1 Expert Review July 8, 2003. 2 Executive summary Passive sales experience: too much gentle presentation without selling and not enough emphasis on what

1

Expert Review

July 8, 2003

2

Executive summary

• Passive sales experience: too much gentle presentation without selling and not enough emphasis on what the company has to offer

• Decent basic organization, but should be more fluid and focused

• Checkout process can be intimidating and confusing

3

Page-by-page analysis

4

Homepage does not embrace the casual shopper

Left-hand navigation seems detached from other content on page.

www.bombaycompany.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Promotional image draws the eye but overwhelms the space, leaving no room for text or links. Individual products should be more actively linked in addition to promo page.

Featured items lack images, descriptions or prices; they are not diverse, either. Display more products and information to give shoppers a better idea of the site’s breadth of inventory.

5

In addition to large promotional image, home page includes three individual items with descriptions, images and prices.

Left-hand column sticks to useful, basic navigational tools.

Pier 1’s homepage is both more aggressive and simpler

www.pier1.com 7/8/03800 x 600

6

Circuit City’s home page is similar to Bombay’s, including prominent sale items in the center of the page

Other retailers accomplish what Bombay needs to do

www.circuitcity.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Secondary featured products use titles, images, text, and prices to draw shoppers into disparate areas

Left-hand navigation is immediately useful and understandable

7

Gifts has an icon for differentiation, but the gifts area is the same as the other categories in utility. Idea Center shares icon status with Gifts but is of much different utility

Navigation can be misleading


Left-hand navigation is a receptacle for search and assorted unrelated links, which causes confusion deeper into the site when the column becomes more immediately useful

8

Outsized feature image overwhelms the page.A smaller image would allow more information to appear, aiding sale.

Section index is useful, but not enough


Featured Item and Featured Product treated differently but not differentiated. Featured products have no visuals.

Left-hand column now contains helpful links, but they feel disconnected from the page after the limited use of the same space on the home page.

9

Templated style sometimes needs more definition


Two items are featured, but neither has pricing or detail information, and one cannot tell from the photo and text which item is which

10

Simple text gives title and pricing

Pottery Barn features products by photo, not text

www.potterybarn.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Large photographs promote the product in a native environment

Stripped-down navigation stresses subcategories

11

Simple text gives item name and pricing

Pier 1 also features products by photo

www.pier1.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Vivid photographs promote the product in a native environment

Navigation stresses subcategories

12

Good product list page can be made even better

Add white space between items to draw more attention to product names

Boldfaced titles would draw attention to products and available links

Buy button should be associated with Availability and should either match page or stand out better


Availability, dimensions and regular/sale price information are a nice touch

13

Search results page should match product lists

Listings need a “more details” link and additional up-front information on pricing, dimensions, and availability

Boldfaced description and large thumbnail photos are an improvement over product list page


Dense blocks of text are not as useful in search results as highlighted selling points

14

Pottery Barn’s search results are more intuitive

Listings are displayed in a similar format to product display pages with the same available data

Search results are displayed in a search box for easy revision


Navigation adjusts itself to search terms to encourage browsing

15

Pier 1’s search is an exact match to product lists

Listings are displayed in the same format as product display pages with the same data

Search results are also displayed in a search box for easy revision

www.pier1.com 7/8/03800 x 600

16

Large product picture is good but decreases usefulness of zoom-in

Item display page needs better flow


Dimensions box should look different from item info box below

Mismatched Add, Email, and Print options look like they came from another page or a different site altogether

Improved product description would use bullets to draw out important information

Good: breadcrumbs expose subcategories that may be missed

17

Pier 1’s item display is similar but more direct

www.pier1.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Dimension and assembly information are integrated with product description

Quantity box placed next to price/item information, linking data to sale

18

Crate & Barrel uses more information with less fuss

www.crateandbarrel.com 7/8/03800 x 600

Highlighted box requests ZIP code for availability, then provides an update

Quantity box placed next to price/item information, linking data to sale, like Pier 1

Information area contains bullet points and prominent pricing information

Option links are fully integrated into the style and layout of the page

19

Delete/update links are not tied to quantity box

Shopping cart is not intuitive enough


Keep Shopping/ Proceed to Checkout buttons are generic and don’t visually match the page

Gift area seems lost beneath the horizontal rule, and is uninviting

Coupon/Promotional Code box is floating without a submit button, which is confusing and lacks definition

Good: full inclusion of product information

20

Other sites have integrated cart designs

www.potterybarn.com and others 7/8/03800 x 600

Gift area on Crate & Barrel is prominent and explanatory

Coupon boxes are saved for checkout phase

Delete/update links are aligned with quantity or overall order, and the buttons match the others on the page, including Keep Shopping/ Proceed to Checkout

21

Text is bold and red--the page seems angry

Checkout process is unfriendly


Shopping cart has disappeared; including it would keep the process simple

No explanations are given; the page assumes users know what happens in an online purchase

Step 1: addresses

Site does not appear to have user accounts, requiring re-entry of info for all future orders

22

Pottery Barn’s checkout begins in a friendly manner


Billing information page begins with an explanation of procedures

One-click yes/no answering for billing/shipping redundancy reduces the number of fields needed on the page

Step 1: address

23

Pottery Barn does some legwork for you


Page prefills shipping information with shipping address selected on previous page

Step 2: shipping

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Crate & Barrel focuses on its customer database


Site ignores billing information entirely, requesting a login or the establishment of a new account that can be used for all future transactions

Step 1: login

25

Crate & Barrel’s forms also simplify options


As Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel includes a one-click “ship to my billing address” option. Bombay does this, too, but does not hide the supplementary fields, which make its page more cumbersome.

On the billing page, Crate & Barrel also attempts to upsell login information to continue its customer database creation.

Step 2: billing and shipping

26

Page needs total price of order, not just subtotals--user cannot tell how much the full purchase will cost

Shipping fees confuse the user


Shopping cart is still missing; including it would help this page, where products are listed in a new format

Shipping options are scripted without a re-compute button, which may confuse users

Step 2: shipping

27

Gift card area is not distinctive; it should be more fully separated from credit card information (right now, the “important note” applies to it as well as credit cards)

Review and payment are hard to navigate


On all checkout pages, links to previous steps are unavailable, and the order review page does not allow editing. The user must abort a purchase to change an address or part of an order.

Again, the shopping cart should be reproduced, with subtotals and totals extending from it, rather than in an independent listing.

Step 3

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The bottom of the page includes an Edit Order button that allows the user to revise the invoice before finalization.

Pottery Barn combines steps to simplify the process


The final page includes a rehash of billing and shipping, as expected.

The page displays shipping fees and taxes simply.

Step 3

Promotional discount entering is explained and positioned above credit card entry. Logically, use of a credit card would only occur after a final, discounted price is given. An “Apply to order” button accompanies the promotion code entry boxes.

Documents

1 Expert Review July 8, 2003. 2 Executive summary Passive sales experience: too much gentle presentation without selling and not enough emphasis on what