At a glance:

This report looks at the key value propositions of the website http://www.hm.com and how it fares against its competitors in its online multichannel strategy. The report recommends the following changes to keep the costs down and serve its customers better.

Provide online retailing to countries where the option is unavailable, especially US.
Ask for gender of the customer during profile creation so that they have targeted advertisements about specific products in the home page. Currently most of the advertisements in website are for feminine products.
Use centralised database management system to reduce costs and to obtain a holistic view about customer behaviour in each regions.
Integrate a search function in the
Online Store Environment
Virtual Layout and Design
Virtual
Atmospherics
Virtual
Theatrics
Virtual Social
Presence
Tree Structure Cool background color No music Flash based animations. Simple background Links to social media No forums in website

The website has an excellent product display in this layout with detailed information about the product, colours available and the cost. By clicking on the shop now link the customer can get further information about sizes and fabric used. On the left pane of the product page, links are provided to other sub categories (see appendix).
Source: www.hm.com

The website portrays a relaxed mood by not bombarding its pages with excessive colour. Due to this H&M’s bright red logo is prominent in all the pages. The fonts used are easy to read and of appropriate sizes. On homepage, except for the link for sale, links to different section use a cool coloured background images which are very soothing. Considering the fact that there are no empirical evidences which state that music in webpage persuades the customers to buy products and also that playing the music can delay the loading of the webpage, the company’s decision to not play any music for its visitors is seconded by this report.
The website has made an excellent use of virtual theatrics by not over using it and keeping it simple. Flash based animations are used only in