The Customer Experience

Attitude does many things to make the customer experience as good as possible. Navigation is relatively easy because of various search options and clear layout amongst other aspects (see previous section on Accessibilty and Usability for more details on this). There is also a detailed help page that aims to solve the basic problems of most customers making it easy to solve problems and therefore making the experience better.





The customer can give feedback on the site quite easily. At the very bottom of the page there is a 'Site Feedback' option, when the user clicks on this link the following screen appears which allows the user to give feedback on the web site, the user must provide details of their email address so that Attitude are able to get back to them.

This is a good feature because it allows customers to have their say in the design and general running of the web site, if the customer has more say it improves their customer experience because the design of the web site is improved by user feedback. The only problem with this section of the site is that it is quite difficult to find as you have to scroll down a long way before you reach the link - many people may not even realise it is there. It would be a great improvement if this was easier to find.

Attitude also provide other methods of customer care - the help page is one example. This has many useful features to the user, it is clearly split into sections so that it is easy to understand and even has a frequenly answered questions section which solves many problems that a user may have, meaning there is less need for them to fill in other enquiry forms.

Enquiry forms are available to the user for if the help section does not solve their particular problem. This is for customers who have an enquiry about their particular order (customers are first advised to look at the help section as it is likely that their query is answered there). This is useful to the customer because their questions can be answered by sending off this form which is easy to follow and fill out. The only downside is again, it is quite difficult to find this section as before, it should be made more visible so it is clear to the user where it is.

Conditions of Purchase

On the Attitude web site there is a clear link to a page titled 'Terms and Conditions'. This informs the user of the terms on which they are entitled to use the web site and various rules they must abide by if they are to use the web site. This page is relatively easy to find, but only if the user is looking for it. It is right at the very bottom of the page and you have to scroll down a long way before you get to it (the page is blank as you scroll down - so it could be moved up the page). It is also written in dark blue font on a black background making it difficult to see - it would be better if the page was easier to find for the user as these factors make it difficult.



The page uses clear and simple language making it easy for any user to understand, it gives the user most information that they need, however it does not tell them how they can return goods, the only information given on how goods can be returned is a small piece of text saying '*All sale items are non-returnable. This does not affect your statutory rights'. This is not enough information as it does not tell the user how they can return goods that were not on sale. However more information how to return goods is given on a different page in the help section which gives all the relevant details. Although this is satisfactory, it would be a good idea to have a link from the Terms and Conditions page to this page as it would make sense to have all of this information in the same place. Information is also given on cookies, what is done with customer information, what custoemr information is kept, information on copyrights and information on security for the customer.



Overall the conditions of purchase given to the user are good as they contain most of the relevant information that they should. Although they do not give information on how to return goods, there is an 'Enquiry Form' on a different page, the user could fill in one of these if they wished to find out more information on this - however it would be much better if they gave information on returning goods on the terms and conditions page. Also I think the page should be easier to find.

Screen shots

<--Screen shot to go with 'Usability and Accessibility'

Screen shot to go with techniques to engage, retain and entice customers:

Usability and Accessibility

Attitude do many things to make the web site easier to use. For example, there are many different categories that the user is able to search by - this means that it is much easier for them to find the product they want because their search is narrowed down considderably. This makes it easier for the user and also makes shopping on the web site much more pleasurable because they do not have to spend lots of time browsing through products they are not interested in. The key word search serves the same purpose as this - allowing the user to find the right product quickly and easily.

There is a 'quickshop' option on Attitude which makes it much faster for the user to find their product if they already know the 'product ID' (each product has its own unique product ID making this much more efficient than searching by key word if the user already knows the ID as there will not be more than one option matching their criteria). The user can also enter the product size and quantity into the quick search - this is useful because it means everything is done in one stage (this would usually be done over a number of stages). Once all of this information is typed in the product is automatically added to the customers cart where they can then make the final transactions.

The web site has a very clear structure making it easy to follow for the user - for example everything is very ordered and the links to different product types are in the same place no matter what page they are on, this mean that the user cannot get 'lost' on the web site because they can click on all of the links no matter where abouts on the site they are, and if all else fails it is easy to get back to the home page.

Attitude has a clear, easily found help page. This makes it easier for the user to use the web site because if they are stuck with something on the web site or have a problem with the product they are able to go straight to the help section (which is avialable from all pages) to solve their problem. The help page answers frequently asked questions which may help the user, and alternatively they can contact the company with their question via email, phone, fax or post (details of this are given in the help section).

