Top 15: Editor's Choice
The best e-commerce sites were those that made life easy for the customer, and allowed them to fully exploit the benefits of e-commerce (i.e. the convenience, speed, and information required by customers).
The best sites had a clear purpose, and made it very obvious what they were selling. The site was then explicitly designed around this purpose--usually browsing and searching for products, and then the purchase process as a natural and easy conclusion.
These sites were also consistent with their design and navigation from page to page, and the site contained up-to-date pricing and information. They looked professional and clean, but not to the point of being too busy or eye straining. The best sites also offered features that would encourage return customers--be it providing interesting information, personalisation or offering member discounts. These sites also created trust by addressing concerns of security, varied payment methods, the design, and clear policies regarding protecting the customer, such as refunds and exchanges. Those sites that were up front and reassuring about these issues are likely to receive the greatest customer confidence--and this translates into increased sales
Although no site scored a perfect ten--three sites stood out as able to meet most of the criteria above, all tying at 9/10. These were Adultshop, eBay and Wishlist. These three sites achieved many of these goals, and are in industries well placed to take full advantage of e-commerce.
|
Rank |
E-commerce site |
|
1 |
Adultshop:
Who says sex doesn't sell |
|
2 |
eBay Australia: Bidding on success |
|
3 |
Wishlist: Delivering e-commerce wishes |
|
4 |
ePharmacy: Good medicine for e-business |
|
5 |
dstore: Department of the future |
|
6 |
Tandy.com.au: Handy site to have around |
|
7 |
Myer Direct: Directing buyers to the Net |
|
8 |
Qantas: Flying high on the Net |
|
9 |
ShopFast: Speeding up e-commerce |
|
10 |
Davidjones.com.au: Quality at a keystroke |
|
11 |
Angus & Robertson: By-the-book design |
|
12 |
Sponge Store: Soaking up the customers |
|
13 |
GreenGrocer.com.au: Freshening up the Web |
|
14 |
Harvey Norman Online: Communicating with customers |
|
15 |
ChaosMusic: The calm in the Net storm |
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.