Transactional Website Analysis - Case Study Example

Transactional Websites Student’s Name: Course Code: Instructor’s Name: Date: Introduction Websites have transformed the business in a great way. The rise of e-commerce is one of the most dramatic changes that have been carried out in firms. Transactional websites are part of e-commerce platforms where consumers can make transactions online through various modes of cashless payment (Sklar, 2011). This report will analyze two competitor’s transactional websites: http://shop.nordstrom.com/ and http://www.neimanmarcus.com/en-qa/index.jsp. This will be done by looking at their strength and weakness, target markets and recommendations for improvements. Nordstrom.com Nordstrom.com is a transactional website dealing with upscale fashion. Their transactional website offers clothing, shoes, jewelry and other accessories for men women and children. The company running the website, Nordstrom Inc was incorporated in 1901. The company started as a small store located in Seattle dealing with shoes. The company expanded to offer fashion specialty and have been able to have physical locations in more than 36 states in USA. Nordstrom.com is the company online platform where the consumers can make transactions on items. Nordstorm.com is accessible online in 44 countries. The online platform gives the shoppers free delivery, shipping and returns. The main aim of the company online store is to ensure that the customers are served appropriately making them happy. The company transactional website have all the accessories offered with their prices indicated (Nordstrom, 2014). Target market Nordstrom.com targeting is composed of two types. The types of target marketing used are: income sensitive marketing and age target marketing. Using age sensitive marketing, the website fashion accessories are divided into generation cohort. This is by segmenting each group with what fits them and is of their taste. Age targeting is one of the methods that require extensive research (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). This is due to the fact that there is need to determine the status of living in every target group. For example, the website offers products for elderly men as presents during the father’s days. To be able to cater for this target group, the website has divided the prices into categories. There is a category for the products which are below $50 and $100 (Nordstrom, 2014). Income sensitive marketing is a strategy sets the price according to the consumers’ income status. The pricing determines the income group that can afford the products. Nordstrom.com has set their prices to cater for both the upper middle class and the affluent. There are products whose prices are high while others have medium prices which are affordable. The method used by Nordstrom.com in determining their target customers can be attributed to the market size. Market size is very essential for any business to thrive. Having a narrow target can sometimes be disadvantageous (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). The main products that are mostly promoted on the website are gifts especially focusing on father’s day. The website has put efforts to promote their men’s accessories during the season prior to father’s day. The items on the fathers’ list include watches, travel bags, shirts, shoes and colognes. This is a sale tactic that can help improve sales on men’s accessories (Nordstrom, 2014). Strengths and weakness of the site Strengths Visual design Nordstrom.com has a great visual design. The design has an ability to attract the consumer and embed their emotions into the products (Gay, Charlesworth & Esen, 2007). The perception that the consumer have about a product is influenced by what they see. The initial impact of viewing a website has an effect on the consumers’ interest. The visual design used has the capability to evoke feelings into a consumer. This is through the use of captivating colors which creates a good impression. Visual aspects of the website play an important role in communicating the content. The aesthetic content used in the website should be able to serve the purpose of the site. This has been adhered to by the company transactional site. The colors used in Nordstrom.com are related to the fashions offered. The company has utilized animated ads which are more eye catching than using the static ads. According to Sklar (2011), using goods visual designs makes it possible for the consumers to gain more interest in the website. The company website has utilized models for their products which add aesthetic look in the websites and helps in promoting the products. Usability Nordstrom.com site has a good usability. The website designer have taken into account the online habits and behaviors of the target market. Research has proved that most of the website users have a short span and mostly scan the website expecting instant gratification. The website for Nordstrom.com is simple to use and users are able to record a positive experience. Good usability means that the website has been made through simplifying the technology and making it approachable to the users. According to Brinck, Gergle & Wood (2002), the users of the site do not have to be overwhelmed by technical or any other difficult requirements. Customers are more attracted to sites that do not require a lot of their inputs. Sites that have a lot of actions from the users can drive the customers to the alternatives. For Nordstrom.com, the site is designed such that the customers can use it without much actions required. The customer just clicks on the item of choice and makes a transactional if interested. Signing up is made as a requests, but not a requirement. Functionality Nordstrom.com has been designed in such a way that it serves its purpose. The website is designed according to the e-commerce platform. The users can easily gain access to the information due to friendly aspects that