|
STRATA is an
example of a small, single-store retailer bringing an eclectic mix of
products online using basic e-commerce templates.
The store features
an assortment of products ranging from telescopes to jewelry. Looking at
the site, It's hard
to determine the central merchandising theme, although the company suggests its products "enhance and
inspire the appreciation and preservation of nature and world
cultures."
The site has recently undergone a
significant makeover, although the new site looks like many other basic designs
which utilize a template to build an online store. Products are listed
by category but the site lacks a search capability and other basic
services, such as customer service information and details on returns
procedures. The store telephone number is prominently displayed however.
Some of the products carry good descriptions,
although many of the images supplied could do with being larger. Even at
the maximum image size it is sometimes difficult to make out the more
unusual objects.
What designers of this type of site seem to miss is
the need to go beyond simply listing products in a table to attract
online buyers. Making an online store interesting requires online
merchandising skills to bring products to life and attract visitors to
the site. Developing an online store requires an understanding of both
retailing and merchandising, which are skills many website design
companies lack.
Given its mix of products, the website could be
better focused along either an environmental or African theme This would
allow STRATA to more effectively target a niche audience and build a
regular online customer base. To do this would require a
rationalization of the online merchandise to maintain a single theme. Such a
strategy would also allow STRATA to add theme based content to make the
site more appealing to visitors and encourage repeat traffic.
The store owner, Lynn Surum, has personal connections to many African
tribes, which would give the online store an advantage in following an
African theme.
The physical store was founded in 1992 in Wellesley, a wealthy suburb
of Boston, Massachusetts. Although the physical store attracts impulse
gift buying from the local population and visitors to Wellesley College,
just a few blocks away, the STRATA website highlights just how difficult
it is for small store owners to translate the brick and mortar
experience onto the Web.
FEEDBACK - Send us your comments -
click here
07/13/00
|
