I have no doubt this will certainly be frustrating and disappointing for internet users, the last thing you want to do is leave a user with a negative image of the brand.  Have you thought about the Argos route, allowing no e-commerce items to be purchased or reserved online but only collected or completed in-store? 

Steve.

I think this will be incredibly frustrating for the end user, as they are getting increasing used to purchasing online - you'll raise their hopes of finding the item they're looking for and then they'll have to wait a bit longer to purchase it. For the company, it also raises the prospect of losing a large amount of potential buyers as they will find it online, like it, but will not be motivated enough to make a trip to the store - especially if they are not 100% sure it is in stock in their size.

However, end users are also quite savvy these days and as long as they are warned explicitly before they enter the catalogue that they cannot buy online, then they can make an informed decision as to whether to take their research on your site further.

Personally, it wouldn't stop me looking, but it would be frustrating.

Dan Cohen
Research Manager
http://www.dgm-uk.com

On 16:52:28 20 April 2005 Haydenlee wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm doing some work for a major offline retailer that
>already has a successful online presence.
>
>They are now looking to add catalogue that is not
>purchasable online to the site as they believe it will
>benefit browsers/customers doing research and drive
>peopleto their stores.
>
>My question is will the addition of this content for
>research benefit outweigh the disappointment in not being
>able to purchase the goods online?
>
>also
>
>If they do decide to proceed and list items that can't be
>bought what is the best way to flag this up?
>
>A disclaimer upfront? I'm not sure if there will be
>similar products available online alongside ones that are
>not (most probable) or it'll be entire stand-alone ranges
>that are not available online (less likely)
>
>Your thoughts most appreciated!
>
>Paul Donohue

The content will be of value to the user. Users turn to the web for product information to inform choices - whether it can be purchased online or not.Three thoughts spring to mind:If the product is readily available online elsewhere and/or is not strongly differentiated then you need to seriously question the commercial value against the operating costs.Think about where on your site the user would begin a purchase journey for the display-only products. Flag it there – don’t let the user think they have started a purchase journey. User disappointment is “oh, its not available online – I’ll buy the rest of it though/buy something else”. Frustration is “I thought I was buying that and I get to the checkout and its not available. [closes window]”Consider how you could use the web to add-value to the catalogue content. How can you help the user choose? How can you link the content to the store experience? How can you support the sale of the product in ways that would not be possible in store?Hope that helps.Matthew

On 16:52:28 20 April 2005 Haydenlee wrote:

Hi,

I’m doing some work for a major offline retailer that already has a successful online presence.

They are now looking to add catalogue that is not purchasable online to the site as they believe it will benefit browsers/customers doing research and drive peopleto their stores.

My question is will the addition of this content for research benefit outweigh the disappointment in not being able to purchase the goods online?

also

If they do decide to proceed and list items that can’t be bought what is the best way to flag this up?

A disclaimer upfront? I’m not sure if there will be similar products available online alongside ones that are not (most probable) or it’ll be entire stand-alone ranges that are not available online (less likely)

Your thoughts most appreciated!

Paul Donohue