The sizes on Attitude are quite strange and are not standard sizes used in shops in the UK, so Attitude has a 'sizing guide', this gives the size used by Attitude, e.g. 'Medium' and underneath it gives the standard UK dress size (10, 12, 14 etc.), it then also gives the user the various measurements that also come under that size, for example the bust and waste measurements that apply to the size. This information is presented in the form of an easy to follow table so the user can understand it clearly. The only problem with this section is that it is not particularly easy to find - it is in the 'help' section, which although is quite logical it is not the most obvious place to look. It would probably be better if the size guide was hyperlinked on each page or was part of the main options bar, this way it would be much easier for the user to find. This would benifit the company because users would not be put off of an item just because they were unsure what size they would need to buy.

The only problem with the Attitude web site usability is the cluttered home page - this could look confusing to the user, especially if they do not have much computer experience. Therefore this could put people off of using the web site entirely as it is not entirely clear where you need to go from the home page.

Another negative point is that if the user clicks on one of the categories down the left hand side of the page, they are taken back to the home page! This is very frustrating for the user, it would be much better if when clicked they took the user to a list of sub categories within that option as it is quite misleading to have links to the home page on each of the categories. This could confuse the user and could put them off the web site because it makes the navigation difficult making it harder to find the desired product.

Overall, I think the Attitude web site is highly usable, especially once the user is used to the layout. However the home page should probably be less cluttered so the user could find things easier.

Techniques to Engage, Retain and Entice Customers

Because it is a web site, Attitude has to f ocus a lot on enticing customers. This is because it is different to having a high street shop in that people will not just 'pop in' on the way past if they like the look of it, they have to go their specifically. Most people do not just find transactional web sites by chance like they would a shop. It also needs to make up for the lack of human interaction - for example there are no salespeople to convince people to buy the products, therefore extra effort needs to be put into making them sound good.

Attitude does quite a lot of advertising. One method of advertising is the free catelogue that is given away with music magazines such as 'Kerrang!' every season. This is a good idea because the people who read magaszines like this are the ones who are most likely to like the sorts of clothes that are sold on attitude in the first place. It also gives people an alternative method of buying the items other than on the Internet - they can order them by post instead of online. Another good thing about giving away the catelogue is that the web address is given at the bottom and the catelogue does not contain all of the products that Attitude sell, it just gives an idea of the type of clothing available to the customer on Attitude. This means that the customer is more likely to want to visit the web site to see more of what they have to offer. Attitude also often advertises in the actual magazine, the advertisment always has a link to the web site and pictures of some of the clothes available which encourages people to visit the site.

Attitude is also a 'sponsored link' on Google - this means that they pay the search engine Google to advertise the company and pay them depending on how effective this is (the more people that click on the advertisment, the more they pay). This is good because it means that if the user types in search criteria such as 'Alternative clothing' on google, Attitude is the first web site that appears on the page. People are more likely to visit the sites that are closest to the top of the page because they are generally the more popular ones and often people do not want to scroll through all of the other web sites, reading all of the captions until they find the right one. This method is very successful because more people can find out about the web site and they will therefore have more customers as a result.

Once the customer is on the web site - Attitude need ways to keep them intersted. This is why the page is so busy and colourful with so many pictures. If a web site is not attractive customers are less likely to stay on them, it is also important that the navigation is easy (it is reasonably on Attitude) as if the customer cannot find any of the right products they are not likely to continue trying to find them on the site. This is no different to a traditional shop - if a customer thought it was untidy, didn't like the layout or could not find what they wanted they would leave.

Another method Attitude use to encourage customers to buy things on the web site is through special offers and competitions. For example, at the top of the screen on the home page as part of the same banner as the logo it says 'FREE UK standard delivery when you spend over £50 onlin' and 'HURRY! Only (_) shopping days left til Xmas!' The first offer shown in this banner encourages people to spend over £50 so that they can get free delivery, although this does not convince people to spend much more money for the sake of it, it makes them buy more from the site. For example, if somebody bought a jacket on the web site that cost £30 and there was also a pair of shoes on the web site that they wanted but they were available in a highstreet shop, they may choose to buy the jacket online and the shoes in the high street because it is easier and more reliable. However, with this offer they are more likely to buy both on the web site. The idea of the Christmas countdown puts the customer under pressure and makes them feel like they need to hurry up and buy their Christmas presents from the site.

