( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4000365.stm)
Furthermore IMRG also found in a separate study that the tendency of women to shop online is increasing. At the time of the study 56% of online shoppers being female (Women Shoppers are Taking Over the Internet, July 2004, www.IMRG.org). These statistics show that it makes sense for Topshop to have a website if internet shopping is on the increase, in particular with respect to their target market females.
Strategically one can look at how Topshop what sources of value Topshop possess. The following model, retail vs e-tail tradeoffs (Roa, B, 1999) contains some of these source, which we will subsequently discuss:
RETAILER ASSETS RETAILER LIABILITIES
E-TAILER ASSETS E-TAILER LIABILITIES
I think that Brand identity is particularity relevant to Topshop. Before any e-activities were introduced they had a well-established brand as the following comments prove:
Topshop has became the favorite label of the moment amongst the fashion pack, and the entire staff of vogue checks in nearly every day for new deliveries
(Vogue, www.topshop.co.uk)
The High Street has never looked so haute, and its all, down to Topshop
(The Sunday Times, Style, www.topshop.co.uk)
Topshop…its now a fashion faux pas not to go there.
(The Times, )
One could then propose that high-quality e-activities could only further strengthen the brand. However it could also be a hindrance if the e-activities are not suitable or poor quality.
Although one might think merchandising is of key importance or applicable to a website I feel that merchandising is a source of value to Topshop’s e-activities. Working in Topshop myself I know that merchandising of the product is of vital importance and there are many people employed simply to work on the visual look off the store. If u look at the website it is evident that the overall look is good and fits in with the look of the retail store, again reinforcing the brand. I think the visual look of the website benefits the customer in the sense that they are still feeling the Topshop shopping experience. In a sense they feel at home. Overall I think the success of Topshops e-activities is best strengthened through the current position they already hold in terms of reputation, brand and popularity with consumers.
Moving on now to look at the way in which Topshop’s e-activities are shaped. This concerns which type of business model Topshop has. Firstly a business model can be defined by the following:
A business model specifies the structure and dynamics of a particular enterprise, particularly the relationship between different stakeholders, benefits and costs to each key revenue flows.
(Beynon-Davies, 2004)
Topshops e-activities are Business-to-Customer. Their business model is Business-tp-Customer, revenue enhancement. This revenue is gained by direct marketing (online sales). This particular model seems logical to enhance their traditional selling channels. As mentioned the brand, layout and so on tie in with the store and appear to just be aiming at expansion. The website site is promoted in store on the music video screens between videos and on the reverse of receipts.
Also noted earlier was the importance of e-commerce in society today, therefore I think it is fair to say that Topshops e-activites are also an answer to competitive pressures. Many of Topshops competitors such as River Island, H and M and Oasis also operate websites so it would be competitively silly to not have any kind of e-activities.
Looking now at the actual design of the website. The table below illustrates shows that site design as being one of the factors in creating e-satisfaction:
Site design contains the areas of performance, navigation, appearance and so on. Performance related, the Topshop website uses Macromedia Flash Player. This technology lets the elements of animation, video, audio and graphics operate in the websites.
Performance related, page-loading time of web pages is regarded as a key issue for the user. Holman (1997) finds that users are just not willing to wait for pages to load, deeming users as “impatient beasts”. Topshop’s website loads more or less immediately when the site address has been typed in, taking the user to the main page straight away. All other pages throughout also loaded very quickly, which I felt was good considering the level of graphics and photos on the pages. No other pages or buttons need to be clicked to enter the site. For Nielson (1996) this is important in keeping the users attention since that as few as 10% of users go beyond what they see on the initial screen (cited by Holman, 1997). In other words if the user doesn’t see what they want/expect straight away they will simply go no further. Although I think Nielsons view might be slightly exaggerated I think it is a valid point. In relation to this Holman then suggests that a company should “present their meat” in the first one or two screens and this is exactly what Topshop do.
Other good features of site design are the clearly marked heading boxes (a). I Think these are good because you know exactly toget the things you want, instead of being left to clicking all over the page to find the links as you have to in some websites, which can be quite frustrating. When you click on these heading boxes a drop down menu appears with a list of options. For example under SHOP there is a breakdown of various categories such as jeans, coats, dresses making it easy to find what you are looking for. All the heading boxes operate in this way, COLLECTIONS giving a breakdown of the current trends, the same as in the actual store at the time. Something else I find that makes the site easy to use is that the heading boxes are always there, on each page, so when and if you decide to go to another part of the website you can easily do this without having to go back through pages using ur browser as with some websites. Although these heading boxes are small I think they are effective against the backdrop, which changes from week to week in accordance to the latest trends. The brand is also constantly being re-enforced with the word TOPSHOP appearing on the left hand corner of every page as seen in the various appendixes.
