Rich applications can improve user experience—but test first, study finds
Rich media technology can enhance the customer experience when shopping a retailer`s web site – but is it being served up seamlessly enough to accomplish that, or is it just producing user frustration? To find an answer, technology consulting firm Molecular Inc. conducted usability tests among consumers on six sites using one solution to that issue, rich Internet applications.
Rich Internet applications allow real-time user interface options not possible with the HTML technology commonly used on web sites, according to Molecular. RIA technology combines the flexibility of web applications and the functionality of traditional desktop applications to process data directly on the desktop rather than requiring a request back to the server, like traditional web sites do. As such, it can reduce user frustration over multiple page refreshes resulting from the slow transfer of data from the desktop to the server back to the desktop.
That was the general experience of consumers in the study, who a were asked to interact with the web sites of six retailers and marketers that use rich Internet application technology: J. Jill, Kayak, Banana Republic, My Rate Plan, Google maps and L.L. Bean. The qualitative study, which tested users at varying levels of web experience, found that across all six sites, users responded to a richer web experience, citing, for example, the ability to explore sites without the slow page refreshes. Users also cited the ability to create and visualize custom products online, and the speed of being able to accomplish tasks in a single–screen environment, according to Molecular.
The survey did uncover some problems users encountered with RIA interfaces, such as at the L.L. Bean site`s custom tote configurator, where, once they’d entered checkout, they could not see the tote they’d created again without going through the whole process. Such problems, according to Molecular, were mostly due to usability issues that could have been resolved by testing prior to launch.
“We believe RIAs are far better than HTML interfaces when properly applied. The emerging technology is providing customers with improved response times, more fluid interactions and ‘smarter’ content to guide people through complex applications such as shopping,” says Darryl Gehly, executive vice president of Molecular.
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