I admit it. I am a demanding consumer. But, aren't we all? We want everything better, faster, easier, and more personalized than ever before. We want to feel like we're important to the companies we do business with. But why is it that despite every marketing milestone and breakthrough many web experiences often fail to meet our expectations?

Blame company structure or budget or legacy systems or leadership or the weather. But the more you excuse it, the worse it gets.

I've made a career out of studying, advocating for, and creating customer experiences and sharing them with clients, in columns, speeches, a book, and now this blog.

So, forget the excuses. Here you'll find a consumer perspective on what works, what doesn't, who's getting it right, and who's still in the dark.

Straight-forward. Unfiltered. Customer fanaticism.




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August 24, 2006

Shopping for Inspiration

Bbw_solution As I've made the recent transition from summer-vacation shopping (picking up sunblock at the drugstore) to back-to-school shopping (browsing, comparing and stalking my favorite web sites for backpacks, clothes, shoes and gadgets), I've noticed that things online have changed. The world of the isolated product shot served up in a too-small-to-see thumbnail image is starting to fall away and make room for the world of inspirational shopping experiences.

It's not been overnight, of course, but with the handful of late-summer re-launches, I feel like we're on our way to more online excursions that cater to the undecided shopper and not just the "I-need-a-specific-product" shopper.

From shopping by outfit at Gap to shopping by room at Pottery Barn, and shopping by solution at Bath & Body Works to shopping by trend at Crate & Barrel, consumers are getting long-overdue permission and opportunity to start shopping the way they think and not the way businesses are structured.

August 24, 2006 in Innovative Experiences, Retail | Permalink | Bookmark

Comments

I have long thought that what interactive media was missing, especially in the retail and CPG markets, was the "Budweiser-effect". You remember the Budweiser commercials that showed what your lifestyle would be like if only you drank their beer. Show me what it would be like if I wore J. Crew or used Bath and Body Works products.

Oh and trusted places like Gap, that put together complete outfits on screen, are going to win my online dollars. I don't always have time to figure out a look, and so if I am in the store, I'll grab what the mannequin is wearing. It's cheating, I know, but I consider it my personal stylist. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

So now I can get that same effect at Gap online which is a huge timesaver for me and it helps me look together. However, they need to take a further with an applet that shows every combination that works with "that sweater" or "this shirt". That way I can get more milage out of my purchase (if you know what I mean). That is were I am hoping interactive innovation is headed next. Guide me and make it easy, right?

Posted by: Tim Winningham | Aug 24, 2006 3:10:03 PM

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