I was on the look-out for a Christmas gift, an audio CD for a family member who hasn’t quite caught up to modern tech standards just yet. I headed to Amazon straight away, knowing very well the site has extremely competitive prices and a wide selection of products.

Upon discovering that the item in question was available, I placed my order, and then I waited, and waited, and waited. My order was estimated to be delivered on Friday, December 14th, 14 days after the purchase was made. Knowing very well that the item was being shipped out of the US, I added a few days to the delivery date for safe-keeping, but when my order still had not arrived five days after the estimated delivery date, I started to grow impatient. What was even worse, I was sent an email asking me to rate my delivery and packaging experience for recent purchases, including the missing item (see below screenshot).

Amazon’s packaging feedback email.

I headed back to the Amazon website, only to discover there was no tracking information attached to my order as it had shipped outside of the US, according to a customer service assistant that I later spoke with. My next option was to contact the carrier tracking company, MSI, via email.

After three emails, I still received no response from MSI. I headed back to the Amazon website to contact the customer service team, using the Live Chat option.

The below screenshot details the Live Chat conversation between Miss Terry Shopper and Jeff from Amazon. The conversation was extremely professional, and Jeff exceeded my expectations at every instance. The end result, a replacement order that was estimated to be delivered in time for Christmas and a happy customer.

Amazon’s Live Chat customer service option.

Companies must ensure that affiliate companies conduct a similar level of customer service so as not to harm the overall brand reputation. My advice to Jeff was to make sure management knew of MSI’s lack of customer service, as I felt that it jeopardised Amazon’s credibility. He assured me that the incident had been noted.

MSI had not contacted Miss Terry Shopper at the time of publication. Here’s hoping Amazon comes through with the goods and the item is delivered before Christmas.

The post Amazon Trumps Customer Service, Affiliate Partner Fails Miserably appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

I received my print catalogue in the mail last week after signing up through the brand’s website, it was full of colourful, on-trend new season pieces, accompanied by engaging style guides and fashion editorial content.

A $15 voucher came with the catalogue, and was a nice enticement to begin my shopping adventure. So I headed to The Iconic online store on Saturday afternoon, armed and ready to check out a floral shirt I’d had my eye on from the catalogue.

The website was enticing from the get-go, complete with creative imagery, familiar navigation layout, and loads of content with which to engage visitors. I went straight to the product I was looking for using the simple navigation path. The product page had a variety of images from all angles so I was given a more concise view of the product. There was also a zoom feature to see the product details.

A lengthy product description provided information on the product’s features and benefits, and certainly aided me in my purchase decision as I found out that the shirt had features like pleated detail, 3/4 sleeves and a curved hemline. There were also extra elements like material composition and care instructions, as well as customer reviews, social media sharing options and free delivery information.

After analysing all of this information, I couldn’t resist, and added the item to my online shopping cart. Overall, this was a seamless path-to-purchase with a four page checkout process, and I had the option of being a guest customer which I liked.

After the checkout was complete, I received an email that included everything that I needed to know about my order – order number, shipping details and customer service information.

I was amazed to receive my order by express post on Tuesday morning so I was still able to sign for my parcel before leaving for work. The product was exactly what I wanted but what pleased me even more was the Snap & Share postcard, an invitation to take photos of myself with my new purchase and share it through The Iconic’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram networks or the website.

Not only was this a way to get me back to the website but also an engaging way to interact with the brand. There was also the added bonus of winning a $500 wardrobe from The Iconic. While I haven’t yet uploaded a snapshot of myself in my new outfit, I’m a social media advocate so will happily comply at some point. The below screenshot is an example of another customer who has shared his purchase with The Iconic’s Facebook network.

A happy The Iconic customer shares his new purchase on the brand’s Facebook page.

All in all, I really feel that The Iconic has lived up to what the retailer has become well known for – creating an online shopping experience that centres on great customer service and seamless and convenient online shopping experiences. The Iconic took out the Best New Online Retailer award at this year’s ORIAs and was also a finalist in the Best Pureplay Online Retailer, Best Customer Experience and Best Online Retail Marketing Initiative categories.

