5. dstore: Department of the future
Category
Department
Overall impression and usability
dstore is quick and easy to get around. The site's homepage, and the category homepages, clearly have the current items on it that are currently getting press elsewhere. There's a wide range of products and they are well categorised.
There were only a few areas that could be improved, including making the shopping cart visible in the display, providing quicker access to buy items, rather than having to view product details, and more predictable navigation when at lower levels of product categories.
dstore offers flexible payments methods, including cheques, phone or fax.
Hits
- Product categories have top sellers and new releases, all of which are quick to access.
- Provides a range of delivery options, from basic post to express overnight couriers.
- Insurance is available.
- dstore offers a 30 day, money back refund. No questions asked.
- Gift-wrapping is provided in a range of different colours. Individual personalised cards can be added to each item.
- When choosing the delivery method, there is a clear statement about the delivery date
Misses
- Shopping cart is not visible in the display.
- You have to view product details before you can add it to your shopping cart. There's no quick way to add an item from the top sellers or other lists.
- The left hand navigation changed without clear reason, making it difficult to navigate at the third level of product categorisation.
Purchasing procedure
- The site uses a six step process that is very easy to follow.
- Purchases can be made by credit card online, gift certificate fax, phone or cheque by post.
Security
- The site uses SSL for transactions.
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.