Wednesday 26 November 2014

5 Favourite Online Shopping Sites Compared and Contrasted











1.Anthropologie


Products Available?

  • Clothing
  • Shoes
  • Accessories
  • House & Home
  • Gifts
  • BHLDN Weddings (clothing, shoes, accessories)

How Easy/Difficult it is to search?

  • Easy to search for items. The search bottom is clearly indicated on the top left of the page.
  • Though it might stand out better if it was in a brighter colour instead of the same colour used for other text on the page.
  • List of products available are clearly labeled near the top of the page. I can hover my cursor directly over the word ‘clothing’, if that is what I am looking for, and it shows me the different types of clothing that I can click on (dresses, pants, jackets, etc.).

How easy/difficult it is to add items to the cart?

  • Easy to add items to the cart, which they call the ‘Add To Basket’. The button is prominently displayed beside each item that you click on, just below the choices for colour, size, and quantity.

Features I Liked? Why?

  • Like their Wish List feature as I use that to list items that I may like to buy in the near future and this way I can go through the list at a future date and decided whether I will in fact purchase those items or not.
  • Attractive visual site with lots of nice images and videos.
  • Reviews by other buyers on the items they have bought. On the side of each review the reviewer can list their age range, height and body type. I like this feature as it allows me to find out what clothing might work for my age range, height and body type. The reviewers can also post images of themselves wearing the item, again a very useful visual guide to whether that item might work for me or other potential buyers

Features I Disliked? Why?

  • Sometimes items are displayed as available but after typing in my credit card number, a message pops up saying that the item is no longer available. I have since discovered that this means that the item is no longer available in Canada, but it is still being displayed on the website as it is available in the USA. To purchase this item you are then required to call up customer service, request that the item be mailed to you in Canada.





Products Available?

  • Books
  • Movies
  • Electronics
  • Clothing
  • So much more…

How Easy/Difficult it is to search?

  • Easy to search. They have a large search button at the top. Which gives you suggestions of what you might be looking for as you type it in.
  • Departments tab if you are not sure what you are looking for but know what type of item you are looking for, for example a laptop.

How easy/difficult it is to add items to the cart?

  • One click and it is in the cart.
  • But you do need to have an Amazon account to purchase your item.

Features I Liked? Why?

  • Like that they have a Wish List for the same reasons listed for Anthropologie.

Features I Disliked? Why?

  • Site has so many items that sometimes it can feel overwhelming.
  • Shopping experience can also feel a bit impersonal, as it is such a big company.  


Products Available?

  • Lingerie
  • Clothing
  • Swimwear
  • Sportswear

How Easy/Difficult it is to search?

  • It is pretty easy to search for items. They have a search button though it is quite small.
  • List of tabs with all the titles of the items that they sell, if you do not know the exact item you want or just want to browse. You can filter your search by style, size, colour and ways to save.

How easy/difficult it is to add items to the cart?

  • Once you click on and item they have a large ‘Add To Bag’ item positioned to the right of the item image and below the size and quantity choices that you have to click.

Features I Liked? Why?

  • Live Chat button, as it allows me to ask questions. Though more often than enough there are no agents available which is very frustrating.
  • Love List, which I like for the same reasons that I live Anthropologie and Amazon’s Wish Lists. I often will not buy on the first look at something and put the item into the wish list and come back to it again to think about it (Can I afford it now? Maybe I can afford it next month?)

Features I Disliked? Why?

  • Images could be better. Sometimes they show an item only from one angle, which I dislike as I would like to know what the item looks like from the back as well as the front, and so on.
  • Dislike the Live Chat button for the reasons listed above (I guess I have a love/hate relationship their Live Chat button).




Products Available?

  • Handmade or vintage items, art and supplies

How Easy/Difficult it is to search?

  • Very easy to search for items either via the search button at the top or via the category tabs list under the Browse Button (at the top).

How easy/difficult it is to add items to the cart?

  • It is very easy to add an item to the cart. The button is a nice bright green button on the item page, to the right of the image and below the selection choices of size, amount, etc.

Features I Liked? Why?

  • You can find unique items here that you won’t find elsewhere, created by artisans and/or artists.

Features I Disliked? Why?

  • Images of items can vary in quality and amount, as it is dependent on the Etsy seller’s ability to market their item.





Products Available?

  • Tickets for:
  • Concerts
  • Sports
  • Arts
  • Theatre
  • Broadway shows
  • Family events

How Easy/Difficult it is to search?
Easy to search as you can search by:

  • exact band/show/team
  • category (music, sports, arts & theatre and family)
  • city/area
  • venue

How easy/difficult it is to add items to the cart?

  • Very easy to add items to the cart.
  • Though you do have to have an account.

Features I Liked? Why?

  • Amount and variety of shows/events that they have available.
  • Can add info to my account so Ticketmaster knows what bands/singers I like.
  • Send me email alerts to let me know in advance if my favourite bands are going to play my city (this is part of the options they allow you on your account).

Features I Disliked? Why?


  • More often than not you cannot get tickets to the shows/events you want as they sell out in seconds as bots “steal” many of the tickets and then sell them later on other sites, including sites owned by Ticketmaster! Very frustrating. It causes many people to distrust Ticketmaster.

No comments:

Post a Comment