There are also competitions that encourage the customer to buy certain items, for example advertised on the home page is a competition to win an 'Emily the Strange' electric guitar when you buy any other 'Emily the Strange' merchandise. This encourages people who may not have thought about buying the merchandise before buy it because they want to be in with a chance of winning the guitar. This is very effective because it encourages people to buy items they may not have thought about buying before and therefore the company gets more money.

To buy a product on Attitude you must be a member. Once someone has become a member their personal details such as name and address are remembered because they are stored on a customer database. This means that in future it is easier for them to order goods because they do not have to enter all of these details again so the process is sped up. This is a good idea because it means people are more likely to return to the web site to buy other products in the future. For example somebody may want a T-shirt that they have seen on a different web site, however they may check if Attitude sells it or not before ordering it because it would be much easier to order it from there.

Down the left hand side of the page there is a section with links to other web sites the user may be interested in. This encourages users to come back to the web site because if they forget the URL of one of the web sites that are advertised they might come back to Attitude in order to find the web site - it is likely that they will have a look around the site first rathern than then going to straight to the link - especially with the eye catching offers advertised on the home page.

Methods to Capture Customer Information

There are many different ways web sites capture information from customers. Obvious and open methods of data capture are called 'overt' methods. When these methods are used the customer knows that the information is being captured. An example of an overt method of data capture is a data capture form that the customer fills in, this way they know exactly what information is being taken. Attitude use this type of data capture on their web site - for example when the customer fills in the form to give their personal detials such as name, address etc in order to become a member of the site. This is good because it means the customer knows exactly what information is being taken from them because they are giving it in the first place.

However quite a lot of information is taken without the customer realising, these methods of data capture are called 'covert' methods. It is possible for web sites to log the IP address of a customers computer when they are making transactions. This can then be tracked to a particular computer because IP addresses are allocated to cetain computers by the ISP (however this information is only useful to the company at the time the user is connected to the Internet).

Another method of collecting data is to put a code on a web site that leaves 'cookies' on the user's computer. There is code on the cookie that identifies a computer when it returns to the web site. This enables a company to see how often you visit the web site, what pages you look at, how long you stay on the site for and other information. Code used on web sites can also log statistics such as what search engine referred them to the web site and what words they put in the search to call it up - they can even see what browser is being used and the computer's operating system.

Attitude uses cookies - the customer is told about the use of cookies on the 'Terms and Conditions' page meaning the customer is aware that they are using them (if they look at this page). They say "cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not".

Section A - eCommerce Continued...

Types of transactions that can be made continued

On many web sites the customers can track their orders and check if items are in stock or not, Attitude has this feature. This is a useful feature because it means that the customer will be aware if the item they want is in stock or not and therefore they cannot complain to the company if they do not receive the item as soon as they would have hoped. This is generally good customer care, allowing customers to track the order will put their minds at rest if they are particularly worried about buying online (some customers may be worried about things like fraud online - especially if it is their first time shopping online). It allows the customer to see whether or not an item is in stock by putting "out of stock" in brackets next to a particular size in the product, this is a good way of doing this because the customer can see straight away if the item is in stock or not - they do not have to go through the ordering process before they find out that it is not in stock. This also makes it very clear as to whether or not the item is in stock to avoid confusion.

Most web sites allow users to become members by registering with the web site, they can then log in to the web site in the future which makes ordering goods much easier because their details will all be stored in an database and they will not have to enter them every time they want to purchase something. Attitude has this feature - it is impossible for the user to buy anything without first becoming a member. This is useful to the user because details such as their name and address are remembered when they log in which means they do not have to waste a lot of time entering them again every time they want to make an order.

Section A - eCommerce

What Is eCommerce?

E-Commerce is transactions involving goods or services using technology. E-Commerce often uses 'transactional web sites'. Transactional web sites are web sites where a business provides a service or goods on the Internet that the customer can buy. They collect details and payment from the customer. (A purchase is a transaction carried out between the customer and the company providing the goods or services.)

The web site I will be looking at is the site for 'Attitude Cothing' - http://www.attitude.uk.com/. The company does not have a traditional store, goods from Attitude are only available via the Internet or postal order (there is an Attitude Clothing catelogue available).

