Gilt redesigns site for 10th anniversary

Online flash sale website Gilt.com is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a site redesign that aims to offer consumers easier navigation and advanced personalisation.

"The new Gilt is a totally redesigned shopping experience that lets customers shop their way, whether they're looking to be inspired or know exactly what they're searching for," explains Jonathan Greller, president of Gilt and Saks Off 5th. "In this rapidly changing retail environment, listening to our customers and evolving to exceed their expectations is more important than ever before.”

The online retailer, which was acquired by Hudson’s Bay Company last year, has added a “robust” navigation bar and expanded category tabs, allowing customers to shop by a general merchandise category, specific brand or one of Gilt's featured shops. In addition, the new search filters can also be narrowed down to brand, size, colour, price or item type, all the way down to the sleeve length or material of a dress.

In addition, the redesign has put personalisation at the forefront, with the new Gilt being tailored to customer's unique likes and tastes with specialised new product feeds, shops and editorial stories based on shopping patterns, search habits and profile preferences, on top of the customised emails that consumers receive. Custom recommendations and similar products can now be viewed throughout the shopping experience through the use of updated visual recognition and machine learning technologies.

The final element of the redesign is to Gilt’s editorial section, which will now feature “longer-lasting content” showcasing curated shops, category boutiques and designer offerings, as well as styling reports and trend-based stories aimed at enable customers to “drift between inspiration and intent”.