42244 2 3 econsultancy_xml <p>After navigating to the TV category, this is what both sites look like: </p> <p> <strong>Comet:</strong> </p> <p> <img alt="Comet TVs" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2117745808_6c77ac0ee7_o.jpg" /> </p> <p> </p> <p> <strong>Currys:</strong> </p> <p> <img alt="Comet TV section" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/2116979179_ab6aa3b4f7_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>The difference here is that, with Comet, I can immediately start to narrow down and remove products from my search that I don't want - TV's that are too expensive, too small, aren't HD ready, and so on.</p> <p>Comet allows filtering by screen size, resolution, brand, price range, type of sound system and more:</p> <p> <img alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/2116967067_de5273d834.jpg" /> </p> <p>Filter options on Currys' website are less extensive, and it takes a few more clicks from the homepage before you find them:</p> <p> <img alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2251/2117768238_d61bedafe3_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>This means that, once I have seIected screen size and price range, I still have to browse through three pages of products on the Currys website. </p> <p>To make things worse, Currys has not removed out of stock items from my search, so that when I decided to add this Sony TV to my basket and head for the checkout I get this message - very frustrating: </p> <p> <img alt="Currys out of stock message" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2145/2117748892_4751ce6574_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>Comet provides a far better example of <strong>how it should be done</strong>, displaying the product features selected so far, allowing consumers to easily remove individual filters, and showing the number of products matching the filter options.</p> <p>This means that users can easily add or remove filter options without affecting other selections, while the fact that the number of matching products is getting smaller shows the customer that they are making progress towards a purchase.</p> <p>So, while both are competitve on product ranges and pricing, Comet's more effective and extensive product filtering options saved me a lot of wasted time trawling through lists of irrelevent products. </p> <p>Comet 1 - 0 Currys.</p> <p> <strong>Related stories:<br /></strong> <a href="/blog/985-feature-filtering-what-is-it-and-why-do-you-need-it">Feature filtering - what is it and why do you need it?</a> <br /> <a href="/blog/1824-house-of-fraser-a-user-experience-review-2">House of Fraser - a user experience review</a> <br /> <a href="/blog/1997-top-10-most-common-e-commerce-mistakes">Top 10 most common e-commerce mistakes </a> </p> <p> <strong>Related research:</strong> <br /> <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006">Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks </a> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>After navigating to the TV category, this is what both sites look like: </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Comet:</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="Comet TVs" Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/2117745808_6c77ac0ee7_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Currys:</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="Comet TV section" Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/2116979179_ab6aa3b4f7_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>The difference here is that, with Comet, I can immediately start to narrow down and remove products from my search that I don't want - TV's that are too expensive, too small, aren't HD ready, and so on.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Comet allows filtering by screen size, resolution, brand, price range, type of sound system and more:</Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/2116967067_de5273d834.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Filter options on Currys' website are less extensive, and it takes a few more clicks from the homepage before you find them:</Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2251/2117768238_d61bedafe3_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>This means that, once I have seIected screen size and price range, I still have to browse through three pages of products on the Currys website. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>To make things worse, Currys has not removed out of stock items from my search, so that when I decided to add this Sony TV to my basket and head for the checkout I get this message - very frustrating: </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="Currys out of stock message" Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2145/2117748892_4751ce6574_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Comet provides a far better example of <Emphasis>how it should be done</Emphasis>, displaying the product features selected so far, allowing consumers to easily remove individual filters, and showing the number of products matching the filter options.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>This means that users can easily add or remove filter options without affecting other selections, while the fact that the number of matching products is getting smaller shows the customer that they are making progress towards a purchase.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>So, while both are competitve on product ranges and pricing, Comet's more effective and extensive product filtering options saved me a lot of wasted time trawling through lists of irrelevent products. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Comet 1 - 0 Currys.</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Related stories:<LineBreak /></Emphasis> <Link URL="/blog/985-feature-filtering-what-is-it-and-why-do-you-need-it" Window="Self">Feature filtering - what is it and why do you need it?</Link> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/1824-house-of-fraser-a-user-experience-review-2" Window="Self">House of Fraser - a user experience review</Link> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/1997-top-10-most-common-e-commerce-mistakes" Window="Self">Top 10 most common e-commerce mistakes </Link> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Related research:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006" Window="New">Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks </Link> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2007-12-17T10:16:00+00:00 2 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Providing feature filtering on e-commerce websites is a no-brainer in terms of improving the user experience, so why aren't more retailers doing it properly?</strong> </p> <p>Effective feature filtering allows shoppers to remove much of the pain of finding products. When there are hundreds of products to display these tools are essential.</p> <p>I spent the weekend looking for a new TV, mainly using the websites of <a href="http://www.currys.co.uk/">Currys</a> and <a href="http://www.comet.co.uk/">Comet.</a> Both are good sites, but Comet was much more effective at helping me narrow my search options - <em>here's why...</em></p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Providing feature filtering on e-commerce websites is a no-brainer in terms of improving the user experience, so why aren't more retailers doing it properly?</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Effective feature filtering allows shoppers to remove much of the pain of finding products. When there are hundreds of products to display these tools are essential.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>I spent the weekend looking for a new TV, mainly using the websites of <Link URL="http://www.currys.co.uk/" Window="Self">Currys</Link> and <Link URL="http://www.comet.co.uk/" Window="Self">Comet.</Link> Both are good sites, but Comet was much more effective at helping me narrow my search options - <Quote>here's why...</Quote></Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2032 <p>Related Econsultancy reports include our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/e-commerce-platforms-buyer-s-guide-2009">E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/delivering-successful-e-commerce-projects">Delivering Successful E-commerce Projects</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-2007-checkout-special">Online Retail Checkout Special</a></strong>. See also the <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/e-commerce-statistics">E-commerce Statistics Compendium</a></strong>.</p> <p>Related Econsultancy reports include our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/e-commerce-platforms-buyer-s-guide-2009">E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/delivering-successful-e-commerce-projects">Delivering Successful E-commerce Projects</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-2007-checkout-special">Online Retail Checkout Special</a></strong>. See also the <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/e-commerce-statistics">E-commerce Statistics Compendium</a></strong>.</p> 364767 Why retailers need effective feature filtering false 2007-12-17T12:17:00+00:00 why-retailers-need-effective-feature-filtering 2009-04-29T22:04:59+01:00 2009-10-13T09:27:36+01:00 730