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Shopnow.comDiscussion - 2/9/00

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Study Plan

• Study objectives: – Improve site navigation with the main intent being to get consumers to

buy something.

• General demographics: – An individual, 18 years of age or older, who currently has Internet

access either at home and/or work; and has personally purchased a product or service over the Internet in the past six months and/or is somewhat or very likely to do so in the next six months.

• Age and Gender demographic: – Primary target is currently adults, age 25 – 54, 60% women, 40%

men;

• Income demographic: – Over $50,000 annual household income

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Study Plan

• Three groups of eight (24 Subjects)• Three tasks per subject on three different

sites• Study used Latin Square design to assure

objectivity

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Shopnow.com

Task: Go to this Web site and shop for a desktop computer

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Gateway 1- Original

• Average– Fixations: 116

• 3 of 8 subjects made the wrong choice

•

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Gateway 2 – Text change

• Average– Fixations: 74

• 1 of 8 subjects made the wrong choice

•

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Gateway 3 – Dropdown

• Average– Fixations: 21

• 0 of 8 subjects made the wrong choice

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Gateway 4 - Live

• Average– Fixations: 44

• 1 of 8 subjects made the wrong choice

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Category Page - Search

• 3 of 20 subjects used the search to find the product

• 6 of 20 subjects considered using the search

• Average– Fixations: 70

• Average fixations were 27 before engaging search menu

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Category Page - w/consideration

• 11 of 20 subjects considered other areas of the page before selecting the product category

• Average– Fixations: 58

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Category Page - Direct

• 6 of 20 subjects went directly to the category section to select product

• Average– Fixations: 35

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Clicks vs. Considerations

3/6

0/6 1/6 0/1

0/2

0/2

0/8

16/1

0/20/3

• 20 Subjects made the correct selection on the category page

• 4 Subjects did not make it to the category page from the gateway page

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Design Flow

• The Shopnow design has three marginal design flows Is the most

significant

Is the next

Is the least

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Category – Spotlight Stores

• Stores listed in the third column received few considerations

• Average– Fixations: 132

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Clicks vs. Considerations

• Search box at bottom of page received 2 clicks and 1 consideration

0/4

0/5 0/8 0/1

0/6

0/2

0/6

11/0

0/00/0

0/1

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Sub Category 1

• 10 of 10 subjects considered the store icon in the store list

• 7 of 10 subjects considered every store on the list (5 subjects returned to the first store listed.

• Average– Fixations: 107

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Clicks vs. Considerations

• Search box at bottom of page received 1 consideration

0/2

0/1 0/3 0/1

1/6

0/5

0/6

9/0

0/00/0

0/0

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Excite.com

Task: Go to this Web site and shop for anything you like

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Excite

• 14 of 16 subjects scrolled out banner before first fixation

• Average– Fixations: 61

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Yahoo.com

Task: Go to this Web site and shop for a cell phone

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Yahoo - Gateway

• 15 of 16 subjects never considered the Yahoo shopping gateway

• Average– Fixations: 28

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FastFocus

Task: Go to this Web site and shop for a refrigerator

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FastFocus - Search• 7 of 8 subjects

never considered the the FastFocus test

• However, once the FastFocus test was engaged, subjects completed steps 1 and two, averaging 20 fixations. Subjects struggled with step three, averaging an additional 30 fixations

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Perception Survey• Please give us your rating of the Shopnow Web site relative to other Web Sites you have

used. (On a scale of 1 to 7)

• 1. It was ______ to navigate from the home page. Very hard – Very Easy• 2. It took _____ steps to navigate from the home page. Too Many - Very Few• 3. Understanding on the home page information was ________ .Very difficult - Very easy• 4. It took ____ time to find information. Too much - very little• 5. There was ____information on the home page. Not enough - just right - too much• 6. The information provided on the home page was ___to understand. Very hard - Very

easy• 7. I was ___ sure of the next step to take as I navigated from the home page. Never -