The post Miss Terry Shopper and The Iconic’s Social Buzz appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

Don’t get me wrong, at first I was disappointed with the outcome. Recently SurfStitch, a pureplay brand I shop on at a (very) regular basis sent out an email advertising a snow sale – all snow products that were already on sale would have another 20% off. I thought to myself in the words of Charlie Sheen’s midlife crisis – ‘WINNING!’

I was desperate for a new jacket and pants. The pants I had been wearing represented a particular stereotype of men who wear their pants low and baggy. As for my jacket, well, lets just say I have been wearing the same one since I was 16. An update was necessary.

So I searched the website until I found the perfect jacket and pants combo that would save me from belting my baggy pants and year 10 taste in fashion. The order went through and I excitedly waited for them to turn up on my doorstep…

On arrival I was so excited I tore the wrapping and tried my new outfit on. But alas! I could only JUST do up the pants, and the jacket was extremely snug. To the point, if I was to fall over in the snow – I don’t know if I would have been able to get up again! This is a girls worst nightmare… Thinking I had put on a big winter coat already (and at this point, it was the start of June) I was close to having my own mid life crisis.

Then even more devastation, SurfStitch don’t refund sale items, they only exchange. So sadly I took off my outfit thinking I would have to sell it onwards to someone on eBay. Then there was a light at the end of the tunnel – the pants and jacket were labelled ‘S’ when I knew I had ordered and ‘M’, but the other tag attached was labelled with a ‘M’… Well this was interesting. Looks like Billabong may have made an error. So I immediately got on the emails to SurfStitch and I was requested to send photos.

Surfstitch were quick to recognise their error, and I received a few emails about the next step. The Customer Service Representative  I dealt with was Jane*, and yes I only dealt with one person the whole time, I wasn’t thrown from customer service rep to customer service rep, that was a big tick for SurfStitch in my books. Jane quickly told me she had put a jacket in the correct size aside for me, but unfortunately the pants I wanted had sold out, however I would be refunded and SurfStitch would reimburse me for the postage of sending the incorrect items back.

Checking my bank statement, I noticed SurfStitch were trying to charge me another $100, well that’s a bit cheeky, so I immediately emailed Jane, and asked her what was happening. The reply I got was that it was an error, she had cancelled it (and sent me a screen shot of the cancellation) and she had put through the refund for the pants and the postage costs. The lesson you can learn here, keep an eye on your credit card statements!

So some of you reading this might think I am pumping up SurfStitch’s tyres and every business should be or does follow a similar process. But the short answer is no, they don’t. There is still a number of e-commerce businesses that are not making the effort to make the returns process easy for the customer – so I hope if your business is one of them, that you will turn your act around, or in a few weeks/months, you might see your name mentioned here…

*Customer Service Representative’s name may or may not be Jane

The post Miss Terry Shopper and the SurfStitch Customer Service appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

As the seller was from France, I asked about postage upfront which seemed reasonable (for tracking and adequate packaging) at over $60AUD (after converting from Euro). I put in my maximum bid and came out pleasantly surprised as the lucky buyer of my (new) old Art Deco vase at around $30AUD.

I waited patiently for the vase, but when it arrived, it arrived in pieces. I don’t know much about collecting Art Deco, but I was pretty sure vases generally come in one piece. Especially collectible ones.

Ever the optimist, I wrote to Didier (the seller) and explained that the vase arrived broken and politely requested my money back. I was a bit taken aback when he refused. I asked again, citing that the packaging was inadequate. Didier wrote back something in French which I could only guess was a long-winded “merci but no”.

Still optimistic, I started the PayPal complaints process. After a bit of research, I had to enter the complaint as “Item not as described.” Well, no, the seller didn’t describe the item as “broken.”

Over a month passed, yet I felt that I was in the safe and logical hands of an impartial third party, and was ready to let the almighty PayPal judge deliver a fair and just verdict.

Then – Hallelujah! –  a verdict. I received an email which I assumed was spam as it had no name in the “from” field:

Once I removed the email from my trash folder, I was happy to learn that PayPal had decided in my favour. Sort of. I just needed to post the vase back to the seller in the same condition in which it had arrived to me. Except that I had to pay for postage. (Which, from Australia, was turning out to cost more than the original payment to the seller had cost me in the first place.) Still, I was willing to do it, just for the moral victory. The problem – I had 10 days to post it back. Yet I was interstate for two weeks.

