Problems/Limitations With Online Shopping?
petercooper: My biggest problem is with stores that try too hard to be innovative and end up making the process harder. But then, they don't frustrate me too much as I just won't use them.Other frustrations:- Gauging availability- Having easy access to shipping cost info- Offers or product names that aren't links. If something says "T-shirt sale, $10 each" I want to be able to click on that to see that sale!- Lack of a categorized view. I want to easily see OTHER products that are very similar to the current one. If I'm looking at a blue shirt, I want to easily find a yellow one (say).- High shipping costs. I gotta admit, "free shipping" gives me an instant shopping boner, even if it makes no sense. It just makes me more likely to buy.- Lack of details. If electronics equipment, I want access to the full specs, including dimensions, etc. If clothes, I want to know the sizes and what scale was used (e.g. US size, UK size, or what?)- Ridiculous registration requirements. I don't want to fill out a 30 field form to become a "member" of your shop. Ask for the absolute minimum to start and then get the other info over time as I become faithful to your brand.- Lack of any review functionality. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but on many items it does. Even if you're just getting reviews from elsewhere, I wanna see them.- Sites that don't fully use HTTPS through the whole checkout process.Things I would like:- Better search.- Support for tagging. I like browsing by tag.- "Random" product link. Not for every store but on some it would be awesome. I like browsing!- Make it easier for me to browse when I don't know what I want. (I think I've made the point now, lol)- Offer a clean but powerful advanced search. If I want to buy something for $5-$10, I should be able to limit searches to that.- "Similar items" when looking at an item. Even if it's just a few with similar names, it helps.- Easy access to high resolution imagery of the product. Let me click on the thumbnail / smaller image to get more awesome shots. It's a big deal when you're looking at the positioning of ports on a notebook, for example.- Cheaper and more expensive alternatives to the current product. This is a touchy area for the actual store providers but as a customer I want to quickly work with my budget. Sometimes I want to spend more on something better, or sometimes less.- Products on the front page of the site. I don't want to have to dig just to reach a single product.Things I don't care about:- Comparison tools. Most are useless. If I really want to compare something, I'll load them up in separate tabs and just figure it out after looking at them both. Very few products come down to a spec by spec comparison.- Splash pages.- Overuse of "theme" imagery. A common problem with clothing sites. I understand building a brand, etc, but in the store section, give me product.