Built with

A new name, a new brand and a new DestinationCore website

A new digital platform, reflecting a new start and the centre’s evolution

The Problem

Formerly intu Watford, Atria Watford marked the start of an exciting new period of ownership with a new name and a new brand. A digital platform was required to reflect the new start and to support the centre’s evolution.

The previous website was used by two types of visitor:

- Those visiting the centre as a ‘destination’ to explore the stores, visit a restaurant and potentially make use of the leisure facilities. These people may visit the centre once a month.

- Those more local customers who are using the centre on a ‘convenience’ level, visiting the outlets such as banks, opticians, and tailors. These people may visit the centre once or twice a week.

Therefore, a website was needed to still resonate with destination and convenience visitors, but also to attract more affluent users from further afield (such as St Albans and Amersham) who have a choice of where to shop and spend.

The Solution

Our key UX objectives were to:

- Make key information easier to find

- Better surfacing of related content to increase time on site

- Ensuring an experience tailored to the device that the website is being viewed on in terms of prioritisation of information e.g., more emphasis on events/opening times/offers on a mobile

- Ensuring personalisation based on the length of planned visit and target audience.

We used the DC Pro platform to showcase the wide variety on offer at the centre – from retail from retail to food & drink to leisure and entertainment - and the in-centre events through the comprehensive events listing functionality (which comes as standard with DC Pro) and email subscriptions are now encouraged through compelling site content and in-context sign up banners.

Predominantly, the previous website attracted middle aged consumers, whereas the social channels attract a younger population. Our remit was to design a site that would appeal to both generations – clear, simple designs that look modern but also offer straightforward navigation and appealing imagery which resonates with all audiences.

Thanks to the holy trinity of the new brand, name and DC Pro site, Atria Watford will continue to be the heartbeat of Watford’s local community.

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