When Sam's Wines & Spirits Inc. launched its first Web site in 1995 -- listing a few items and a toll-free number for ordering -- the company believed it was making a big leap into cyberspace.
But traffic was light and orders even lighter for the Chicago-based liquor retailer.
The company tried again in 1997 with a redesigned Web site highlighting nearly 1,000 items and offering online ordering. But the graphics were hardly awe-inspiring, and sales remained mediocre, totaling less than $250,000 in 1998, just a fraction of the store's $40 million in sales.
As management frustration built, Sam's shut down its site in September 1999. A few months later, with the help of Chicago-based Web designer Eyehand Interactive Inc., Sam's unveiled a site boasting jazzy graphics, a customer-friendly layout and 5,000 items -- to grow to 15,000 by the end of summer.
It wasn't cheap -- Sam's executives estimate they spent more than $75,000 -- but Internet sales at www.samswine.com are humming along at an annual rate of $2 million.
"We really have a look, and functionality, that we're comfortable with now," says Andy Pates, the retailer's e-commerce director.
Sam's experience underscores a basic tenet of cyberspace: Web pages that were state-of-the-art a year ago can quickly grow dull.
Many e-commerce companies, and those using Web sites as passive marketing vehicles, are following Sam's prescription by remodeling, revamping and upgrading their sites. And while the investment in special design expertise can be expensive, most companies agree it's money well-spent.
"Much of the need to upgrade is driven by competition," Eyehand President Josh Ermentrout says. "Companies take a look at competitors' sites and wonder why their own isn't as colorful or good-looking. Management draws a deep breath and decides it's time to move up to the next step. They rarely object to the costs involved."
Indeed, Sam's Mr. Pates concedes that spiffy Web venues run by such e-commerce rivals as New York's Sherry-Lehmann Inc. forced Sam's to beef up its own site.
Additionally, regular Internet users expect more from a Web site than an attractive logo and some boilerplate.
When ASAP Software Inc., a Buffalo Grove-based seller of software licenses, put up its first Web site in 1997, it contained little more than the company's broad business philosophy and a calendar of upcoming events. E-commerce at www.asap.com didn't begin until April 1998, when a $30,000 upgrade included order-taking capabilities.
But by early 1999, just 5% of company sales were generated online, and management was getting impatient. "We recognized that the world was moving, and we had to move much deeper into cyberspace," says Paul Jarvie, president of ASAP, a division of Denver-based Corporate Express Inc. In June 1999, the company spent $50,000 on another Web upgrade.
The new Web site was a significant advance, allowing customers to buy and download software and order customized reports. Orders also can be made in four languages using four currencies.
The new site clicked with customers.
"Today, we're approaching $1 billion in annual sales, and 25% of that is from Internet sales," Mr. Jarvie says. "A year from now, we want at least half of our sales to come through e-commerce."
While the new Web site is a success, Mr. Jarvie notes that the redesign is just the beginning of cyber-spending. ASAP's Web page, he says, is simply the public face on a revamp that also has required enhancements to the company's internal software. Total cost of the behind-the-scenes work: $2 million last year alone.
But the improvements have taken ASAP well beyond old economy-style transactions. The former network, for example, required an employee to re-enter Web orders by hand on the main computer. "That's not an inspired way to approach e-business," Mr. Jarvie says.
The current ASAP system takes an order all the way to fulfillment with no human intervention.
"Taking out human contact is where you take cost out of the process," Mr. Jarvie says. "With fewer data input errors, we've reduced our returns by 50% over the past year."
Web pages are much better today than a year ago because of improved software design, experts say. The latest version of Web development software Dreamweaver from California-based Macromedia Inc. and the 3.0 version of Microsoft's browser Explorer have allowed immense advances in design, says Mr. Ermentrout of Eyehand.
"A site that looked great two years ago looks like hell now," he says. "We can do so much more these days."
And the cost doesn't have to be crippling. CA Development LLC in Chicago, a residential builder, spent just $5,000 last July on its first Web site (www.cadevelop-ment.com), a simple list of projects and phone numbers. The company upgraded in December by adding "virtual tours" of its houses with video that moves from room to room. The cost was about $2,000.
"Customers are coming to expect now a Web site where they can get a full view of your product," CA President Wendy Andrews says. "We know we have to keep up or become obsolete. Customers increasingly are telling us that the Web is what has directed them to us."
Edventions Inc., a Chicago firm that brings online links to schools, launched its first Web site at www.edventions.com when it was founded a year ago. The first upgrade was completed in March for $50,000, but Chairman Irv Shapiro already is looking ahead to further improvements.
"I think we'll dramatically change our site at least once a year," he says. "To be interesting, Web sites have to be timely. People get tired of looking at the same thing all the time."
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