Purpose of the Site and how Successfuly it Meets it's Objective

The purpose of this web site is to sell alternative clothing online. The web site offers a vast range of clothing types, for example jeans, skirts, tops, t-shirts and shoes. It also sells clothes that fit into different genres, for example 'Streetwear' and 'Punk Clothing'. The first impressions of the web site are very good and it would immediately appeal to the type of person who would usually shop there because of the dark colours, bright logos and pictures of some of the clothing.

I think the web site is successful in achieving its objective to sell alternative clothing because it is clearly laid out making it easy to find the right products (this is also helped by the search facility) and it guides the user through the process of purchasing an item making it easy for them to buy it.

How is it Structured

The structure of the web site is very good - navigation is easy and it is very attractive which entices potential customers.

Down the left hand side of the page is a menu which allows the user to find items they want quickly and easily. There are a number of different ways they are able to look for products. Firstly there is the search facility, an essential for any transactional web site with a reasonably large range of stock. This allows the user to either type in their own search criteria using key words, search by brand, band or product. Such a variety of search tools makes it easy for the user to find the item they want without wasting too much time.

The user can also browse through the items sold on the site using the categories shown down the left hand side. For example 'footwear', 'accessories', 'gothic clothing' or 'punk clothing'. When the user hovers the cursor over one of these headings another menu appears which allows them to choose from the various brands selling products and types of product within that category, for example if the user hovered over 'Punk Clothing' a list appears for the user to choose from including brand names such as 'Poizen Industries' and 'Criminal Damage' as well as the types of clothing such as 'skirts' and 'dresses'. This enables the user to narrow down their search so they do not have to browse through lots of products they are not even interested in.

Further down the page on the left hand side is a section containing links to other web sites that other users are likely to find interesting. This is a good technique to encourage users to come back because if they do not remember the URL of one of these sites they may go to Attitude to get the link.

Down the right hand side of the home page are links to various different brands that are sold on the web site, there is a picture link to represent each brand. This is not particularly useful to the user because there are many other places where there are links to the different brands, however in a way it makes navigation easier because if there are more places to find the links the user is less likely to get 'lost' or be unable to find them. However, these also make the page look attractive as the colours in the logos and pictures brighten up the page and make it look more interesting.

There are other, larger pictures in the centre of the home page. These provide links to new products, special offers and competitions. These also make the page look attractive and interesting.

Although the home page looks attractive and interests the user, it is a little bit too cluttered. This means it is distracting to the user and even though the varios links and pictures are put there in an attempt to improve navigation, it actually makes it more difficult because with so many pictures it is difficult to see where everything is.

There is a navigation bar at the top of the page which contains the following links: 'Home', 'Login', 'News', 'Forum', 'Quickshop' and 'Checkout'. This makes navigation for the user much easier.

On the pages away from the home page, the navigation bar on the left hand side stays there. This is useful because it makes navigation much easier for the user and reduces the chance of them getting lost on the website. The navigation bar at the top of the page also remains at the top of all pages. This is particularly useful because it contains a link to the home page, therefore it is virtually impossible for the user to get lost because if all else fails they can always just go back to the home page and start again.

Each of the pages displaying the different products only show 9 products on each. This means the user does not have to keep scrolling down the page which can be irritating. However, instead they must keep clicking the next button or skip to a certain page number which is even more irritating than scrolling down. This is because in going between the pages the user has to wait for each one to load, which takes quite a long time because of the pictures and hyperlinks etc on each page. Therefore looking through the products becomes tedious. I think it would be much better if all of the products within a certain category were displayed on one page, or where there are too many products to be able to do this there definitely be a lot more than 9 on each page.

Overall I think the structure quite good however it has many negative aspects. It would be much better if the home page was less cluttered and if on the sub pages there were more items per page as this would make shopping on the web site a much more pleasurable, less frustrating experience for the user.

Goods and Services Offered

The web site makes it reasonable clear what goods it is actually selling by showing picutres on the home page of some of the items. The navigation bar at the side also gives the user an idea of what they are selling, for example some of the headings are 'gothic clothing', 'footwear' and accessories'. These not only tell the user what actual items are sold, but also the type of clothing. The logo and name of the web site also gives away what they are selling - at the top of the screen is a large logo that says 'Attitude Clothing' making it obvious to the user that they sell clothing on the site. This is good because if what the web site is selling is clear the user will know straight way whether or not it is worth looking on the web site. It also benifits the comany because the user cannot buy something from the web site if they do not even know what they are selling.

