We all know that the number one phone call that retail employees get is, “What time are you open until tonight?” After that it’s, “What time do you open in the morning?”
Makes sense, retailers want to put this kind of information in the hands of their customers, so that it’s available immediately online. Let’s search for the local store on hardware retailer Rona’s website. When Google <store name> + <city name> doesn’t work, I’m stuck with using their website. Here’s a great example of what not to do:
Step 1. Go to home page and enter postal code into the box.
Step 2. Click on the “Find a Store” link at the top of the screen.
Step 3. Enter your postal code again.
Step 4: Fantastic! A Map and Everything!
Rona’s website fails this test. Not only am I required to enter my postal code into a form to get into the site (hint: search engines can’t do that), I have to enter it a second time to find my closest store. Now I’m frustrated.
How to avoid this kind of pain:
- Ensure that all retail locations of your stores have a page on your site that can be browsed to. This will improve the chances of a search engine picking them up, and providing the user with a direct entry point to the store. Remember that your site’s search functionality is nowhere near as good as Google.
- Asking for postal codes or user’s location should always be optional. This forces the user to abandon the usual mouse-click flow of a website. Instead, allow a “browse” option. If specific location is required for pricing or availability, don’t display the price/availability first. Or figure out a better business model.
- Never ask for the same piece of information twice. It’s annoying, redundant, superfluous and unnecessary. It’s worse than a business associate forgetting your name. Websites have cookies, sessions and a million other ways to keep track of customers. Make use of this technology. There is no excuse.
