French DIY retailer Leroy Merlin expects its online sales to more than triple in 2014 after investing in a new ecommerce solution.

The group has implemented Oracle’s Endeca solution, which has resulted in significant improvements to its ecommerce capabilities, according to Jacques Lorne, internet and ecommerce director.

Before the implementation, Leroy Merlin’s website was “the first point of contact for the company” but it was failing to convert online visitors into shoppers.

“We wanted automated ranking, based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, in product page lists and search results pages,” Lorne said.

“We started with 5 million unique users, had no ranking possibilities. It was poor as a user experience, we knew it was wrong.”

Since the implementation in September, leroymerlin.fr has increased its unique visitor numbers to 15 million and instigated a new online ranking system. It can also leverage interactive content, such as ‘how to’ guides, showcase products and offer complementary items to support customers in their DIY projects.

Lorne predicts the changes will enable the chain to “more than triple” online sales in the coming 12 months.  

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