The UK-based bath, body and home care manufacturer and retailer is working with Venda, an e-commerce specialist, to extend its online store capabilities, while improving content and useability.
The move taps into increasing internet sales that have proved especially successful for high end fragrance and cosmetic products. Although internet sales remain small, growth far outstrips that of any other retail channel at the moment.
In the US, where innovations in internet retail have continued to lead the market, the average spend on beauty products over the internet has risen nearly 40 per cent to reach around $83 (€68.60) per year, according to the NPD Group.
Further evidence of this trend came in May last year, when the TheBodyShop.com increased investment in its on-line sales portal, upping the capabilities for both its US and UK consumers. The up-grade came off the back of significant increases in on-line sales - which grew by 57 per cent in the US during 2004.
Tapping into this growth, which is being driven by the UK in the European market, Crabtree & Evelyn says that the strategy leverages its global distribution network to establish a consistent platform to help individual markets boost sales.
The site has been on-line since the late 90s, but now the idea is to replace its current Yahoo Stores platform by using Venda as its provider.
The company added that in the future it is planning to upgrade and extend its overseas internet sales by deploying multiple online stores adapted to local languages, currencies, payment methods and specific market strategies.
" We are looking to provide our on-line customers with the same shopping experience they receive in our retail stores," said Stephen Bestwick, VP of Operations for Crabtree & Evelyn.
"With Venda, we've gained a merchandising and marketing platform for extending our brand and delivering a superior customer experience, anywhere in the world."