The Mood Behind the Merchandise
On the Internet, a little ambience goes a long way
By Dan Emerson
A sleek model wears an equally sleek white leather handbag, slung just-so over one shoulder. A slim, stainless-steel watch fitted with a blue lizard-skin band pops out against a stark white background. A golden-hued purse, crafted in buttery leather, invites touching.
The words are ours. The pictures belong to Coach.com, whose developers, designers and merchandisers follow a simple directive from the company’s CEO, Lew Frankfort: “Make the product the hero.”
Lighting, color, displays, banners—the many tricks that create a store’s ambience in the brick-and-mortar world—translate to some degree on the Internet. But the modus of conveying mood is vastly different online, starting with the five senses. Electronic storefronts engage sight, to be sure, but only occasionally sound. And so far, touching, smelling or tasting require buying first.
Building ambience around an e-retailer’s wares also is limited by technical factors such as bandwidth and download speeds. These challenges call for a tailored approach, says Arlene Brickner, Coach’s vice president of creative services. That’s why she considers each Web page the equivalent of a display window. “It should give you information about the brand,” she explains, “and cue you about what you will see and feel when you walk in the store.”
Picture perfect
Image quality is the biggest advocate of product quality. That means crisp, clear photography is vital—images so sharp that online shoppers can imagine the feel of the merchandise just by gazing at it. “Since the customer isn’t able to touch the product online, it is very important to show the product the best way we can,” says Brickner. “So we spend a lot of time and effort on product photography itself, making sure it’s lit correctly so you can see detail. Our shots also tend to be larger than those in some Web sites, where you can barely tell what the product is.” Coach also has bumped up the size of its color swatches to help shoppers distinguish between hues such as black and mahogany that can look similar online.
But most shoppers don’t have the latest and greatest equipment for appreciating such differences. In fact, the threat of slow modems, older monitors and graphical differences from computer to computer mean that shoppers either won’t wait for big image files to download or don’t trust what they see if they do wait. In a finding that harks back to the early days of catalog sales, Internet tracking firm Cyber Dialogue says that 60% of consumers don’t trust the colors they see on their monitors.
Companies like E-Color and Xippix have recently entered the online shopping market to help. E-Color, for example, has introduced technology that adjusts for differences in users’ graphic cards, guiding shoppers through setting up a color characterization profile that’s accessed via a cookie each time they return to a particular site. Retailers J. Crew and Bloomingdale’s have deployed E-Color’s system on their sites. And Xippix’s ImagePump lets shoppers zoom in, rotate and navigate their way into image details. Fashion e-retailer StyleClick.com uses the application on its site. Both products work without downloads.
Of course shoppers can’t zoom in for a closer look if they can’t find their way to the right goods. Just as a physical store crammed with racks and displays can annoy shoppers by making the aisles virtually impassable, a clunky, busy or confusing site is a similar turnoff. In fact, a hard-to-navigate site is perhaps an even bigger impediment, since customers still must walk through a brick-and-mortar store to reach the exit but can leave a Web site with a single click.
Coach keeps its site clean and minimalist. Prominent click-points along the top and bottom travel from page to page, taking browsers to new products and customer service sections, as well as the main shopping categories, a quick-order section for those armed with catalog numbers and a gift adviser for shoppers in search of suggestions. Likewise, product tabs on the home page require no guessing games—they’re simply labeled handbags, accessories, business, travel and home.
Bricks-and-mortar retailers going online face a different challenge from pure-play online merchants establishing a presence on the Web, Bricker says. “They’re creating something brand new. We needed to create something to convey the sensibility of our stores, and what Coach already stood for.”
Levi’s snag
But not all e-retailers understand how to create ambience without impeding browsing, searching and buying, according to Harley Manning, an analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. Early-stage Web retailers sometimes forget they’re in a different medium, Manning says: “The tactics are different. It’s essential to remember that the Web is not just a medium-it’s a tool your customers are using.”
Large images, he contends, aren’t necessarily better. The same dramatic, high-contrast photo that made a great catalog cover can represent a download albatross online. “A small, optimized picture is better,” Manning says.
To make the point, Manning recounts a negative experience when he tried to buy a pair of jeans from Levi Strauss & Co.’s. now-shuttered Web store. Because of the site’s large, mood-setting shots of hip, young models, the download was “tortuously slow, even over my cable modem,” Manning complains. “And I was four levels into the site before I saw any jeans.”
Manning’s shopping trip also was encumbered by a window soliciting contest entries that popped up three times along the way. “It took five or six levels to finally get to relaxed-fit jeans,” he says. “You should have been able to select jeans off the home page. In terms of ambience, they could have been less hip and more considerate of my time. I can’t believe any of the people who designed the site actually placed an order on it. If they had, they would have figured out the problems within 10 minutes.”
Simple vs. sophisticated
To prevent such misfires, some retail site designers convene focus groups to test the functionality of their sites. That’s what Silver Plum, an upscale home accessories retailer, did before launching its site last summer. The input proved invaluable in developing a site both aesthetically pleasing and brand-supporting, but also easy to navigate, according to CEO Andrew Breen. His aim: A sophisticated design that made sense without stripping away decorative touches consistent with Silver Plum’s merchandise.
What Breen clearly didn’t want was a site as basic and mass-marketed as Amazon.com. “Some of the most useful feedback came from naive and inexperienced Web users whose expectations hadn’t been dumbed-down by the Amazon model,” Breen says. “One group member group called our site visually impressive but didn’t necessarily know we were selling a product.”
In revising the design consistent with what he calls “the theatre of sales,” Breen and his developers emphasized a clean, concise focus on the product. It’s a mistake to overlook the role of non-product content in providing a richer shopping experience, Breen insists.
