Selfridges 'buying' website

[kae101]

I have been lucky enough to just have a sneak peak at Selfridges new 'buying' website (they currently only have a leaflet style site) where they offer the opportunity to buy from their vast range of stock online.

I most say its not great. I went through it with my PA ladies (who as you can imagine are their target audience) and we were dissapointed. They have tried to recreate the department store experience online, using Selfridges instore categories (Topshop for example is in 'street' fashion, whereas Chanel is 'designer' and they have other categories such as luxury and everyday). This simply doesn't work in an online environment. It makes everything twice as hard to find (we spend 15 mintues trying to find Benefit makeup as we didn't know which category it was in!). Instore they create the differences in the departments using location, displays, colours, music, mood and a wealth of subliminal siginifiers that a real world environment can afford. They have simply given them a title online and have made no other changes to the different 'areas' you can be in. It assumes its customers will have been instore (there aren't that many places with a Selfridges so chances are people haven't) and also assume you are familiar enough with the store to know what each category means (and considering I work 30 seconds from it and am in there daily IIIII don't know what the different categories are!). Trying to lead people through other departments before they get to where they want is great when you are shopping in the real world and is the lynch pin to the success of the department store (happy to give a history of the department store and the liberation of women for anyone who wants it) but online is about getting to the place you want quickly so to force people round the houses is just annoying.

Debenhams has made much more a success of the department store online, making their selling factor their wealth of stock, not the browsing experience.

Its a thumbs down from me!

They need to rethink the architecture and not force the Selfridges store in to the online world. The real world shopping experience is a sensory one that can only be limited online. Work with the limitations, rather than force your way through them I say!

(Sadly the site is only available with a log in)

KA

[Kris M]

Hey KA, I totally agree with you I think its really annoying when offline stores launch online shops which deliver experience above the functionality of a shop - which essentially is their main function. Pull and bear (a well known European clothing chain - which has just entered the UK market) is a prime example of experience before functionality see: http://www.pullbear.com/ . Although its got a lot better in last few years. It's still difficult to just find a design of a certain t-shirt they sell though