Consumer Reviews Drive Sales for Apparel and Knitting E-Commerce Site

Brentwood, CA (PRWEB) April 23, 2009 -- Alpaca Direct (www.alpacadirect.com), an online provider of Alpaca apparel, knitting yarns and pima cotton sleepwear, today announced a significant increase in sales conversion for its luxury knitting yarns and apparel due to the implementation of consumer generated content and reviews on the website. "We knew customers loved our products and now they can tell each other about their great experience on our website" say Kelley Hobart, the company founder and chief buyer. The recent economic challenges have resulted in consumers becoming more selective about where they spend their online dollars. Websites like AlpacaDirect.com that offer consumers transparency and user generated reviews instill trust and help improve sales. This is especially important for companies that have unique high quality products that are not locally available.

Quality alpaca yarn is lightweight, soft as cashmere and warmer than wool. American consumers are beginning to discover the many unique benefits of Alpaca Apparel. This natural hollow-core fiber is lightweight and thermal regulating, making it a perfect fit for creating versatile sweaters, ponchos and socks that can be worn throughout the year. "The response has been phenomenal! When our clients discover alpaca, they become lifelong customers!" says, Kelley Hobart one of the founders of the Silicon Valley dot com venture. Alpaca apparel and yarn has been somewhat of a secret among Alpaca owners since most retailers have not offered natural fiber alpaca products due to its exclusiveness and limited availability.

In addition, most of the Alpaca products available have not been designed for the North American fashion market. "We teamed up with American designers to introduce the public to fresh colors and style combined with the incredible natural benefits of alpaca. Combining incredibly high quality products with easy online shopping and fast shipping has been a winning combination. Our goal is to educate the consumer market about alpaca apparel and yarn. Most people do not realize this natural fiber is soft as cashmere but much warmer and 5 times stronger than wool." Alpaca Direct is addressing the market by making the entire line of Alpaca apparel available online, in popular American styles through a highly usable retail website. Most retail web sites are very difficult to use and have a high abandon rate. To solve this issue, the software design team at Alpacadirect has focused on usability of the core shopping experience. This focus, combined with old-fashioned customer service like free shipping aims to set new service level expectations for online retailers.

"Our goal is to target a specific market niche, usability test the shopping experience and refine our approach based on user feedback." Specialty apparel retail sites like Victoria's Secret and LL Bean have been leading the growth segments in the elusive e-commerce market by using a similar online strategy. "It is all about the Total Customer Experience… Great products, competitive pricing, excellent customer service all delivered in an effective online shopping venue. Now our customers can help deliver this experience!" says Mrs. Hobart.

About Alpacas

Alpaca are native to the high Andes Mountains of South America. Domesticated for centuries by the Inca of Peru, their precious fleece was worn only by royalty. Alpaca produce over twenty natural shades of a fiber that is soft as cashmere and stronger than wool. This unique hollow core fiber is extremely light yet retains the ability to warm its wearer against even the harshest winter chills. Alpaca are still very rare in the United States with the current US alpaca population at about 100,000.

About Alpaca Direct

Alpaca Direct is a fast growing e-commerce retail venture launched out of Silicon Valley. Located in Brentwood, California, USA the site was extensively tested in a state of the art usability lab and offers a wide range of high quality Alpaca apparel and gifts.

Contact:

Rachel Friedman

925-237-2575

Alpaca Direct

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