Silver Plum does that on two levels: by telling the story behind some products—many are crafted by independent artisans—and by showing merchandise in settings that help shoppers understand how products might fit into their lifestyles. For example, various place settings are used to display tableware in modern, traditional, Asian or other decors.
The content connection
Non-product information also contributes to the ambience at REI.com, which launched its site in 1996. REI and other retailers catering to consumers interested in skiing, mountain climbing and other pursuits often become informal gathering places and information exchanges, and REI has created a virtual gathering spot online. “Our customers expect great information and inspiration about getting involved in the outdoors,” says Matt Hyde, the company’s vice president of online sales. “In the physical world we have classes, clinics, and knowledgeable sales people. Online, we provide extensive product information, a section about outdoor activities, and community bulletin boards—people who aren’t necessarily out to buy a tent, but want to learn more about backpacking or snowshoeing.”
Organizing the site in a clutter-free, accessible fashion can be a challenge, Hyde acknowledges. “The key is listening to our customers and making incremental changes based on that input,” he says. “We’ve made dozens of enhancements to make the site more simple and obvious.”
Web designers preach that creating pages rich in images and content, yet easy to navigate, must strive for simplicity. At Banana Republic, simplicity starts with the home page, which is divided into four quadrants: man, woman, gift and home. In preparing to launch the site last October, the apparel retailer’s creative team focused on “making the customer experience as easy as possible,” says Lex Gemas, senior director of Bananarepublic.com. “That drives everything we do.”
That’s especially important as the Web’s demographics change and more women and middle-income shoppers buy online, shifting away from the largely male, wealthy profile that typified early Web shoppers. A recent study by Media Metrix, New York, shows that retail sites already have the largest compositions of women visitors. In addition, the study found that women soon will outnumber men surfing and shopping on the Web.
Meanwhile, Forrester Research foresees more middle-income Americans heading online, bringing their numbers to 35 million by 2003. New Internet shoppers will exert pressure on e-retailers to provide features that keep experienced shoppers coming back without intimidating newcomers.
For Banana Republic, focus groups and other feedback were important in designing a simple, quick site that aims to maintain the contemporary look of its clothing. “We use every means possible to stay close to our customers,” says Gemas. Technology helps, too. The site has added zoom views and 360-degree spinning to give customers a closer look at the merchandise. In addition, frequent merchandising updates support the image of its brick-and-mortar stores.
“Our site will continue to evolve with our customers’ needs,” Gemas says. “Where we are today is not where we’ll be six months from now.” •
Dan Emerson is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis.
Hosts with the most
By Nicole Grasse
Shopping in blissful solitude: For consumers annoyed by tag-along salespeople, that’s one advantage of Internet retailing. But now, even on the Internet, they’re not always alone.
In an attempt to enhance customer service and infuse their sites with personality, some online merchants are enlisting virtual hosts. Usually in the form of cartoon characters, these hosts act like salespeople, guiding customers through the site and commenting on merchandise. The ranks of virtual hosts include Miss Boo, the cat-eyed guide of Boo.com; Phoebe of teen site BlueAsphalt.com; and Andrea, host of Italian silk tie and scarf seller Baldoria.com. Barrett Ladd, analyst at Gomez Advisors, doesn’t find them particularly helpful, especially if they slow down a site. “The challenge is bandwidth,” she says. “If you have a strong graphic and the user doesn’t have the capability to run it, you’re defeating the purpose.”
Doing little more than blinking and swinging her brunette ponytail, Miss Boo is an impressive example of computer animation, but not much in the way of sales help. Her canned comments—“Jazz pants: That’s one way to cure the blues”—offer little real help or guidance, only attitude. Considering Boo’s sluggishness, Ladd and others bet most shoppers would gladly send Miss Boo packing in exchange for speed.
Baldoria.com, home of the suave face of Andrea (in this case, a male), offers more help and less personality. He’s also the muscle behind the site’s search engine. Type in whether you want a scarf or tie and the colors you prefer, along with the occasion—formal or informal—and Andrea churns out suggestions. He even shows you how the tie looks with various shirts. John Cooper, program director of Baldoria.com, says Andrea is an attempt to create an exclusive shopping experience for the retailer of custom-designed neckwear. “Andrea has several roles. He greets the consumer and is friendly, but is not intrusive.” He also contributes to the site’s European boutique atmosphere. “He speaks English with an Italian sensibility,” Cooper says.
Blueasphalt.com’s Phoebe pops up in the middle of her room on the home page. When customers click on various items in her room, Phoebe guides them through a particular service. Her computer is a conduit to opening an e-mail account, while her shopping bag leads to BlueAsphalt’s clothing section. Phoebe adds a fun, video game aspect to the site. Besides, if she bothers you, you can take out your revenge by giving her a makeover. Green lipstick, anyone?
The ins & outs of ambience
Here’s how consultants and retailers lay down the rules over summoning up a Web store’s mood.
— Make your site the salesperson: Use your knowledge of your customers’ demographics, wants and needs to make it easy as possible to find and purchase what they’re seeking.
— Simplicity sells: Strive for a simple design, limiting use of features and special effects—such as streaming video—that require large amounts of bandwidth.
— Testing 1, 2 ,3: Use focus groups to ensure your site is easy to navigate, with a 56Kbps modem—the standard for most users.
— Shoot for the Web: Use high-resolution color photography specifically for the Web, rather than recycling shots taken for catalogs and other media.
— Personalize: Consider digital personal shoppers or online guides to personalize your contact with customers, such as BlueAsphalt’s host, Phoebe.
— Interact: Use chat rooms and customer surveys to solicit customer input and build an online community.
— Do the impossible: Use the power of digital technology to perform feats that aren’t possible—or practical—in the real world. For example: virtual store layouts that instantly reconfigure to highlight the desired merchandise or product category. 
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