Remember the story I posted about Office Depot's brand new home page?  How could you forget… it was yesterday.  It would take both of my hands to count the number of stories I've posted about site designs and site modifications driving sales, traffic, and conversion.  I'm not happy being limited to my hands, so I'm about to extend that number and include my toes.

Internet Retailer has two worthwhile articles about companies using redesigned websites to increase sales:

Golfballs.com

Golfballs.com reworked their existing navigation system to make finding merchandise easier.  In particular, Golfballs.com is helping customers find personalized items more quickly and easier since these items account for the majority of the company's sales.  Using analytics, the company was able to identify ways to make its search and navigation more specific to its target customer base.

The results?  Yearly sales and conversion rates are up 30%.  In addition, holiday sales are up even more and holiday conversion rates are triple what they were a year ago.

On an interesting side note, Golfballs.com is also attributing some of its success to the use of Google Checkout and the holiday promotion that Google is offering on purchases over $30.  Hmm… now where have we heard about the benefits of integrating Google services before?

eCost.com

eCost.com is launching a new home page just in time for the holidays.  The newly redesigned home page features larger graphics, improved text, and new feature sections.  Like Golfballs.com, eCost also reworked its navigation to make finding merchandise easier for customers.  eCost gathered information from customer focus groups and supplier focus groups.  The changes are part of a larger effort by eCost to improve the design of its website, with additional changes planned for the coming months.

It's too early to tell what effect eCost's efforts will have, but I'll bet the rest of my toes that it helps their holiday sales.