Always• 8. The site navigation was _________to use. Very hard - Very easy• 9. It was ___________ to find product information. Very hard - Very easy• 10. It was ___________ to use this site’s search engine. Very hard - Very easy• 11. This site had ___________ advertisements on the home page. Too Many - Two Few

• *12. Compared to other Web shopping sites, Shopnow is ___organized. Poorly – Very Well– *Group three only

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Survey Results – Group 1 & 2

Survey Results

4.6 4.6 4.8

4.14.5 4.5 4.4

5.1

4.4

5.4

3.9

6.0

5.35.8

5.1

4.2

5.65.3

5.6 5.6

6.3

4.0

5.9

4.85.0

4.5 4.55.0

5.65.3

5.65.3

3.5

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Questions

Ra

tin

gs Shopnow Average

Yahoo Average

Excite Average

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Survey Results – Group 3

Group 3 Results

4.34.0 3.9

4.1

4.9

4.3

2.9

4.44.0 4.0

2.9

3.6

4.1 4.0 4.0 4.1

3.3

4.33.9

4.8 4.94.4

4.7

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Questions

Ra

tin

gs

Revised Shopnow

FastFocus Average

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Group 1 - CommentsHow many merchants does ShopNow

represent?

 

500,000

Many

Not sure

Hundreds? Not sure

Hundreds +

500 +

Don’t Know

Three

Quite a few

 

 What are the key benefits of ShopNow?

 

Don’t know

Many merchants, hopefully at the best price.

Many resources on one page. One stop shopping.

Variety of products available.

Variety, price comparison made easy.

None

Don’t Know

Selection w/o going to different stores

Search engine

How would you improve the site?

 

It should be more catchy and draw more attention to the link.

It is very full. Too much info. I would break up product group text by some icons.

I identify better w/ graphics.

Fewer advertisements. Brief navigation tips

Looks good

Specials, discounts, buy-one get-one free headers.

Don’t Know

Use a bigger font and there is too much to read at first.

As long as the search engine is immediately available, everything on the home page is OK.

Would you return to Shopnow.com to purchase online? Why?

 

Yes, it was quick

No, too complicated to search—easier sites exist.

Yes, there were lots of choices and it was easily organized.

Yes, looks like a good place to stare a search for a product.

Would you recommend Shopnow.com to a friend or relative? Why?

 No, Confidential disclosure, other than that it was

the same as any other.No, too complicated.Yes, there were lots of choices and it was easily

organized.Yes, Broadbased shipping.   Who is most likely to use this site? First time surfers.Discriminating shopper looking for detailed

information.Women who like to shop but don’t like to go outAnyone   What best describes Shopnow.com? One stop shopping.CompleteLots of stuff.Variety---probably find anything you need.

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Group 2 - CommentsHow many merchants does ShopNow

represent?

 Don’t know, Don’t know, Don’t know, 12, Don’t know, 11, 12

  What are the key benefits of ShopNow?

 You can do it at home.

Variety

Average Site

Variety

Allows 24 hour shopping.

Shop for any product or service

Variety of products

The categories are obvious and easy to find

How would you improve the site?

 I liked it the way it was.

Change colors---stick out more.

Less info on home page. Having a word search & a few key leads would be better.

Reduce the size of advertisements and content.

Less Clutter

Seems OK

 

 

Would you return to Shopnow.com to purchase online? Why?

 Yes, if I liked the price of the product I decided to buy.

Yes, I have never heard of this site and would go there again.

No, unless a link led me to it.Yes, It was easy and offered alternatives

when shopping other sitesYes, I use it as a price comparison to buy

from the cheapest retailer.Yes, I now know about it.Yes, lots of variety and all kinds of stuff.Yes, I like the website. Would you recommend Shopnow.com to a

friend or relative? Why? Yes, Convenience and good price and

accessibility of information.Yes, different site.No, not particularly interestingYes, I see no reason to discourage anyone

from looking at this site.Yes, provided I actually had good results.Yes, such a broad range of merchandise

could be useful to many.Yes, It is easy to use. 

