Online shopping experience
- This topic has 15 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated Jun 27, 2010 at 10:56 am by
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Hi guys,
In a perfect world, I would hope everyone supports their local fly shop the best they can. Unfortunately, sometimes that just isn’t possible. Some of us don’t have a local fly shop, and if we do, they always don’t have the largest selection of product. For this reason, we turn to the online retailers.
Our shop decided to expand and enter the online retail world, and this is now my new job description. I have been working on our shop’s new website for close to 3 months now and wanted to ask everyone for some input. Now that I have uploaded products, I am now working on navigation, and usability. I want to make the shopping experience on our ecommerce site the best in the business and I figured some of you might be able to help me out.
So, for those of you that DO shop online (doesn’t have to be fly fishing) I would love some feedback on the following topics/questions:
1. When you shop online, is there something you see on a global scale that you wish was changed or improved?
2. What is the number one thing that influences you to purchase online?
3. When you shop online, do you already know what you want, or do you rely on the retailer to provide the information to which you make your decision?I know these are generic questions, but anything will help. Really, any opinion, suggestion you have for the general online retailer would be a great help!
Thanks,
Matt Joneswww.mattjonesphotography.com
I rarely shop on line, but one thing that really gives me the irits is USA based shops/subscription companies that seem to think they are the only country in the world. Please make your online payment/shipping system include the rest of the planet – its very iritating choosing a product, only to find the online ordering system can’t handle your address because you live outside of the United States. And a telephone number that gets through to the shop front would help, too.
Best Regards,
Beechy
Chris, our e commerce system is compatible with every country in the world. So, there ya go!
www.mattjonesphotography.com
Just on Chris’s comment, I agree – that realistic and correct shipping amounts can make all the difference (I live in Australia as well).
For instance I often shop on line and the reason I would buy from one store over another is whether they have accurate known shipping amounts published for the item you want to buy. Ie if some Simms wading boots are $179 then the odds of finding them cheaper as between stores is pretty remote, the real question for me is who has the most competitive/accurate shipping calculations (ie the shipping costs reflect the actual shipping/post charge).
One shop I often buy from gives you the choice of three different speeds of shipping and then the amounts next to each preference do seem pretty reasonable (ie reflective of the actual shipping cost for the level of shipping service you want.) Hence I keep going back.
Also, another thing to think about is a safe and reliable payment method. For instance PayPal seems to be becoming pretty universal and they seem trusted, and so personally I would rather pay using PayPal rather than some payment method just used by the individual store.
Hope that helps, and obviously just my 2 cents.
Cheers
SimonI agree with what has been said- shipping is important, especially flexibility when shipping overseas.
Guys,
This is all great feedback!! This really gives me an idea of the small things that I normally wouldn’t have thought of. I am confident that we will bring all of these suggestions to the table and get them taken care of.
www.mattjonesphotography.com
Matt,
Here’s a few suggestions from an avid online shopper:
1. Have a clearly marked “Clearance” section on your website….kinda like “The Bargain Cave” at http://www.Cabelas.com. This is where your “impulse” purchases will come from. You know….folks checking the site and seeing an item that is marked down. Include the MSRP above the actual sale price for comparison. Campmor.com is good at this.
2. Ship the item(s) on the same day the order is received. Nothing prompts me to return to a vender more than quick shipping.
3. Have a promotion every now and then to draw folks to the site. Recently Orvis.com had a free Battenkill reel offer with the purchase of certain rods….maybe an online “coupon”.
4. Think outside the box…..take a look at http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/home___ for some ideas.
Hope this helps….Steve
I often use sites like Sierra Trading Post for the peripheral things like the crazy deals they have on Smith Sunglasses. What I like is to be e mailed when something I am interested in goes on sale or bigger sale. I like shopping carts that let me save my cart for later checkout instead of clearing it out so I have to start all over if I have to go away from the site for an extended period.
I look at every single variety of fly tying hook / materials, but know the exact pack or vest I want to buy before i go online.
It is a tie between price and service as far as number one influence to purchase online.I buy a lot of stuff online primarily because of availability and variety from a lot of different types of companies.
I buy most of my fly fishing and fly tying gear online, and have for years, since I prefer to shop at home vs making a long drive to a shop that probably won’t have what I need in the first place. What drives my shopping are:
1. Selection — I shop most with Bob Marriott’s because they have a huge inventory.
2. Customer service — willingness to back order/custom order items they don’t have in stock.
3. Shipping — Marriott’s ships free for orders over $100. I can’t tell you how many times I have added an item or two to my order to hit that limit.
4. Price — I used to do all my shopping at Feather-Craft, then realized that many of the tying items I use are available elsewhere for less. Since I sometimes by in quantity, that difference adds up.
5. Pictures or detail, so I know what I am getting. Orvis is great at this.
6. Honest discounting. What really turns me off is online sites that continue to sell discontinued or outdated items at the old full price.
7. Site’s ease of use — nothing frustrates my shopping more than too many clicks required for each purchase, or to navigate around the site.
I don’t buy much fly gear on-line, but do buy all my cloths from LL Bean now because tall sizes are impossible to get here in OZ because apparently, the Chinese think that like them, we’re all short.
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
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