have been used. Website functionality is not only determined by the aesthetic part, but by also the human computer interaction. For an e-commerce platform such as Nordstrom.com, it has to provide links to the prices and transactional windows without delays or broken links (Shelly & Campbell, 2014). Trying to use the company website to make a transaction is simple as all tabs are clearly labeled and offers guidance. The website has been able to fully serve its purpose on making online transactions. Weakness Typography Nardstrom.com has a weakness in the type of fonts used in some segments. This is the most important aspect when designing a website. Each type of fonts has their implication when used in a website. Text is meant to be read and the more visible it is the better for the users. At the banner which reads, “Pop-in@ Nordstrom”, the font size and colors used makes it almost illegible (Nordstrom, 2014). The yellow background makes it worse since the font color is black. Websites should make sure that their text sizes are consistent and easily legible (Brinck, Gergle & Wood, 2002). The spacing and length of the line should also be considered when making the website. Recommendations for improvement Target market Though Nordstorm.com main target was the affluent customers, their pricing indicates that they have products which can be afforded by the middle class clientele. The website should increase their focus on the middle class group. This can be done through advertising to create awareness (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). Most of the middle class consumers may be unaware that there are products which they can afford from the site. This is due to preconceptions that the company target is only the affluent customers. There is need to introduce more products in the website which targets the middle income earners. Typography Nordstrom.com has an excellent website. Despite this, the main area that needs improvement is typography. The site should utilize the right fonts in some areas. This will enable the consumers to get information without having to strain much. The background which is used in the fonts should not make it illegible to consumers. The designer has to improve on these aspect that will enhance the usability and visual aspects of the website. There is also need to look at padding when designing a transactional website. The text that is used should not touch the boards, pictures of other elements. Exceptions should only occur when using it as a graphic heading. Using a space makes the website more legible and enjoyable for the user (Shelly & Campbell, 2014). Neiman Marcus - http://www.neimanmarcus.com/en-qa/index.jsp Neiman Marcus is a luxury fashion store that is owned by the Neiman Marcus Group. The company headquarters are situated in Dallas Texas. The online store is known as Neiman Marcus Direct and provides catalogues and online operations such as transactions. The fashion accessories that are offered by the Neiman Marcus direct are; apparel, jewelry and decorative home products. The main competitors who also operate online stores are Lords& Taylor, Von Maur, Barneys New York and Bloomingdale’s (Neiman Marcus, 2014). Neiman Marcus online services include print catalogue and transactions using brand names such as; Bergdorf, Horchow and Goodman. Neiman Marcus brand name is used by the website to trade in women’s accessories and home furnishings. The Horchow brand offers upscale furnishings, tabletop accessories, linens and related decorative wares. Neiman Marcus Direct have a blog in which they publish the latest news on the fashion. The transactions in the website use credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. The website actively promotes ladies clothes, handbags, shoes and jewelry. These are items that can be seen on the website slideshow and animated ads. Women’s wear is also on the first tab of the site and the first’s pop-up ad displays a lady model (Neiman Marcus, 2014). Target market Neiman Marcus Direct target market is the upscale consumers. This is a group that is wealthy and can afford to spend a lot on jewelry, fancy clothes and home furnishings. The store has been offering their products targeting this group using pricing targeting. Price targeting involves setting the prices such that only a certain social class can afford to buy. The prices are set for the consumers with higher incomes (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). Strengths and weakness of the site Strengths of the site Precedence The designers of the website have made it possible to lead the users through the site. Each part of the web design has the required visual weight that can guide the customer’s eyes (Shelly & Campbell, 2014). The logo is placed on the top left corner using the appropriate fonts. This helps the users to know the site they are viewing. A good website which has utilized precedence should be able to direct the user eyes. The user in the Neiman Marcus Direct site is directed from the logo to the pop up ads. The eyes then move to the main body of the site. The site has also utilized a navigation bar and a slide show. To achieve this, the website has used color, contrast, size and correct design elements (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). This is one of the major strengths possessed by the site. Functionality For a website to achieve its purpose, it must be functional (Shelly & Campbell, 2014).. Nieman Marcus as an e-commerce website is functional. This is by providing the user with the functionality aspects of the e-commerce platform. The users are able to easily obtain their information without being delayed by the technicalities or long time for downloads. The website has utilized the Human computer Interaction aspects to achieve this (Sklar, 2011). A functional website looks beyond beauty and addresses its purpose for the users. The site has links to transactions and contains the visual aspects of the