I replied to the email as it was from someone named Jack and I naively assumed that Jack would receive my response. When I heard nothing, I called PayPal. Someone name John told me that of course I could have an extension given the circumstances, and that I had an extra week to return the broken vase.

Within a few days I had received another email from PayPal, telling me that if I didn’t provide tracking information in the 10 day period, the claim would be cancelled and I wouldn’t receive my funds. What? John told me I had an extra week! I wrote back to this email from Jeremy and wondered if all PayPal employees have names starting with J. There was nothing at the bottom of the email to indicate that it was a no-reply email and again, I naively assumed Jeremy would receive my response. No luck.

I called back, and Josh (I actually can’t remember if his name was Josh but I’m just running with the J theme) told me my “request” for an extension had been denied. But I was assured by John that it was a done deal?! Josh assured me that it was not. I asked Josh to please attend my house in Melbourne, to which there was no spare key available, enter (with my alarm code which I was unwilling to provide), get the vase, attend the post office and send the parcel back himself. Short of that, I could think of no viable alternative. I included a few expletives as I was trying to get my point across and politely (or as politely as an expletive-laden request can be) requested to speak with his manager. Then there was silence.

“Hold on. You said the vase was broken?” asked Josh.

“*Expletive* Yes. I don’t know how I could have been any clearer?!? If it wasn’t broken there would be no *expletive* basis for my claim,” I politely replied.

“Oh,” said Josh. “Well then it’s actually a security risk to send a broken vase through the post. So I’ll just go ahead and refund your money right now. And you don’t need to do anything further.”

Ok, so I was happy that I had a resolution. I was happy that I didn’t have to send the vase back in a physically impossible 10 days. I was happy I was getting my money back. But I was beyond frustrated that every person I spoke to seemed to give me inconsistent advice. Surely, using Josh’s logic, this should have been the very first response I received from PayPal all those weeks ago. Hours (ok, probably 20 minutes) spent on hold could have been avoided. Explaining the situation to the array of J employees was an unnecessary time-wasting exercise! But I had my money, so I politely (no, really this time) thanked Josh for his time, took my money and ran.

That afternoon, the money was safely transferred from my PayPal account to my bank account and the claim was closed. A week later, I received an email from Lisa at PayPal (again, from no sender, so I assumed it was spam) telling me that as I had not provided the tracking information, the claim would be closed and I would not be receiving my money back. My first thought was: “You’re *expletive* kidding me.” My second thought was: “They’ve moved on from J names to L names. It must be an alphabetical order thing.”

I already had my money, so I didn’t feel any need to wait on hold to PayPal again and explain the situation. If I could be bothered waiting on hold, I would say:

1. Make it easy for your customers to contact you.
2. Emailing without a “from” field makes it likely your emails will end up in the trash folder. Not good enough for a company as professional as PayPal.
3. When you have a complaints process, all decisions should be transparent and consistent.
4. Are you in the market for a broken Art Deco vase?

The post Miss Terry Shopper and the Smashed Art Deco Vase appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

Recently, Mr Terry bought a TESLA Tricon Analog Phono Interconnect (a.k.a. very, very expensive black cable thing – see above) from a company called MSS HiFi in New York. Everything seemed legitimate, until (after several delays in dispatch) the cable arrived without a warranty or documentation, looking very different to the same cables that Mr Terry’s audiophile friend had recently purchased. When he queried MSS HiFi about the authenticity of the product, he received this baffling response from Johnny Boey (seriously, word for word – we couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried!):

Warranty info is attached. You have everything that the factory shipped with the cables. 

As to the authenticity, the answer is straight forward – we don’t sell fake products. If we do, we wouldn’t call ourselves such pompous and self righteous names as Leaders of The Free World and Audio Robin Hood.

Are you a man who knows how to appreciate the nice things that you buy, or do you just buy something based on a name? I have immaculate tastes. Go ahead, show me anything fancy that I have never heard of, I can tell you either (a) real or fake, or (b) I don’t care. Be it a clothing article of a designer that I’ve never heard of, a piece of art by an artist I’ve never heard of, a high class Australian racehorse I’ve never heard, or a heart-pounding Australian courtesan that I’ve never heard of, if it tickles my fancy I will be able to tell you if it’s not the real McCoy. And when I call something fake, I call it with conviction, I don’t go about asking “how can I be sure that it’s genuine?”.

