Looking at UK retail sites (survey results)
Written by: Jonathan Briggs
October 15, 2004 [12696 views]
Last week I asked you to look at a range of UK retailers and at improvements that could be made to their sites. Thanks to all of you who took part. This should have started to give you a framework for looking at ecommerce and common issues.
Here are some of the interesting findings you came up with.
It was easy to find the following things on the sites you looked at:
73% Store finder
69% Clear returns policy
66% Clear data privacy statement
53% Contact telephone number for the head office
44% Clear ways to complain
35% Site map (showing the layout of the website)
13% Evidence of what other customers have purchased (Top 10)
13% International versions of the site
12% Product ratings
12% Text (or accessible) version of the site
5% Staff selections of products
4% Names of staff who you could contact
4% Reviews from other customers
I would expect most sites to give me all of the above so many of these figures are surprisingly low.
In what ways could customers provide feedback to the store?
67% Email link
54% Customer service telephone number
47% Feedback form
4% Can review products
3% Call me back button
I am again surprised that companies do not give customers more opportunities to tell them what they like or dislike or ask for help. Of course some of you noticed other ways of communicating such as post or fax but these do not really make optimum use of the technology.
I asked you to look at the design of the site and give some feedback
77% The wording of buttons and links is clear and understandable
76% The products are well displayed
72% Navigating around the site is straightforward
65% The branding and design looks appropriate for a company of this size
31% The site uses HTML frames
26% The store seems to have been constructed using an off the shelf software product
26% The site has an animated (Flash) intro before the home page
19% The design looks cheap and unprofessional
5% Care has been taken to make the site accessible to blind and partially sighted users
The basics seem to be OK but sites are failing to cater for many users and since the Disability Discrimination Act became law at the beginning of October it is clear that many of these sites are now breaking the law.
I asked you for recommendations for improvements.
71% Better offers
64% Improved customer service
55% Better graphical design and branding
55% Increased information
49% Improved navigation
44% Improved shopping process
25% Tighter business integration
You also made specific recommendations including removing Flash, adding search facilities, changing the registration process and adding a site map.
Here is a list of some of the companies you looked at.
www.alexblake.com
www.argos.co.uk
www.beautyspotcosmetics.co.uk
www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com
www.boots.com
www.burtonmenswear.co.uk
www.clintoncards.com
www.debenhams.com
www.esteelauder.com
www.eu.levi.com
www.fcukbuymail.co.uk
www.footlocker.com
www.frenchconnection.co.uk
www.gadgetshop.com
www.gadgetsuk.com
www.gap.com
www.hmv.co.uk
www.johnlewis.com
www.landsend.com
www.lush.co.uk
www.markandspencer.com
www.next.co.uk
www.next.co.uk
www.past-times.com
www.pcworld.co.uk
www.premierman.com
www.richersounds.co.uk
www.riverisland.co.uk
www.shopping.co.uk
www.tedbaker.co.uk
www.theperfumeshop.com
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
www.tmlewin.co.uk
www.topman.co.uk
Recent comments:
What do you think?
On October 15, 2004 at 11:27 AM, Jonathan wrote:
I forgot to add that some of you clearly do not read the instructions you are given. You will have to take more care if you are to pass the examination.