E-commerce usability mimics retail techniques
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008Online shopping continues to rise in popularity, but is the usability keeping up with the growing customer base? As brick-and-mortar stores struggle to compete with big e-commerce sites like Amazon and Overstock.com, it seems that e-commerce retailers are also trying to duplicate the look and feel of a real store. User interfaces and features are more and more a reflection of the physical shopping experience.
One of the reasons e-commerce has been so successful is that websites are able to compete with retailers on the #1 sales driver: price. Large warehouses like Amazon’s can stock thousands of items without having to display them or redirect them to retail locations, like Best Buy does. But when prices are so easy to compare through services like Shopzilla and PriceGrabber, how else can an online retailer attract and retain customers?
Organization is one of the keys to successful e-commerce usability. Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, if a customer cannot quickly and easily find what they need, they can visit a competitor. For this reason, online stores are mimicking the organization techniques of retail stores. E-commerce sites must employ both a good “browse” function and a good search tool. This will meet the needs of customers with different shopping styles. While some will click through “Books > Non-Fiction > Outdoors > Bird Watching > The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher”, others might type the title they need into the search bar on the home page.
The need for a good browsing experience can not only help customers locate the items they need, but it can also lead to impulse purchases. Backcountry.com, an outdoor product e-commerce site, is a good example of an “upsell” browsing experience. As users click on different models of sleeping bags, for example, the site presents a sidebar with competing models and accessories like sleeping pads and compression sacks. Website retailers are increasingly employing taxonomists, whose job it is to group, tag, and name items to maximize the accuracy of these suggestions. Think of it as a descendant of signs over shopping aisles. This is a direct poaching of retail techniques, where similar items and their accessories are displayed next to one another for easy comparison shopping and upselling.
In-store and online shopping are also converging when it comes to the idea of an “effortless experience”. Many people access web retailers because it is less taxing than a trip to the mall. Customers don’t want to expend either mental or physical effort when it comes to online shopping in particular. A proper taxonomy can help here, as it might reduce the actual number of clicks it takes to reach the desired item. The most important factor, though, when it comes to reducing clicks is a good search tool. Many SaaS companies, including Google, are making search services available to retailers for use on e-commerce sites.
Finally, online shoppers are looking for expert information. While the teenager at Home Depot may or may not know what tool you’re looking for, e-commerce sites are increasingly allowing for in-depth comparison shopping. They are providing technical specifications, manufacturer’s information, high-resolution product photos, and even customer reviews. This helps close the gap between shopping in a real store (where you can read the back of the box and touch the item) and online shopping. Websites are also giving you a chance to talk with salespeople through instant chat and online customer service calls.
Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t simply standing by, though. They are embracing the era of Web 2.0 by including technology in the retail experience. While almost every store has a corresponding website, many are allowing customers to access the web from kiosks and stations in the store. A shopper could try on the shoes they want in one color, and order a different color from the retailer’s web kiosk.
While both online shopping and brick-and-mortar stores have their failings, the two are starting to look more and more alike. Users are shopping online more than ever, and website retailers are taking cues from retail stores to give customers the best experience possible.
By Haley January Eckels