I have never even considered this a special ability. Am I being naive that all consumers should possess this kind of ability to appreciate everything that they buy? I guess I have strong opinions. Call me misguided, idealistic or even delusional, after all my mind is not the most stable of all my faculties. If I ever lose it one day, I would definitely buy everything locally at full retail rather than taking a chance sight unseen. The stress and self doubt cannot be good for my mental well being, and I most certainly would not risk losing my mind for any amount of savings. 

Well that response surely clears everything up then, doesn’t it?!

The warranty information explains that internet purchases are “different” and advises the seller not to contact the manufacturer. Understandably, Mr Terry contacted Synergistic Research, the manufacturer (who was extremely helpful). The company confirmed that they do not distribute to MSS HiFi and that the serial numbers indicated that the cable was in fact counterfeit. When Mr Terry relayed this information to MSS Hifi, he received the following response:

Have you actually compared the cables to the ones that your friends have both physically and sonically? Do you have a regular doctor or psychiatrist? Have you ever discussed paranoia with them? Don’t take it the wrong way. I have both myself.

Synergistic Research has since issued a warning on its website and is taking action against MSS HiFi. Mr Terry is still out of pocket. After being notified of the fraud, PayPal is now investigating. Johnny Boey is still claiming he is a Leader of the Free World and an Audio Robin Hood. Mrs Terry Shopper is still trying to work out what a TESLA Tricon Analog Phono Interconnect actually is.

The post Customer Service Excellence – “Are you seeing a psychiatrist?” appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

I was wasting time scrolling down the page of deal site Catch Of The Day. Being the fashionable, beauty obsessed online shopping girl I am, I was astounded to stumble upon some great make-up deals. My all time favourite eyeshadow was available for a bargain price! I immediately added it to the cart. Happy and content I continued to browse what other beauty products were on offer. I ended up purchasing a lip gloss, eye shadow and moisturiser.  Feeling ecstatic about my beauty order, I patiently waited it for arrive.

And wait I did.

It was day number 10 when I was starting to get a little bit frustrated. I live in Melbourne, and I know that Catch of the Day are based in Melbourne – so why was it taking so long to travel a few suburbs to my house? I jumped online and headed to the FAQ section on the Catch Of The Day website.

It says, “Catch Of The Day aims to get parcels posted out within 5 days of ordering, however, we ask that you please wait 15 days to receive your delivery.  Our warehouse guys will pack them as quickly as possible. (We work them very hard!)”

So, feeling a bit sorry for those warehouse guys having to look after thousands of orders, I waited some more.

Day number 21 arrived and as I was well over the 15 day waiting limit, I decided to send a little email and enquire about where my goods were. I received a reply on a Sunday (I was impressed that someone was there on a Sunday) and it said that changes in the postal routine were to blame for the delay.

The e-mail I received from Catch Of The Day about my purchase

So once again, I felt a bit sorry for Catch Of The Day. All those orders they must get, and then to have to change the whole postal routine! Goodness me, there would never be a good time to change the postal routine in online retail! So once more, I waited.

Another 10 days down the track and I still had not received anything. I was really starting to get frustrated. I sent another email enquiring about where my order was. My reply the following day appeared to have a more accurate description about where my order was.

The reason my order was taking so long

Finally, four days after the above email, I got another email saying my order had been dispatched. My order eventually arrived a whole 40 days after the order was made and travelled about 25 minutes from the Catch Of The Day headquarters to my house.  When the parcel was in my hands and I finally got to open it, ‘lo and behold… I had received an item I hadn’t even ordered. I assume it is Catch Of The Day’s way of apologising for the outrageous wait. Or, they completely stuffed up my order from the very beginning. Who knows!

On a final note. After this ridiculous wait, I thought I should get in early and order my mother’s birthday present. A Kindle from Amazon. I ordered it on the Monday. Come Friday, it was delivered and that was international shipping! Not a few suburbs away…

The post Miss Terry Shopper Waits 40 Nights and Not One Thing Right appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

Instantly, Mr Shopper went straight to the website and sped through to check-out. With a $12 lamb in his shopping basket, he was even more thrilled to see that KARTON offered a pick-up option on Fridays between 2pm and 4pm from their warehouse in Clayton. Mr Shopper decided to take a late lunch and pick up said lamb as he quietly congratulated himself for being able to find the perfect birthday present at the last minute without waiting for delivery.

