Miss Terry Shopper
Miss Terry Shopper and the Recon Mission for LED TVs
- 14th October
- Miss Terry Shopper 28
Miss Terry Shopper goes on a reconnaissance mission for information about LED TV’s at Dick Smith Electronics and JB Hi-Fi.
With all of the recent advertising surrounding the push for digital, I’ve been thinking its time to upgrade my old, but much loved clunker of an idiot box – my CRT TV.
As an avid reader of catalogues, I know that the choices are endless, so I pick two of the more well known retailers to investigate my options and what’s available. After a little bit of research, I have my heart set on either a Samsung or Sony LED 40 to 46 inch TV. Armed with recommendations and my preferred choices, I take my reconnaissance mission online.
Dick Smith Electronics (DSE)
The DSE navigation menus are logically and clearly organised.
The DSE website is clearly set out and easy to navigate. When I hover over the ‘TV & Video’ tab, a whole menu including all my choices of TV’s (LCD, LED, Plasma, etc) is displayed – meaning I do not have to waste time, wading through millions of products to find what I’m looking for.
However, being a bargain-hunter, I am instantly attracted to ‘Don’t forget our… Hot Deals’ – click.
At first glance there appear to be no Samsung or Sony TV’s on special, when looking at the brand tab – however my eagle eye spots a Samsung LCD listed across from this very menu. I realise then, that I have to press ‘more’ in order to display all of the available brands – DSE wouldn’t it wiser to list some of the better-known brands rather than your own first?
Continuing on with my search, I visit the ‘LED TV’ page. My expectations are met – there is a sort function on this page. I can also refine my results by brand, price, etc. So even if I didn’t know what I was looking for, this functionality would allow me to narrow and customise my search.
'View Full Details' on the DSE website, results in a comprehensive product listing.
The product listings are clearly setout, with an array of details – including a product image, ratings, price, whether or not it is in-stock and/or available for purchase online – just to name a few. A stand-out is the listing of the product model number, which not only means that I can refer directly to the manufacturers site for more information (especially if I’m tossing up between two models), but can easily find product-specific online reviews.
Utilising the compare function – I choose three products which are compared side-by-side in a table containing over 80 common features – information overload DSE. I just want to know the key differences between each product, what the benefits are of one over the other, etc. Although there are explanations for each of these statistics – I don’t have the time (or the patience) to go through them all.
In hope of finding more generalised information I try the ‘Quick Info’ button – this quite conveniently appears in a new window (ensuring I don’t lose my comparison search results), however it displays the same information from the initial ‘LED TV’ page.
I turn to ‘View Full Details’ – where not only are my comparison products retained for further enquiry, but I can also view the following details:
'Check Store Stock' seamlessly connects the online and offline experience.
- ‘Overview’ – consists of the manufacturers blurb;
- ‘Specs’ – all of the technical details compiled in the comparison table. A nice touch is the link to report inaccuracies or errors to DSE.
- ‘Delivery’ – which allows me to enter my post code to find out estimated delivery costs.
- ‘Accessories’ – displays a list of other products that other DSE customers bought with the TV.
- ‘Reviews’ – includes a summary of customer rating and reviews, along with their comments.
- ‘Q&A’ – a function where you can ask a question about the product and the DSE team will post a response – this acts as a FAQ, with history of past questions and responses retained.
Another useful function is ‘Check Store Stock’ that allows me to see which of my local stores have stock – this is great – though I do love shopping online at some point I will visit a store for a road-test.
Thanks DSE – armed with this information I am a step closer to making my purchase decision. On with my mission…
JB Hi-Fi
First impressions count – viewing the JB Hi-Fi website, I am visually assaulted by brash colours, a barrage of capital letters (shouting at me), flashing banners and multiple promotions – where to focus? The navigation bar although prominent enough, gets lost amongst the maze of everything else.
The JB Hi-Fi TV Buyers Guide provides valuable information for visitors to consider before purchasing a flat screen.
Clicking on ‘Plasmas, LED and LCD TVs’, I am immediately greeted by the ‘Two Red Hot JB Deals’ – although something else catches my attention ‘TV Buyers Guide’ – finally some LED TV reconnaissance gold! The guide gives me answers to important questions (some of which I had not considered) such as:
- What screen size do I need?
- What is the difference between plasma and LCD – the pros and cons?
- What does full HD mean?
Better informed, I continue my research clicking on ‘LED LCD TV’s’ – the layout is clear and includes a product image, specs in button format and basic information.
The most prominent detail, which demands my attention, is the price. Of which, I am particularly interested in those that are ‘slashed out’ with ‘Ask for a deal! Click here’. I bite, a new window opens… disappointingly I am informed that I need to visit a store to find out the ‘deals prices’… slightly miffed, I return to my search results.
The 'slashed prices' indicate further discounted deals online - but do not deliver.
Although the expected ‘sort’ function is not available, I can refine my search by price, screen size, brand and display type (similar to DSE).
I would like to refine my search by screen size, but my options are slightly limited – remember, I would like a 40 to 46 inch TV – the only refinement options available are – ’32 to 40’ or ’42 – 50’. Meaning I’ll have to do two searches, look at products that are both below and above my desired range, which I cannot sort.
I click on a Samsung listing for more information – the layout is surprisingly simple and clean. There is an image of the product, accompanied by basic information about the specs, pricing, etc. For research purposes, I was hoping for a little bit more information, especially model details so if I’m comparing apples to apples. Slightly disappointed – I leave the JB Hi-Fi website realising that perhaps it is not the best for my LED reconnaissance mission.
Weighing It All Up
Much like the swinging-voter, I’m a swinging-shopper. If your website is simple and easy to navigate, I will visit and probably stay for a while. If I have a dynamic experience, then I am more engaged to explore more. The more information you can provide me with pre-purchase, the more inclined I am to come back to you for my final purchase. I trust that you know what I need in order to make an informed decision. Though price does play a part of my decision, it’s the experience and service (on and offline, after-purchase, etc), that I take into account. My mission continues… stay tuned.
