Sportswear retailer Sweaty Betty has increased group web sales by 27% following a UK site redesign.

In the year to September, online revenue grew 27%, the bounce rate fell 28% and the conversion rate grew by 8%.

Head of ecommerce Aalish Yorke-Long said the main change was the increase in the quality of the content on product pages, which she said are now more descriptive and exciting. The new site was launched in November 2012.

She said: “The site beforehand was a lot less content based. It didn’t showcase the brand. The pages weren’t so exciting.”

She added Sweaty Betty also wanted to become more of a source of authority for shoppers researching sports.

Yorke-Long added: “We wanted to educate the customer about the product and we now have various areas where shoppers learn about the sports. It gives us authority.”

Sweaty Betty worked with supplier Amplience on the redesign.

Part of the ecommerce sales increase was driven by the retailer’s recent online launch in the US, where it will also have two stores by the end of September in New York and Connecticut. Yorke-Long said the company grew its online sales in the US by 200%, while UK sales grew 16% in the year to September.