Alas, Mr Shopper arrived at the warehouse at the specified time, only to find the doors shut and no one in sight. He called the KARTON phone number, to no avail. He drove back to the office, defeated. The 35 degree temperature and wasted drive did nothing to help his mood. He emailed the company and explained what happened – not expecting a reply – and started (unsuccessfully) brain-storming other birthday present options.

Then, Mr Shopper received a pleasant surprise. A response and apology from the company and a promise that the lamb would be hand-delivered to Mr Shopper at his work address immediately. With a pop-up store that had recently opened and a flurry of activity at KARTON, the poor warehouse had been left unattended completely by mistake. Sometimes it’s just hard being that popular. It’s really difficult to stay mad when a company takes complete responsibility and offers to rectify the situation immediately.

The lamb arrived as promised. Mr Terry Shopper went from frustrated to very chuffed and we hear that Ms Fiance was thrilled to bits with her birthday present. Everyone lived happily ever after (including the lamb, who went to a very nice home).

So what’s the moral of the story? It probably doesn’t seem worthwhile for a company to hand-deliver a $12 cardboard animal (especially when most products on the site sell for over $100). But when it comes to retail, it’s not just about selling a product. It’s about selling an experience.

The post Mr Terry Shopper and the Stray Flat Packed Lamb appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

Ordering from the Mooo website is easy (especially when you’ve done it once or twice….or ten times). Before I even had time to ring my friend to congratulate her on the birth, I had already placed an order to be delivered in seven to 13 days.

Now all I had to do was wait. And wait. And wait. I know the confirmation email said seven to 13 days, but I was really hoping it was one of those times you’re pleasantly surprised when your parcel arrives in a speedy three days. Wishful thinking.

I started to feel a bit nervous. I had organised a group present. I was the one responsible for its delivery. And now, almost 12 days later, poor baby Libby was still presentless. Would she survive in the big, bad world without a personalised lunchbox?!?

Just when I was about to look for the customer service number and make the dreaded call (envisioning an eternity spent on hold and a package that had disappeared into the ether), a strange thing happened. I received an email from Mooo.

“Just in case you’re wondering…”, it starts. I was! I was wondering! How did it know?! “Unfortunately due to a a high demand for our products your order has been delayed.” The email went on to apologise for any inconvenience the delay may have caused and…wait for it….offered 15% off my next purchase.

It’s amazing what a difference a company getting on the front foot can make. I instantly went from a) annoyed that my parcel hadn’t arrived, to b) happy that the company was aware that there was an issue and that I wouldn’t need to waste my time chasing it up, to c) excited about my next purchase with Mooo. From annoyed to excited in under one minute. Impressive.

The normal course of events usually goes from a) annoyed that my parcel hasn’t arrived, to b) struggling to find a customer service representative that can help me, to c) having to write an angry email to the company after the customer service representative is unhelpful and rude, to d) still without my purchase, telling all my friends and family how much I hate company X and will never purchase from them again.

Of course, in an ideal world, we’d all receive our purchases by next day delivery in perfect condition. But sometimes things don’t go as planned. Customers are usually pretty forgiving, especially when a company makes it clear that they are appreciated and not forgotten, even after their credit-card details have been entered.

Now the tricky question is – personalised diary or address book?

The post Miss Terry Shopper and The Cheeky Mooo Monkey appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

It happened with the iPhone (“I don’t need an iPhone. I have a phone, a camera and a laptop. What will an iPhone do for me?”).  It happened with the iMac (“What can this massive computer do for me that my neat, compact laptop can’t?”). And, believe it or not, it happened with the iPad (“I have an iPhone – and that can even make phone calls. What’s this iPad going to do for me?”).

(And yes, there is a slight positive bias towards Apple products in our household).

Anyway, the point is I now have an iPad and I now know what it can do for me. In terms of shopping in a multichannel world, my online retail existance has just gotten a whole lot more exciting.

Let’s take a look at one of digital retail’s stalwarts, Net-A-Porter.

I’m hardly surprised to discover that Net-A-Porter has an iPad app. If any retailer is going to be across both m-commerce and t-commerce already – both of which are still buzzwords in some online retail circles – it’s going to be this one. What does take me by surprise though is the complete awesomeness of the customer iPad experience on offer with Net-A-Porter.

