International Software Warehouse
RATING: 6/10
International Software Warehouse is more than its name suggests, it does in fact sell hardware as well. The homepage is very easy to read and is neatly laid out. It provides all the key information and links you would expect on a shopping site, including specials, help information, product categories, contact details, and search. It provides four different methods of getting you to the product you are looking for, and you can browse over the site quite easily. You can even request the latest catalogue to be sent to your house.
Hits
- One of the great things about the site is that when you are browsing you can sort products easily by criteria (price, manufacturer, category, etc) although the sort button could be contrasted with the background to make it more obvious.
- For all the Mac fans out there, there is a wide range of Macintosh software available, and even some accessories. These were even highlighted on the homepage, making them easy to find.
- The order tracking facility is easy to use and is reported to be updated daily.
- Each category has a product of the week, which is nice and exposes customers to items they might not have considered.
- Free stuff is on offer with purchases and other specials. This is great and was very popular with our testers.
- Although we didn't need to call ISWH for any reason, we thought we would check to see what their customer service was like. The answer: super! They were quick to respond and we got a person straight away--not a machine.
- The site tells you before you start what credit cards are accepted and that the prices are in Australian dollars.
- Information for new customers is easy to understand and is located under the help link. The customer support phone number is shown on every page just in case you get stuck.
Misses
- Unfortunately, there was no information about some products, such as the laptop we were planning on buying, so we didn't buy it. Even though this site may be used for a price comparison, customers are unlikely to buy a $6000 laptop without the specs and a picture. The fact that they aren't there forces customers to go and look somewhere else for the info! Very few products seem to have appropriate information about them. However, when the product information was there--for example, for the Palm m100--0it was very good.
- The left-hand navigation lists manufacturers, but customers are more likely to shop by category of goods. It made the process a little harder and we didn't see the reason for doing it this way, as few people would buy a product by brand alone. They would probably prefer to shop by item and then choose brand.
- Availability doesn't seem to be shown anywhere on the site, making it hard to know when you will get the product you purchase.
- The specials page is quite extensive and although it says the products are either superseded, returned or unwrapped goods, it doesn't say which ones are which.
- You might be happy with an opened carton of CD-RWs, but you don't want your ZIP drive to have been played with--you can't tell. Also, the site doesn't tell you how much you are saving on the specials, which is important when deciding on an impulse purchase. If it's clearly a bargain, people are more likely to buy it.
Purchasing Process
- The cart facility is quite good and allows you to check the freight on your goods immediately. Unlike many other sites we have evaluated, the cart was well laid out and easy to use.
- We tried to add a special product to our cart and it stopped the browser. The price said "$call". If we can't purchase it over the Net then we have to call; clearly this is inconvenient and a real barrier to buying behaviour.
- After deciding to proceed to the checkout, ISWH offers you a couple of specials and a free gift. We got Filemaker 2.1. Also, when we selected the freebie it didn't make us go back through the checkout again, which was a nice touch.
- The site asks you to enter an e-mail and password if you have purchased before or to fill out the form of account details. The form is easy to understand. After entering the details it allows you to check them before placing the order.
- Once the order is placed you are sent a confirmation number for your records.
Member Benefits
- There is no membership noted on the site; however, if you request a catalogue you have the option to be e-mailed about specials "no more than once a month".
Search Facility
- Search worked well, but you need to know the manufacturer of the product, otherwise browsing is the only option. This is a limitation of the site and should be improved to enable customers to search for categories of items, like Laser Printers.
- Although the site gives the option of using a "Websearch" code to go straight to a product, the codes were only shown when viewing a list of the products. This feature might be handy if you were frequently buying the same item and would make the process quicker.
General Usability
- The site was cleanly laid out with customer information in easy-to-find locations on the page.
- There were clear instructions to support the customer through the experience although it was a fairly intuitive process anyway.
- The pages also loaded quite quickly, enhancing the experience.
- The product categories are clearly laid out, however "Hardware" means accessories, and in the PC section, it is for computers. This was a little confusing for some of our testers. The delivery function tells you ahead of time what it is likely to cost and is very easy to use and understand.
- The site does not comply with W3C accessibility guidelines.
13%
1%