 Who is most likely to use this site? People who are comfortable w/ computers and

have access at home.People looking for deals—Lots of thingsSomeone shopping for something specific.Women25+ access to computerAnyone  What best describes Shopnow.com? A very informative yellow pagesRight now---hard to use.I like the price compare feature.A consumer general store.A retailing Yahoo. Looks just like Yahoo’s

main page.A shopping search engineVarietyEasy

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Group 3 - CommentsHow many merchants does ShopNow

represent?Many, Thousands, 12, 4 Power Up –Quantex,

Chase, Ubid.com and Win Big, 5, 40, Thousands

 What are the key benefits of ShopNow? Only have to hit one siteVariety, easy accessYou can shop for anything you would find in a

mall---online.To get to the shopping network fairly quickly.Wide range of merchandise/services to pick

from.Easy because you don’t have to waist time

going to stores and it was fast.Wide selection

How would you improve the site? More color, make a list of categories up and

down, include pictures for easier reference.

Cut down the number of clicks to get to a specific product. Use color photo images of the product with a brief explanation next to the picture (like a catalogue).

Make a list of categories and leave out the description underneath each one. Make the price a little easier to figure out.

Remove the descriptions of the headings---they are sufficient with out going on.

  

Would you return to Shopnow.com to purchase online? Why?

 Yes, The site seems to have multiple items that I would regularly purchase.

Yes, variety of categories.Yes, out of curiosity. Yes, it was easy to get right to shopping.Yes, they seemed to have a large variety of

items. One stop shopping.Yes, it was quick and there was no waiting.Yes, able to compare prices/retailers, make

choice based on variety of information Would you recommend Shopnow.com to a friend

or relative? Why? Yes, The site seems to have multiple items that I

would regularly purchase.Yes, Check it out!No, Not until I found it easy and fruitful. Yes, If it makes shopping easier than going the

individual store sites.Yes, they seemed to have a large variety of

items. One stop shopping.Yes, so they wouldn’t have any problems with

shopping. Yes, a useful resource for shopping online.  

Who is most likely to use this site? People not afraid of technology.Hardcore Internet shoppers.WomenShoppers--- Parents or anyone who knows how

to use a computer.Younger peopleFather –in-law and Mother-in-lawBrother who is interested in electronics.  What best describes Shopnow.com? ConvenienceA lot of words on the homepage and a little

confusing.It looks like a cluttered old department store like

Woolworths.You can find what you are looking for through the

categories and compare their prices.One stop shopping.Easy to shopUseful information, wide representation of

products.

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Recommendations• Gateway Page

– Design a simple Gateway page that does not require the customer to understand your business model

– Use words in the headlines that are clear to the average user (Start shopping vs. Shopnow.com

– Feature brand by implementing a controlled page load

• Category Page– Decide on right or left for the channel position. Don’t vary key elements from

page to page.– It is not clear for customers on how to shop: By store, category, product.– Rotate banner position between right and left.– Relate associated elements through design???????

• Spotlight Store’s Page– Change from a three column to a one column format within the spotlight

store’s area. This will assure that all stores receive consideration.

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Recommendations• All Pages

– Be critical on the words you use: People scan shopnow.com for “keywords”– Use the same color palette and design for the search menu at the bottom of

the page– Keep key element position the same, vary advertising if possible.– Key and cross navigation needs to be defined– Add strong cross navigation within other sites– Standardize list formats, design

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Do you stand out?

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Observations

• Don’t try to be all things to all people at one time– Feature your strengths

• Shop by store, product, category, or browse• Feature price selector

– Let design segment audience, then lead them to a purchase decision– Use a strong shopping experience to cross sell other areas– People don’t browse unless you give them a reason to browse– Current design is safe, but Shopnow.com is just another shopping site to your

customers– Push the FastFocus concept – it starts to make it simple.– Learn from your other shopping sites at a UI level