Net-A-Porter Weekly Issue

Net-A-Porter introduces me to its “weekly app”, which is presented as a e-zine, or digital magazine, that’s updated with a new issue – and fresh looks, styles, and products – each week. While the retailer’s website is also presented as an e-zine, this concept translates much better into an iPad app, which is quite ironic considering the website has been in its current format for a number of years, well before any tablet was released.

It’s just like browsing a print fashion magazine only better. With the touch or swipe of a finger, I can download previous issues, get closer looks of the product and styles I like, watch video content and read the editor’s notes all for free. And of course, I can buy in the same way. You tell me where in Elle (or Vogue for that matter) is the option to ‘Shop the Magazine’?

Importantly, the shopper is able to access everything via the app that’s available on its website, so there’s definitely no lost opportunities for both the user and the e-tailer. There is something about using the Net-A-Porter iPad app that creates a more intimate user experience than its website does. And it’s infinitely more appealing too.

Shop the Magazine with Net-A-Porter

While I do not take the plunge and buy via the app yet, it’s important to highlight how tablet devices are changing the way in which people interact with retailers. I can say with certainty that from now on, all of my dealings with Net-A-Porter will be via the iPad (until the next big thing comes along anyway).

However, in saying that, it’s not simply about been able to access a site via a tablet device using Safari or Explorer. It’s about considering the technology and utilising its strengths to engage the user. For instance, as the adoption rate of tablet devices increase, apps with readily available content such as quality images, video, and customer ratings and reviews, will become even more paramount in an effort to keep people returning to, reusing and reordering from a tablet or smart phone app.

If it’s done right, there’s something about connecting with a retailer via a tablet device that’s far more engaging than through a desktop website and even a smart phone. From my limited yet rapidly expanding experience  of t-commerce, the international players have already cottoned on to this while many of our local retailers are only beginning to get their heads around mobile commerce and smart phone apps.

Talk to your e-commerce teams, talk to your app designers and start including t-commerce in any digital strategies moving forward. While it’s okay for people like me to take their time in adopting new technologies, the same can’t be said for those operating within the Australian e-commerce industry.

The post Miss Terry Shopper Embraces T-Commerce appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.

Recently, two Australian member-only shopping clubs, Ozsale and brandsExclusive,  launched and updated their iPhone apps respectively, so these pureplayers seem like the perfect place to start.

** Duty of Disclosure**

Before the story continues, it must be known that:

• My first and only experience with Ozsale ended with the wrong goods being delivered. Why this was particularly frustrating was that at the time of the order’s delivery, I was recovering from a nasty asthma attack. I followed Ozsale’s return procedures, however, as I was unable to leave the house (try walking when you have a limited amount of oxygen in your blood….better yet, try breathing) to send the incorrect goods back, I asked the company to send a courier and explained why. Customer Service was very quick to point out that with its Reply Paid service, I wouldn’t have to go into a post office, I could simply drop the package at any postbox which would make it easier on me. Really? You know what’s going to make it easier? Not having to leave the house. And besides, the product to be returned was not going to fit into a postbox.
• Ozsale also never offered any vouchers or discounts for its stuff up and the trouble it caused me.
• I have also ordered from brandsExclusive previously, and out of a dozen or so times, only once has my order ever been correct. From missing and incorrect items, to wrong sizes being sent and cancelled orders (from the bE end), I’ve experienced the full gamut. Upon taking brandsExclusive to task on this, the explanation was that on the rare occasion, human error does come into play.  Yet this many times does not a ‘rare occasion’ make. It does though, make a good talking point in an article such as this.
• brandsExclusive has given me a number of credits and vouchers, sometimes up to $40 worth, for these incidents which is why I keep going back.

Without further adieu, let’s see how I get on.

Ozsale

What could be better than spending an afternoon sipping cocktails by the pool shopping from my iPhone? I’ll tell you what – spending an afternoon shopping from my iPad.  Have to say, after newly acquiring an iPad, I’m disappointed that Ozsale doesn’t have an app for this.  Yes, the iPhone app can be used on the iPad, but of course everything looks fuzzy, pixelated and wrong. So I stick to using the iPhone.

