Bergdorf Goodman Doesn't You To Buy Clothes
Or, they’re making it a harder for you to give them your money then it should be. Bergdorf’s site structure makes use of the old school trick of using a non-web experience to organize and present content online (ie. the omni-present tabs in a notebook structure), thinking that it will be relatable, and easy to use.
In this case, BergdorfGoodman.com’s navigation/organization structure alludes to their physical stores.
Major sections on this site fall under labels like “Shop by Floor”, “Designer Collections”, and “5F”. While ensuring that the offline and online brand experience are connect is a good thing, making such a literal translation of the offline into the online space can be problematic. For instance, for a neophyte Bergdorf Goodman shopper, who has never set foot inside a store, this kind of site structure can really be a barrier to purchase. They may not know where to find what they’re looking for without working for it: What’s sold on each floor? What’s the difference between Designer Collections and 5F?
Let’s take a look at what’s behind the Shop by Floor option.
Each floor is labeled by number only. There are no cues as to what a customer will encounter if they make the decision to invest in a click on any of these options; there is no on-screen indication of the kinds of product offered by a ‘floor’, either on first glance, or on hover or roll-state over one of the floor numbers. This kind of access point to the shopping flow calls for an investment in exploration by possible customers, and investment in time and interest that they just may not want to take.
The more you make a customer work for something, the less likely it is they’ll stick around to find it, or come back and become a loyal, repeat customer.
How does your customer really think about your offerings? Make it easy for them and structure your site to meet their mental model instead of throwing your internal structure up there for all to see.
Yes, your site should be a way to relate your brand offering, but what you think about your brand can be completely different from the experience that your customer is familiar with. Don’t talk at your customer; talk with them, using the language - navigation labels and structural organization - that they use.
1 year agoRevolveClothing.com And Images on their Shelf Pages
Revolve uses shelf pages as resourceful and powerful work horses; like a lot of retail sites, they provide filters for sizing and colour, and sorts for price, category, popularity and newest item added.
A really interesting point of difference, however, is they way they’re elevating the multiple product shot image collection from the product page to the shelf. Though the controls for viewing multiple images may be a little hard to initially locate, once you find and start using them, they’re a brilliant, brilliant tool for comparison shopping and finding out information before commiting to a click to the product page.
Here, let me show you.
The shelf page’s default presentation is the product’s front view. But see that pulldown defaulted to “front”, sandwiched beside the choice for how many products to see on a page and that page count?
If you select that with that pulldown, you’ll see options for “back” and “detail”, like so.
Additionally, if you hover over a product, an enlarged image appears onscreen, as do control arrows on the shelf page image. When you click on the arrows, you’re given a little slide show of all of the image assets for the product, including the three available through the image angle pulldown.
To go down this route, a lot of planning between sometimes disparate groups is needed - think about the investment in ensuring that each product has the same three angle shots, as well as the additional images that appear in the enlarged roll-state view.
So, what do you think? Is it worth the investment? That’s a question best answered by thinking about your customers: What do they need? What do they want? What do they expect? What can you give them that will really delight them as they spend time on your site?
1 year agoTop Level Domains Expanding
Via One Degree (http://www.onedegree.ca/2008/06/yournamehere-ch.html).
“ICANN, the international body that regulates domain naming, announced their unanimous vote to open up restrictions on top level domains (TLDs). Starting in Q2 2009, it will be possible to apply to have just about anything as a TLD.
…
- Brand names can be used as extensions. Think of .coke .nike .ebay
- You can more narrowly target geography. Imagine .london .nyc .hongkong
- Be more specific with what you offer. Appearing soon .sport .news .sex
…
Although cnet and others are reporting that the applications for new TLDs will cost $50,000 to $100,000, ICANN has said it will be “in the low six figure dollar amounts,” according to Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of the non-profit organization.”
What does this mean for our clients? Just how many websites will a company have to claim, if not develop? Where will their clients look to in order to complete their goals online?
Can, meet worms.
1 year agoWhen Does Making a Customer Feel Special Turn into an Issue of Exclusivity?
When you create a combined online shop / social network that requires (a) registration in order to see the products in the shop half of things, and (b) is invite only.
Welcome to Totokaelo.
For Totokaelo, creating this air of exclusivity may be right in line with their business model. Before walking down this kind of road, however, I would caution that you make sure that it really does match your guiding philosophy and purpose statement; placing a barrier between you and your customers may do nothing but drive them away, and, more worrisome, inspire feelings that can be damaging to the reputation of your brand.
1 year agoEngaging the Bloggers
Loud Truck Energy Gummies has an interesting on-going social media campaign; blog about your love for their Loud Truck, tell them about it, and they send you free product.
While blogging has been the go-to user-generated testimonial space for the past couple of years, I’d love to see companies like Loud Truck embrace other spaces as well; Facebook, Twitter, they’re all quite viable communication tools, and they’re where the people currently are. Get the people to take your message back to the social spaces they’re using, and everyone is happy (and hopped up on energy gummies).
1 year agoAmerican Apparel takes to EBay to Hawk Vintage Pieces
It’s true!
American Apparel - California Select, Vintage and More
These vintage and one of a kind pieces can only be purchased at select retail locations, or via their EBay store.
What an interesting way to address possible stock and one-of-a-kind item issues! As well, using the EBay storefront model allows for a PayPal-based e-commerce experience; for a demographic where credit cards may not have yet made a home in their wallets, this is a great way to demolish a barrier between retailer and customer.
1 year agoSo, Nylon and MySpace Go on a Date
To a rockshow, of course. It is the music issue, after all. The result?
From the cover:
Inside, each article ends with a MySpace link, or three, leading to pages of the musician or artist or store mentioned in the article, and, sometimes, more interestingly, the musician that served as inspiration.
Iggy and the Stooges lead to shimmery jeans. It’s true!
Finally, Nylon has a pretty good handle on the idea of value added content. Here’s a callout to what you can do on their site, related to the most current issue.
YourSole.com Follows Up
This was in my inbox this morning. From my initial purchase experience to the online follow-up by Andrew on the posting, to this? It may just be an insole company, but they’re thinking about their online and offline presence in a way that a lot of retailers can’t even imagine.
Hey, Give Us Some of that Social Network Stuff!
Wet Seal is getting in on the game by creating their own Wet Seal Community.
When do you think the Interwebs will finally reach it’s breaking point? How many communities can be created, flourish and become sustainable?
Before commiting to creating your own social network, think about what value-add you’re giving your customers by building something from scratch. Will they appreciate coming to a new site to engage with others and with your brand? Or will they be better served if you create a presence in a social network they already use?
