and easier for our customers. Articles and videos are now searchable and categorised by pillar. Customer Services pages and FAQs have also been improved, and products are now listed alongside relevant advice. We have also added advice to the mobile site for the first time.

In November 2013 we completed the first phase of our Retail website redesign. We changed the look and feel of the site, segmenting the site into four distinct areas. We enhanced product and service communications by adding nearly 100 cycling videos and 50 How To Guides and we also reduced the number of steps to purchase by 50%. In April 2014 we added new features to keep evolving and improving the cycling experience including a bike-selection guide, downloadable cycling routes and a bespoke cycling app.

We also simplified our Click & Collect process allowing orders to be split, with part being delivered to store for immediate pick and part delivered direct to home – around 90% of orders are collected from store. Customers also now pay for their entire Click & Collect transactions in-store with further enhancements due for completion in due course, including social network interactions and upgraded 'my account' functionality.

We also took a leaf from the Autocentres business and developed an online booking system for customers who wanted to use services that we provide in store such as webuild and wefit.

As mobile and tablet browsing and shopping are forming a larger part of the customer journey, c.52% of our digital business is conducted using mobiles or tablets; we plan to continue enhancing the mobile journey. Importantly we also recently extended the current order cut-off time from 3pm to 6pm for next day delivery.

As we move to a true omnichannel business we will also be reviewing how we bring the best of the website into stores. We will be rolling out colleague tablets to assist our store teams in selling the extended ranges available online, the ability to sell cycle credit and also access all the product videos and How To Guides in our stores.

We will continue to invest in our online and digital solutions, leveraging our store portfolio so that each supports the other in delivering the ultimate customer shopping and service experience.