I’m quite impressed by the number of shoe sales on offer.  I have to admit that for a few minutes there, Mr. Terry Shopper becomes dangerously close to drinking his morning tea out of a black pump stiletto with a 13cm heel. However, Ozsale allows the shopper to choose the category from which they wish to shop, so I select the rather sedate (by comparison) ‘Home’ category, and all distraction is removed.

Positives

• All in all, the shopping process is very easy.
• Users can select the category they wish to browse – such as ‘Home’. This saves on scrolling through events a shopper isn’t interested in, and also prevents people from accidentally skipping a relevant brand in the process.
• Sale information, including when sales finish and upcoming sales, is prominently displayed.
• Calls to action are displayed at the bottom of the app, and also prominently on product pages. Product pricing is clear too.
• Categories within each brand are clearly marked.
• Images are clear and it’s fun scrolling through all the different items.
• Product and brand information is readily available, and the shipping and returns policy and pricing details are also listed underneath the items on sale.
• Checkout is easy too, with payment options via credit card or PayPal. I’m able to update details to make sure the items ordered are delivered to the new address.
• Order tracking is available.

Negatives

• While each brand is separated into categories such as ‘cookware’, ‘bakeware’ and ‘glassware’, once a category to browse is selected, it simply runs onto the next category, without any indication. This is a little bit confusing and it’s easy to lose your place as a result.
• Some vital product information is missing. For instance, a five-piece cookware set is added to the cart but nothing tells me what material the pots and pans are made from. I’d also like to know what the manufacturer’s warranty is.
• A user cannot shop across brands.  Desired items from one brand must be paid for before selecting items from another brand.
• I get stung at the checkout process with a whopping $30 delivery charge. I check back on the pricing information and nothing indicates it would be this much.  I know the last time I ordered from Ozsale, delivery was $10 so I’m not sure why the sudden hike. As I scroll through the mobile app, there is nothing explaining the delivery costs or processes. And considering I’m not even sure I’ll get the right order delivered, that really sucks.

brandsExclusive

Out comes the trusty iPad, yet any attempt at t-commerce is again thwarted. Back to iPhone browsing it is. By the way, in case anybody is wondering, ASOS has an aweomse iPad app.

Of course the shoe sales catch my eye – but alas! I must scroll through ALL sales events to find the categories I’m after.  That shoe/tea-cup scenario enters my mind again…

Positives

• All in all, the shopping process is very easy.
• Sale information advising of events about to close is on offer.
• Brands are divided into separate categories.
• Calls to action are displayed at the bottom of the app, and also prominently on product pages. Pricing is clear too.
• Categories within each brand are clearly marked.
• Images are clear and it’s fun scrolling through all the different items.
• Product and brand information (including materials!) is readily available.
• Delivery is a flat $9.90 per brand.  No hidden surprises.
• Checkout is easy too, with payment options via credit card or PayPal. I am able to update details to make sure the items ordered are delivered to the new address.
• Order tracking is available.

Negatives

• While FAQs are included in the app, there is no shipping and returns policy available on product pages.
• There is no option to browse interested categories only.  In order for a user to locate brands of the relevant category, it’s necessary to scroll through all sales events.  As a result, It’s easy to miss a sale or two that might be relevant to the shopper.
• A user cannot shop across brands.  Desired items from one brand must be paid for before selecting items from another brand.
• There is no upcoming sale information.

Summary: Who Does It Better?

The customer experience across both the Ozsale and brandsExclusive apps is fairly similar – each retailer has one or two unique features and aspects it does better, and each retailer has a few areas that could be improved upon.  In fact, both companies could learn a little bit from each other.

The browsing and purchasing experience for both of these e-tailers is great. I do love the convenience shopping from a smart phone affords me, and as mentioned earlier, both of these companies provides apps that are fun to shop with. However, its brandsExclusive that has the edge over Ozsale and the reasons are centred around the delivery costs, as well as the fact that when something does go wrong, the customer gets some compensation – and an incentive – to use the retailer again.

Still, what happens between now and delivery remains to be seen. It doesn’t matter how fantastic any smart phone or tablet app is (there I go mentioning t-commerce again!) if a retailer can’t deliver – literally.

Watch this space. I will update the post as the orders are received.

The post Miss Terry Shopper and the Shopping Club Buy-Off appeared first on Power Retail - Australia's News and Information Resource for the Online and Multichannel Retail Community.