27 Feb 2014 08:01
27 February 2014
RNS REACH
blur Group plc
("blur," the "Group" or the "Company")
blur opens up its s-commerce trading platform to user scrutiny ahead of 4.0 launch
Preview site takes instant feedback as usability and experience take center-stage
blur Group plc (BLUR), the s-commerce company, has given tens of thousands of users of its new trading platform the chance to see what's in store with blur 4.0 - and to say what they think of it.
The preview of blur 4.0 public pages unveiled today showcases a site-wide platform focused on enhancing the customer experience. Designed to be responsive and reactive for easy browsing on any device, it also provides clear explanations of each stage of the process. These changes make it easier for a customer to buy services as they are taken on a curated journey that encourages conversion.
Key to the public preview is the brand new look and feel, achieved through a clear and adaptive design with jargon-free copy: the preview gives a clear call to action by exposing listed project briefs to the public view for the first time, improving conversion by encouraging buyers to start similar projects and inviting sellers to join and pitch.
blur has already announced its move to a component-based platform architecture with the first part of its 4.0 release and this means that the platform will develop faster to incorporate new functionality. This preview enables customers to experience first hand the new reactive and responsive sites, using instant feedback on page to provide detailed insight ahead of the full launch of 4.0 - a classic case of informed crowdsourcing.
Philip Letts, blur Group CEO, said: "blur is changing the way business buys and sells services. Now we're changing the way business users get to view changes to the technology they use by previewing in a live environment and feeding back ahead of launch - online of course.
"blur 4.0 is the most significant release we've made since launching the first version of the trading platform. Each year we increase robustness, usability and with 4.0 we're driving towards a scalable solution for the enterprise. With nearly 40,000 businesses worldwide using the platform, allowing instant feedback means we know just how closely we've delivered on this."
Ends
For further information please contact:
blur Group plc | investors.blurgroup.com |
Lucy Davies - Head of PR | Tel: +44 (0) 7759 635919 |
N+1 Singer | |
Shaun Dobson / Matt Thomas | Tel: +44 20 7496 3000 |
Panmure Gordon (Joint Broker)
Dominic Morley / Charlie Leigh Pemberton |
Tel: +44 020 7886 2500 |
Newgate Threadneedle | |
Caroline Forde / Josh Royston/ Hilary Millar | Tel: +44 20 7653 9850 |
About blur Group plc at blurgroup.com
blur Group is a technology company reinventing how businesses do commerce at blurgroup.com. Its Global Services Exchange uses blur's proprietary s-commerce platform to enable approaching 40,000 business users in 141 countries to buy, sell and deliver core business services and take advantage of Software as a Transaction™ to pay for these projects.
blur Group (BLUR) is a public company headquartered in the UK with offices in the US and Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. blur was founded in January 2006 and launched in alpha in 2007 with the full, formal launch of the Global Services Exchange in January 2010. At that time, just over three projects per month were submitted. Now, nearly 200 projects start on the exchange each month. Customers include Danone, Broadridge, Coral, Exceed, HCA, Momentive, Red Commerce, the Financial Times, Berlitz, Butlins, GE Healthcare and Tyco. Over the same time, average project value has grown from approximately $1,500 in 2010 to $89,000 in Q4 2013.
Today, over 4,000 projects have been submitted with a combined value of above $166 million. These have come from the US, UK, Europe, Africa and Asia with over 36,000 expert service providers on eight exchanges responding to them.