GREENVILLE, Wis., March 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- School Specialty Inc. (OTCQB:SCOO) ("SSI" or "the Company"; @SchoolSpecialty), a leading distributor of supplies, furniture and both supplemental and curriculum products to the education marketplace, today announced the launch of a new SchoolSpecialty.com website. Rolling out this spring in anticipation of school shopping for the 2014-15 year, the new and enhanced SchoolSpecialty.com website is now live with a fresh, exciting look, and an optimized experience for both customers and vendors. A new logo has also been unveiled, representing the Company's renewed promise to the nationwide education marketplace.
Featuring a clean new look and feel, the website is designed to fulfill customer demand for intuitiveness and ease. The improvements are directly related to improving the user experience so that customers can easily find information and shop for products.
Rolling out in a series of phases this spring, users will find a range of improvements, including:
OPTIMIZED SEARCHABILITY
Featuring a Shop our Products with complete categorization, SchoolSpecialty.com allows users to shop by product category or item groupings and provides extensive filtering capabilities that let customers refine their needs to specific criteria. The result: an optimized search experience that helps users find exactly what they need, when they need it. New and exciting products and solutions are easily identified in both the search and within the Shop our Products for all of the Company's offerings, including supplies, furniture, and instructional solutions.
DETAILED IMAGERY AND INTUITIVE INSPIRATIONS
The enhanced website offers improved product detail information including additional imagery, color choices, sizing information, and product usage suggestions. The new SchoolSpecialty.com site will also include more content such as ideas and inspirations within the product pages themselves to help customers find related products and insightful content for use in the classroom.
EASY SHOPPING CART ACCESS
Enhancements in ordering capabilities include easy view of saved carts, shopping lists and lists needing approval – all available immediately once you are logged in.
ONLINE CHAT & CUSTOMER SERVICE SELF HELP PORTAL
SchoolSpecialty.com offers online chat for those customers who might experience issues with their ecommerce session. Operators are available to help customers with any ordering issues encountered. While online associates are not product experts, School Specialty customer service representatives provide support at the toll free number, 1-888-388-3224 or via our Customer Support self-help portal at http://www.schoolspecialty.com/customer-care.
In celebration of the launch, School Specialty is hosting a CyberHunt through the new SchoolSpecialty.com site, in order to give customers a fun chance to become acquainted with the new site--and the opportunity to win a $100 gift certificate each day for ten days beginning March 11, 2014!
"Over the past couple of years, School Specialty has sought input from our customers about their experience with our website. Feedback about the user experience led us to take a closer look at its intuitiveness and ease of use. Our improvements are directly related to enhancing the customer experience with the direct goal of making their shopping experience more enjoyable, efficient and effective," explains Pat Collins, Executive Vice President of the Distribution business for School Specialty Inc. "We listen to our customers, our vendors and our partners and we will continue to make enhancements that improve the user experience and add value in the education marketplace."
For a tour of the new SchoolSpecialty.com and high-resolution imagery, please contact Dionne Manchester of GW Communications on behalf of SSI at Dionne@GWCco.com or 212-786-6068.
About School Specialty, Inc.
School Specialty (@SchoolSpecialty) is a leading distributor of innovative and proprietary products, programs and services to the education marketplace. The Company designs, develops, and provides educators with the latest and very best school supplies, furniture and both curriculum and supplemental learning resources. Working in collaboration with educators, School Specialty reaches beyond the scope of textbooks to help teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators ensure that every student reaches his or her full potential. For more information about School Specialty, visit www.schoolspecialty.com.