However there was a few things that I don’t feel are designed so well. Firstly I don’t like the way the drop down menus from the header boxes dissapear when you move the mouse away. Hence the reason no drops down menus appear in the appendixes. Furthermore there is a difference in the way the clothing under the titles COLLECTIONS and SHOP are displayed. Appendix 2 shows how the collection items are displayed and appendix 3 shows how the shop items are displayed. I prefer the way the CIOLLECTION items are laid out as I Found the scrolling nature of the SHOP items not as satisfying to use. I think it could also cause problems for those who are perhaps new to using the internet as the scrolling tool is very near the frame of the internet explorer which some people might be sitting for a while trying to move the explorer frame to get the page to scroll vertically (appendix 3 (b)). However what I don’t like about the page design of COLLECTION items is the boxes to move pages on (appendix 2 (c)) I think arrows or numbers would better indicate that there are more pages to be explored. Also if the if the user were to click on the back button of their Internet explorer they would be directed out of the whole site. To brows back the back button on the page must ge used (appendix 4 (g)) However these are not major flaws and are probably more/less relevant depending on the users computer skills and the number of times the user visits the site.
If one then considers the actual procedure of purchasing online it is relatively straightforward and easy to do. The page in appendix 4 shows the typical screen prior to purchase. This page is gained thought clicking on an item on the scrolling items in appendix 3 or clicking on the BUY button (d) in appendix 2. Here you can select your size, no need to select the colour as every colour of every item is displayed graphically, and then add to basket, through the basket ikon, which is displayed very clearly. A message is then displayed informing the user of their options. However it says go to the basket above to go to the checkout, which perhaps might lead people back to (e) appendix 4. Instead I think it would be better to say the basket at the top of the page ((f) appendix 5), which navigates you to the checkout. The buying stage is shown in appendix 6, here you can easily change the quantity of items or delete items and appendix 7 goes to the next stage. This next stage is made simple by the use of entering house number and postcode and your address is located. This was the last stage I could go to without making a real purchase. Overall I think it is easy to make a purchase, although maybe a little daunting for a first time user. One thing I would note is that if the size the user is wishing for is double clicked on (which many people often do) they quantity is taken to be 2. It took me a while to figure out why the quantity was 2 as double clicking is second nature to me and I am sure many others.
Other features I feel worth mentioning are the wish list which allows the user to create a shopping list wish they can e-mail on to others as outlined in appendix 8. The INFO menu also provides useful links to other areas users might be looking for such as store locator and jobs. Security information is in this menu but it isn’t on the drop down menu it is when you click on the option help and services. Although the information supplied is concise and in depth I think that considering security is a significant issue for online shoppers I don’t think it is prominent enough. It should either be in a heading box itself or explicitly in the INFO drop down menu. Another good feature is the description of the various trends under the COLLECTIONS heading helping users keep up to date with the latest in the fashion world, the NEW section adding to this.
I will finally go on to briefly look at the websites merchandising techniques. Although the term is normally used in normal retailing I think it is useful when taking about how the actual products are displayed. Szymanski and Richard define merchandising in online shopping as:
…factors associated with selling offerings online separate from site design and shopping convenience.
(2000, p.312)
many of the appendixes already referred to show how the product is merchandised. Overal it is done relatively well. The graphics are clear and concise with the ability to zoom in. They also show you the clothes as if they are being worn, creating a sort of three-dimensional effect. However with regards to the merchandising of items one thing I would prefer would be the ability to see more angles of the the clothes, for example side views and zooms of small details. This feature is evident in the site, however it is only in the vintage area of COLLECTONS containings the higher, priced items and in the moto jeans section of COLLECTIONS. These merchandising techniques can be seen in appendix 9. I think such merchandising in all areas could perhaps push sales just that bit further by giving that little bit more information. The following statement appears to agree:
They (the user/customer) want to be able to find out more about a product than what you put on the screen the first time they see it.
(Fogarty, 2000, p.2)
To conclude I think it is fair to say that Topshop has got an easy to use, fast, and effective website. It ties in well with the brand. I think the brands current excellent reputation and popularity is the key in gaining value. I think the e-strategy is in line with the overall strategy and both retail channels store and internet share common goals of wanting to be the best young fashion store on the high street. Although the website has some minor flaws. These are slight technical problems, which I view as having no great threat of scaring customers away. As someone once said:
Retailers generally stink at e-commerce
(Fogarty, 2000, p.1)
I think this stereotype is a bit of an overstatement and perhaps the person behind these words should take a look at the Topshop website before making such a sweeping statement.
References
Beynon-Davies, P. (2004) E-Business, Basinkstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan
Jackson, P. Harris, L. e-business fundamentals, Routledge
& Eckersley (2003)
Turban, E & King, D. (2003) Introduction to e-commerce
Holman, K. (1997) What Makes a Good Web Site?
www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/SITE /webdes1.htm
Szymanski, M, D. & E-satisfaction: an initial examination,
Richard, T. (2000) Journal of Retailing, Vol76, Issue 3, p.309-322
Rao, B. (1999) Developing an Effective E-tailing Strategy, Electronic Markets, Vol 9, no. 1 / 2
www.statisitcs.gov.uk
www.macromedia.com/software/flash/about
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4000365.stm
www.imrg.org.
