7. Myer Direct: Directing buyers to the Net
Category
Fashion
Overall impression and usability
Myerdirect.com.au is well branded, and relatively straightforward to use. The homepage features a range of products in use, as well as the current competition. The selection of items for purchase is simple, but sometimes it was hard to match a colour with the actual product. In other areas, it's not obvious enough how to actually make the purchase.
Some common brands were not available in the "shop by brand" selector, such as Country Road and Calvin Klein. We were also surprised by the absence of Levi. As an example of online merchandising, the site needs some significant enhancements to improve the customer experience--especially when it comes to purchasing fashion items.
The site also offers benefits to members and Internet only specials.
Hits
- You can become a member, which includes monthly offers and discounts.
- The site includes some appealing features including gift-wrapping, an easy pay plan, and an interest free credit plan.
- The departments listed across the top of the screen allow you to enter the section of the site you desire quickly and easily. The drop down menus get you quickly into the right area.
- Pictures of the items to be purchased can be enlarged to gain a better view. This is important, as customers are only likely to buy clothes online if they feel sure they know what they will be getting, and how it will look.
- A general search facility is available, and you can also search by your favourite brand. This feature is useful for those of us who only wear a particular brand, or know which brand we want.
- Size charts are available so you can determine your size. This is also a crucial aspect of any fashion site, as you need to be convinced the item will fit before you make a purchase.
- You can make a quick order from the catalogue on the site. This feature is handy for when you have seen a product you want in a catalogue, but would like make the purchase online.
- A site map is provided to locate a particular feature of the site.
Misses
- There was no indication of the brands of some clothes viewed in the summary pages. For example, a pair of jeans was found, but no mention was made of the brand. Were they Levis, or a no name brand? This type of information is clearly relevant to the customer and is a critical aspect of choosing a product.
- Many of the prices were dated in 2000, which made us wonder whether the prices were current, and if the product was still available.
- When browsing a specific product it was difficult to determine the difference between the ranges of jeans being presented. For example, two pairs of jeans were presented, with different prices, however, the photos were identical.
- Delivery costs are not made all that clear. We expected to be told upfront about the additional costs associated with delivery, before being required to enter personal details in the Purchasing procedure.
- Although the toll-free number is provided, there is no mention of the Coles Myer Stores (e.g. Myer and Grace Bros). This can enhance the experience for customers who want to use the site for browsing, but not to make a purchase.
Purchasing procedure
- It was a straightforward process selecting items to go in the shopping basket. When clicking buy you're taken to a product details page where the product is outlined with other information. It was unclear that the item had already been added and we added the item a second time by accident.
- The site features a permanent shopping basket icon, which gives the total number of items, and the value.
- When clicking "checkout", we were presented with a long form to fill out. Granted this was all required information (who we were, where to deliver the product), we expected to be asked for a Grace or Myer Card number to retrieve existing details. This process does not seem to easily support existing customers make the transition to Myer Direct.
- No mention is made of how long the customer should expect delivery of the goods to take.
- The returns policy is clear and customer friendly.
Security
- The checkout area is delivered through SSL.
ePharmacy currently has 3 staff members. It proves that you do not have to have a massive business structure to have a successful e-commerce business.