SALT LAKE CITY — The unannounced, unofficial opening of the new LDS Church online store has been a great success with more than 200,000 viewers checking out the site and more than 3,000 placing orders.
So the expectation for the store is high when it officially opens for global business to Mormons worldwide on Sept. 30.
The store's online address is www.store.lds.org.
"This is so exciting for us, exciting to see how it's reaching the world. This is the neatest thing. We've been at this for more than a year getting ready," said Andrea Peterson, the product manager of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' new online distribution store. "It offers so much more to people."
For Mormons in Australia, Jamaica, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Aruba and Ukraine — which has a brand-new LDS temple — the online store will provide first-time, easy access to materials members in the United States can buy in local distribution centers.
It will be the first time they will have direct access to a place where they can buy not only teaching, art, music and study supplies but sacred clothing, even clothing for temple visits.
Customers can order what they need from a home computer, an Internet cafe, a church computer and someday soon, a smart phone.
Kathleen McMurray, a longtime Mormon who lives in Hucknell near Nottingham, England, said, "I would think nearly everyone in England ordered or bought their clothes from the distribution centres either at London or Chorley. It would be a good idea; only downside is at the centres you can see and feel the materials."
Mandi Gottfredson said the store will be a boon to American customers as well. "I very much appreciate the ease you have provided in ordering church materials, especially garments. It is not always easy to run to the temple distribution when you have kids in tow," she said.
Peterson said they've tried to make the online store site friendly to such customers.
"Of course, we can't take pictures of the garments, but we have pictures of parts like a cap sleeve or a lace hem. We have swatches of the fabric with as detailed descriptions as we could write. We have a detailed guide for how to take measurements," Peterson said.
Russell Nash, who runs the church seminary program in Kimberly, Idaho, promptly ordered pictures and manuals for the seminary once he was informed of the site.
"I really like the site. It has a clean appearance, and it's easier to navigate than the previous site," Nash said. "I do think it will be helpful to church members worldwide."
Patrons will access the site by using their church membership identification number, the same number that grants them entry to the FamilySearch site and information.
Peterson said the online store — currently available in 56 countries — will offer items at rates comparable to the income standard in a particular country.
The plan is to add Central and South America next, followed by the rest of Europe, Brazil and finally Asia by the end of 2011.
Shipping is free, and the prices are quoted in the particular countries' currency. Customer support in multiple languages including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, Italian, French and Portuguese will be offered.
Peterson said the emphasis is on making the online store easy to find, easy to use and easy to pay.
"We're trying to reach out to our customers," she said. Consequently, the payment methods vary according to country customs and available options. Some places prefer bank deposit and withdrawal. One insists on cash on delivery.
"It's been a challenge to bring the computers up to speed in the different languages," Peterson said. "We also had to prepare all of the marketing and sales materials in those languages and provide translation."
The store's online address is www.store.lds.org. All products are official products of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Peterson said the store's management will be listening to user feedback and try to keep improving the store.
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