10. Davidjones.com.au: Quality at a keystroke
Category
Fashion
Overall impression and usability
The David Jones Web site is set up in a very similar way to that of the Myer Direct site. The home page is clearly branded at the top of the screen, with a range of products displayed on the home page to tempt the customer. The design is very professional in appearance, and gives a similar impression to the actual store. This site is also relatively straightforward to use, but like the Myer site the purchasing process could be made a little more obvious. The prices at DJs were generally more expensive than Myer.
Hits
- Delivery costs and time frames are made clear to the customer on this site. This information is obviously relevant and important to the customer.
- Rewards for online purchases are offered, demonstrating the company's commitment to their online business.
- The site provides a stores locater for those willing to browse, but not make an actual purchase online. It is wise to offer an offline alternative, particularly for fashion, where many people may wish to see the product and try it on for fit before purchasing
- Another unique feature of the site is information provided for investors: this section provides shareholder information, company reports, and press releases. It is debatable whether this is appropriate to be included on what is primarily a shopping site.
- A gift wrapping service is provided, and the costs involved in this are clearly indicated.
- The stores return policy is stipulated to the customer before purchase.
Misses
- The colour chart provided to demonstrate the colours available for a particular item come with the warning "colours may look different on your screen".
- The bottom of the home page screen is cut off, but this is not necessary. The result is that many customers would not notice this navigation bar, and therefore be unaware of the information it offers
- Some of the categories are somewhat ambiguous as to whether they would contain the desired information. The categories are listed in light grey on a dark grey background, which is not particularly easy to read.
- You can't buy a product off the main page. You need to click into the details area, and then add it. When adding a product, the error messages were wrong if you didn't select the size, and certainly did not help clarify what to do to fix it.
- A Country Road search revealed a jumper on special, however, no price was given. This should have shown the original price, with the discount price, as is seen on the product details.
Purchasing procedure
- Searching for products was not as successful as expected. We searched for "Calvin Klein Jeans" and "Levi Jeans". The search for Calvin Klein brought up shorts and T shirts, while the Levi search brought up no results at all.
- The selection of a product for purchase is not a clear process. The "Add" button is presented in light grey, making it very hard to see. Given that the only point of the site is to sell product, making it hard to see the buy button is not good design.
- The purchase process after the selection of goods is straightforward. Seven steps are involved to checking out. The process is simplified by breaking it down into small steps. However, a number of the screens could easily be compressed to make the process quicker.
- The returns process is clearly covered in the help areas of the site.
Security
- When entering the checkout process, the site switches to SSL. There was clear information about the privacy policy and how it protects customers' details.
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.