The SWEX: You Say Whisky, We Say Commodity
VI Company was engaged to enhance the user experience of the platform and convince more customers to invest in whisky.
Scotch single malt whisky has long stood for class, quality, and craftsmanship. Over the past decade, this famous drink has attracted a new audience: serious investors. Scotch Whisky Investments (SWI) offers investment solutions in Scottish single malt whisky through the investment platform The SWEX. This platform allows individuals to invest in Scotch whisky. VI Company was engaged to enhance the user experience of the platform and convince more customers to invest in whisky.
A Deep Dive into User Experience
Before starting the technical implementation, a user research study was conducted. It revealed that customers often went to other websites to find out the actual value of a bottle of whisky. VI Company was brought in to evaluate and optimize SWI's investor platform. Our team worked closely with the SWI team, a group of users, and industry experts to improve the user experience by focusing on a reliable appearance and more transparency. The sessions resulted in VI Company helping with re-creating the platform's strategy and setting new business goals.
The outdated website design was replaced with a modern, user-friendly design that ensures a consistent experience from marketing pages to the login environment, a key insight from the intensive user experience process.
Smart Pricing Engine
After extensive research and development of the new design, the implementation of a new pricing calculation method began. Pricing also became more transparent by basing the price of a bottle of whisky on a combination of ransactions on THE SWEX and SWI investment management agreement transactions, auction prices and retail pricesproviding a more reliable view of the market price. To help new users navigate whisky investments, the SWI Academy was prominently placed on the website, offering articles and tutorials. VI Company worked closely with SWI, both as an external team and within SWI's existing team, ensuring efficient platform development without starting from scratch. For users unfamiliar with the whisky world, bundles with selected bottles will be introduced in the future, lowering the barrier to start investing.
Improved user experience leads to greater trust and results
The renewed SWI platform, The SWEX, now offers an improved and more reliable user experience. Transparent pricing and the enhanced user interface ensure that customers have more confidence in their investments and can invest more easily. Additionally, the introduction of educational content and investment bundles provides valuable support for both new and existing users. The initial results are very promising. Since the launch, we have seen growth in the value per bottle, and the total number of invested bottles has increased significantly. All metrics have risen, and that leaves us wanting more!
