habitat.net

[James]

Habitat's website

I would like to grumble about http://www.habitat.net/uk/main_uk.htm - it's a usability nightmare!

1. It's 100% Flash with no alternative. The user is greeted with "You need the MX version of Flash to continue etc etc".

2. A pop up window launches from the homepage (I assume SP2 stops it)

3. Every link plays a pointless Flash intro with sounds.

4. Every link generates a "loading..." banner as it is so bandwidth intensive

5. Despite looking around the site, I don't think you can actually shop online!

6. The designers were probably paid a fortune for this and Habitat should have spent the money on an eCommerce site, not this annoying "look how clever we are" rubbish.

Dire.

[Phil]

eek. and it when you do a check availibility for a product, you have to fill in all your contact details and stuff. shocking.
shame on you digitlondon.com

[Tom]

But look: you can't buy from the IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/index.html) site either. That's because self-collection + self-assembly keeps the prices down.

The idea for functional-well-designed-modern furniture came from Habitat (Terrance Conran) but they never got the idea about low prices. When Habitat first opened in Birmingham it was like the only ice-cream stall in Cairo. For Britain, not too unlike the jet engine, antibiotic and computer stories, alas.

[James]

Don't get me started on Ikea.

Last month we thought we were being clever by travelling up to Ikea Croydon at 8pm (it is open until midnight) to miss the crowds.

We did miss the crowds, but we still didn't get out until 11.30pm. You have to actually pick the stock from their warehouse yourself, then unless you have a van you have to take all your furniture through the checkout and leave it with them for delivery.

I know this keeps the price down, but why can't they sell on their website and charge an extra premium for the privilege? I would like the option and after my recent experience would be happy to pay an extra say 10% to order and arrange delivery online.

[Tom]

I suppose their Unique Selling Proposition is Low Price + Good Quality. Anything which detracted from this would confuse the brand image. They would not want a reputation for higher web prices when even Dixons are now offering a discount for web purchases.