Here is a list and goods and services offered on Attitude:

• Jewelerry
• Bags
• Belts
• Coats
• Dresses
• Tops
• Band T-Shirts
• Jeans
• Skirts
• Gloves
• Jackets
• Hair dye
• Makeup
• Necklaces
• Scarfs
• and much more...

Product Information Provided

Attitude provide quite a lot of information about each of the products. When the user chooses a product (for example a t-shirt) and clicks on it the user is given a picture of the product (which they can click to enlarge) the following information:

• Material
• Gender
• Style
• Print
• Sizes available
• Delivery time

However, the information given about the product varies depending on what the product is. For example the user will have to know different information if they are looking at a bag to a T-shirt, for a start the sizing will be entirely different.

I do not think the web site gives enough information on the products and it would be much improved if the basic information (which is already given) was presented to the user at first and there was a link to find out more information about that product. For example when looking at a T-shirt it may say 'printed' but not tell you what the print is - this is something that is often not clear in the photograph. Also, the sizes are given as 'small', 'medium' and 'large', however there is not a size guide to tell you what these convert to in standard British sizes. Also when looking at products other than ordinary clothes such as bags, necklaces etc, the dimensions of the product are not given. For example when you click on the product 'Evil Fairy Exile Bag', a picture of the bag appears with some basic information on it, but information on the dimensions of the bag are not given. As far as the user is concerned, this bag could be of any size as the picture does not indicate how big it is. It would be much better for both the user and the comany if either the dimensions of the bag were given or there was a picture showing the bag with a model so the user can see the size in proportion to a person.

I also think that product information could be given in a more interesting way - for example on other web sites such as 'schuhstore.com' there is an interactive method where the user can click to see the product from different angles and zoom in on certain parts. This would be very effective on this web site because they would be able to see the detail on certain parts of the product.

Types of Transaction Made

A transaction is an interaction with a database management system. Transactions vary in complexity, a transation could simply be clicking on an image to check if a certain item is in stock or it can be more complex, for example when buying goods entering details into an order form, especially for a new customer because the company need to capture all of their details.

The system needs to collect a number of different details from the customers, for example credit card number and other details used to validate the card and name and address of the person paying the bill and the delivery address. Text boxes are most commonly used as a way of interacting with the page, the user types in information into the text boxes. Another method that can be used is drop down menus, this is when a choice is given to the user in a menu, they select the option they want to use.

Attitude uses both text boxes and drop down menus as methods of data capture. The first time the user uses a drop down menu is when the select the size product they wish to purchase. Then the user must give their details and become a member before they are able to buy anything. The user gives almost all of their details to become a member using text boxes - they must give a username, password, email address, first name, last name, address, postcode and country. The only one of these that uses a drop down menu instead of text box is 'country' because there is a limited number of countries they can deliver too and therefore there are not too many options to put on a drop down menu. This is good because it is clear what details the web site is asking for and using drop down menus helps to eliminate spelling errors in those sections.

Unit 2 Coursework Plan - Section A eCommerce

What is eCommerce?

Brief definition of eCommerce and introduction to the web site i am looking at - give the URL of the web site

Purpose of the Site and How Successfully it Meets this Objective

Say what the purpose of the web site is, what are first impressions like? Does it meet it's objective? To what extent? How and why?

How it is Structured

Use screen shots to illustrate points, describe structure, navigation, search facility, are the pages simple and easy to follow or cluttered? Is it well structured?

Goods and Services Offered

Describe the types of goods or services available on the web site chosen, is it easy to figure out what they are actually selling?

Product Information Provided

What methods are used to give the user more information about the product (e.g. multi media methods such as pictures that you can enlarge etc)? Is there enough information?

Types of Transactions Made

Describe what a transaction is, what types of transactions possible on the web site. Give an example using screen shots.

Methods to Capture Customer Information

Describe methods that could possibly be used, then sya what is used on the actual web site, scree shots.

Techniques to Engage, Retain and Entice Customers

What techniques are used? E.g. advertising banners on other web sites, special offers etc. How effective are they?

Usability and Accessibility

How is the web site made easy to use? E.g. simple easy to follow navigation, search facility etc. Are these methods effective?

Conditions of Purchase

Should cover conditions of sale and how to return goods. Should be easy to find and easy to understad, are they? Security information.

The Customer Experience

What customer care is offered on the web site? Are there clear contact details? Is there a way to provide feedback? Is the customer experiene good - is navigation easy? good product range? Does it meet its objectives? Overall - do the good points outweigh the bad to make a good customer experience?