products they are offering. User friendly Neiman Marcus Direct have a user friendly platform. This is through use of design elements, graphics, colors and a simple layout (Brinck, Gergle & Wood, 2002). This enables the site to attract the users and in most cases initiate action. The users are made to click the links for the next page as they search for more information due to the site ability to draw attention. For a commercial website, it has to draw interest and evoke action (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010). This is due to fact that the consumers have to go through a process to make decision. The process used by the consumers in decision making is attention, interests, desire and finally the action. The designer of the website was able to realize what the users wanted. This has been achieved through text structure, easy navigation and use of graphics showing the products. Design The website design for Nieman Marcus is simple. The users are more interested in the content of the website and rarely for the design. The website is not cluttered which enables the users to have a positive experience in the site. The websites use aesthetic effects that support the web content. This is through displaying of the company products which apart from adding the aesthetic value, they are what the consumer is looking for. The website is also able to encourage users to navigate due to its simple design. The website has both static and dynamic content. The animated ads have the ability to catch eyes that the static ads (Shelly & Campbell, 2014). This design aspect is also utilized in the website where there are more animated ads. For example, the first image of a model on the page is animated (Neiman Marcus, 2014). There are also slide shows. This is a website which is obvious and self explanatory which makes it easy to navigate. Weakness Information access The main weakness with the site is easy of access to important information. Despite being easy to navigate, the site has used small fonts and makes some of the information hard to obtain. For example, clicking “our Story” tab the fonts used in the page are so small and utilizes small fonts (Neiman Marcus, 2014). This makes it hard for the users to read especially if they have visual defects. The timing of the slideshow on the page is also timed fast giving the user hard time to read the content. For the users to fully enjoy the experience in the site, they have to be given appropriate time to read the slideshows. The timing used should be proportional to the information that is provided. Spacing and fonts also plays an important part in making the content legible. If the consumer is made to strain for information, they may end up not reading it and opt to go to the competitors (Shelly & Campbell, 2014). Recommendations for improvement Target market Though Neiman Marcus was set up with main target of affluent customers, there is need for the company to try and focus on other target segments. The company can target the upper middle class and the middle class to expand its client base. This can be done through price segmenting where the products should be aimed at all these targets. The upper middle class and the middle class are capable of making the company generate more sales. Having a narrow market target can compromise the company efforts in gaining a large market share. There is also need to note that affluent in the society do not make a large percentage of the population. In any economy, the middle class and upper middle class have the highest numbers. Use of fashion models Use of more models on the site can enhance the visual aspect and promote products. Though the site has used colors and their products in the site to make appealing, having models will make it easier for the customers to choose the products (Sklar, 2011). Most of the consumers are attracted to the fashion if they perceive how it can look on them. Having more models in a fashion sites such as Neiman Marcus will make it more attractive and appealing to users. Conclusion In conclusion, Nordstrom.com and Nieman Marcus are two competitors’ websites in the upscale fashion retailing. Nordstrom.com has an excellent design, usability and functionality. The users are able to get what they want without having to struggle. The main weakness lies on typography and the target market. Though the site targets affluent customers, there are items that can be afforded by the middle income earners. This shows that the site have not fully exploited the middle class group in their targeting. There is a need for more advertisement that will attract the middle class and also increase their products in the catalogue. Neiman Marcus is a transactional website that targets the affluent customers. The website main strengths lie in precedence, functionality, user friendly and design. Despite this, the site has problems in accessing information in some areas. This is due to spacing, font size and timing for the slide shows. The area in which the site should improve on is the target market, information access in some areas and increases their use of models. Comparing the two websites, Nordstrom.com has better use of visual enhancements and models. This makes it more interesting to use as a consumer. References Brinck, B., Gergle, D. & Wood, S. (2002). Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that Work. Academic Press. Gay, R., Charlesworth, A. & Esen, R. (2007). Online Marketing: A Customer-Led Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lamb, C.W., Hair, H.F. & McDaniel, C. (2010). Marketing. New York: Cengage Learning. Neiman Marcus. (2014), viewed 4th June 2014 from, http://www.neimanmarcus.com/en- qa/index.jsp Nordstrom. (2014). viewed on 4th June 2014 from, http://shop.nordstrom.com/ Shelly, G. B. & Campbell, J.T. (2014), Web Design: Introductory. London: Cengage Learning. Sklar, J. (2011). Principles of Web Design. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More