42244 2 3 econsultancy_xml <p>Here's the old version of the site, for comparison: </p> <p> <img alt="Old Amazon.co.uk" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2310/2346652879_c938c2bc79_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>Amazon.com brought in the same design in October and now it has been rolled out for the UK site. Not everyone will be able to see the new version yet though. </p> <p>Gone is the old tab-style navigation at the top of the page, to be replaced by product categories on the left side of the page:</p> <p> <img alt="Amazon.co.uk navigation" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/2346670427_9a8a7bb598_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>This left hand navigation minimises once you are in a different section of the site, and can be revealed by rolling the mouse over it, which means more screen real estate for <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/homepage.html">Amazon</a>. </p> <p>The new design and colour scheme looks better than the previous version, but the use of drop down menus can be a problem for web users, as you have to start all over again if the cursor moves away from the menu. </p> <p>The search bar is now more prominent, which is fine as this is the way I normally navigate around Amazon - the product categories are so large that this is often the quickest way. </p> <p> <img alt="Amazon search bar" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2347512022_06774c64de_o.jpg" /> </p> <p>Amazon explains the design on the site: </p> <blockquote> <p> <em>"We concentrated on shopping, searching, saving and buying--the four activities that customers have repeatedly told us are the most important to them. They're now prominently featured at the top of every page on the site."</em> </p> </blockquote> <p>This is fine, but Amazon doesn't seem to have made any changes which improve customer experience in those areas. The site search, product pages, shopping basket and checkout have all remained the same as before. </p> <p>We recently looked at the <a href="/blog/2245-ten-things-amazon-can-do-better-online">areas which Amazon could improve online</a>, and none of these things have been changed. My biggest problem with Amazon is the lack of filtering options to narrow down product searches. </p> <p>Amazon has so many products, users need help with browsing and finding what they want - you can often end up with pages and pages of products to look through. </p> <p> <strong>Related research:</strong> <br /> <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/web-design-best-practice-guide">Web Design Best Practice Guide</a> <br /> <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006">Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks</a> </p> <p> <strong>Related stories:</strong> <br /> <a href="/blog/1549-amazon-triples-profits">Amazon triples profits</a> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>Here's the old version of the site, for comparison: </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="Old Amazon.co.uk" Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2310/2346652879_c938c2bc79_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Amazon.com brought in the same design in October and now it has been rolled out for the UK site. Not everyone will be able to see the new version yet though. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Gone is the old tab-style navigation at the top of the page, to be replaced by product categories on the left side of the page:</Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="Amazon.co.uk navigation" Source="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/2346670427_9a8a7bb598_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>This left hand navigation minimises once you are in a different section of the site, and can be revealed by rolling the mouse over it, which means more screen real estate for <Link URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/homepage.html" Window="Self">Amazon</Link>. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>The new design and colour scheme looks better than the previous version, but the use of drop down menus can be a problem for web users, as you have to start all over again if the cursor moves away from the menu. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>The search bar is now more prominent, which is fine as this is the way I normally navigate around Amazon - the product categories are so large that this is often the quickest way. </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Image AlternateText="Amazon search bar" Source="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2347512022_06774c64de_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Amazon explains the design on the site: </Paragraph> <Block> <Paragraph> <Quote>"We concentrated on shopping, searching, saving and buying--the four activities that customers have repeatedly told us are the most important to them. They're now prominently featured at the top of every page on the site."</Quote> </Paragraph> </Block> <Paragraph>This is fine, but Amazon doesn't seem to have made any changes which improve customer experience in those areas. The site search, product pages, shopping basket and checkout have all remained the same as before. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>We recently looked at the <Link URL="/blog/2245-ten-things-amazon-can-do-better-online" Window="Self">areas which Amazon could improve online</Link>, and none of these things have been changed. My biggest problem with Amazon is the lack of filtering options to narrow down product searches. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Amazon has so many products, users need help with browsing and finding what they want - you can often end up with pages and pages of products to look through. </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Related research:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/web-design-best-practice-guide" Window="Self">Web Design Best Practice Guide</Link> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-retail-user-experience-benchmarks-2006" Window="Self">Online Retail User Experience Benchmarks</Link> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Related stories:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/1549-amazon-triples-profits" Window="Self">Amazon triples profits</Link> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2008-03-20T09:33:00+00:00 1 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Amazon has unveiled a new design for its UK site, with a new homepage and navigation system.</strong> </p> <p> <img alt="New Amazon.co.uk design" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2346653081_2d24173564_o.jpg" /> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Amazon has unveiled a new design for its UK site, with a new homepage and navigation system.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph Align="Center"> <Image AlternateText="New Amazon.co.uk design" Source="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2346653081_2d24173564_o.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2296 <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> 365303 Amazon.co.uk gets a revamp false 2008-03-24T09:00:00+00:00 amazon-co-uk-gets-a-revamp 2009-04-28T23:07:23+01:00 2009-10-13T09:34:39+01:00 394