Posts written by Alexander Baxevanis

Apple iPad - the ultimate commuting gadget?

By Alexander Baxevanis on 10 February 2010

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People using a laptop on a train

Over the last week after the Apple iPad was announced, I decided to conduct some totally unscientific but very informative ethnographic research project: I walked the full length of the train on my way to and from work, and looked at what sort of electronic devices other commuters were using and, more crucially, what they were using them for.

As you may have noticed if you’ve ever been on a peak-hour commuter train, there are lots of people using a laptop. All of the ones I noticed were engaged in one of the following tasks:

  • Reading or writing email
  • Reading or editing a document (Word or PDF), spreadsheet or presentation
  • Watching a video
  • Browsing or editing photographs

In fact, in a couple of years of commuting & randomly peeking at people’s screens, only a few times I saw people doing any other specialised tasks such as editing videos or using architectural design software. I’ve also seen over time a few people using more specialised devices such as eBook readers & portable DVD players.

If most of the above sounds like a list of things that the iPad is designed to do very well, I doubt it’s a coincidence. After all, commuters are an important demographic (according to a 2009 study, workers in the UK spend on average 52.6 minutes commuting every day) and I doubt Apple would want to ignore it.

And before you say “oh, but the iPad doesn’t multitask”, I’ve got another observation up my sleeve. One of these days I sat next to a couple of people using their laptops for the duration of my trip. All of them seemed to work on one document all the time, and were mostly reading or making minor edits. This is also why we shouldn’t worry too much about the ergonomics of the iPad. Sure, it’s probably not well suited to typing long documents (not without an external keyboard), but the seats and tables on a train, bus or plane aren’t really designed to accommodate long typing sessions on a laptop either.

As I’m typing this on the train, I have to keep my hands at an awkward angle in order to use my laptop keyboard. Maybe an iPad sitting in my lap would be better?

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How can Spotify ads make money if I can’t click them?

By Alexander Baxevanis on 22 January 2010

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spotify1I know the title of this blog post may look a bit strange. No, I’m not suggesting that there’s a widespread bug in the Spotify software that prevents me from clicking on ads. Things are a little bit more complicated than that.

Unless you’ve never used Spotify or have always had a Pro account, you’ve probably listened to these 30 second audio-based ads that play between songs. They don’t even bother me that much any more - it feels the same as listening to (commercial) radio or TV. Most of these ads end with something along the lines of: “… to find out more, click the banner on the bottom left corner of your screen”. And that’s where the trouble starts.

Most of the time, I leave Spotify playing on my laptop, connected to my home stereo, and head off to do more pleasurable things than staring at the Spotify screen, such as reading or cooking. And when I hear this “click on the banner” call, which is invariably played at the end of each ad, I have zero chance of running back to my laptop and clicking on anything before the ad has finished playing. And this is particularly frustrating when the ad mentions some free offer or discount, and I feel like I’m missing out.

From this perspective, Spotify ads aren’t any more effective than traditional broadcast advertising and Spotify is missing a big opportunity to make advertising better. When I listen to an ad that’s interesting, I’d rather go straight to a targeted campaign page than of have to remember what to search for on Google or which phone number to call.

Fortunately, fixing this isn’t rocket science. All Spotify has to do is to keep a list of “Recently played ads”  and make this list easy to access, for example by adding it to the left column of the screen, where other playlists are also listed. Those who are only annoyed by Spotify ads won’t notice any difference. But those who, like me, find an interesting ad once in a while, will finally be able to click on it!

UPDATE (25 January): According to Spotify, what I’m suggesting is already possible by going into the “History” tab under “Play Queue”. But I wonder how many people have discovered it - maybe it’s still worth making it a little bit more prominent?

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Registering your frustration

By Alexander Baxevanis on 17 November 2009

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Following the launch of our recent Ecommerce Usability report, one the lowest scoring guidelines was focused on user registration and this made me think of a tip I wrote on this for our newsletter a few months ago.

Too many websites still force users to register without good reason, or provide an ineffective registration process, leading to frustrated users often dropping off the website. This is an all too common occurrence, but there are some steps you can take to alleviate these drop-offs:

  • Ask users to login or register only when necessary
    Those parts of a website that aren’t personalised should be equally accessible by registered and non-registered users. Only ask people to login or register when it’s required to complete an action, not earlier.
  • Make registration optional where possible
    Customers shouldn’t have to ‘create an account’ in order to buy products from an online shop. If a site needs to remember simple previously entered information, this can also be done by using a cookie, which of course requires no effort from the end user.
  • Prominently explain the benefits of registration
    Users will be happier to register if they know that they’re getting something useful, rather than if registration is seen as a barrier between them and their task.
  • Avoid lengthy registration forms
    Another source of frustration comes from questions in registration forms that look irrelevant to the task in hand. Remove such questions and explain the rest e.g. “We need your phone number to notify you in case your flight times change.”
  • Consider progressive registration
    This means asking only the bare essentials in the beginning (e.g. an email address and a password), and enabling users to update and complete their full profile at a later stage.

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Royal Mail will suffer from lack of innovation, not strikes

By Alexander Baxevanis on 29 October 2009

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Demo of DPD Interactive SMS delivery confirmationThe message in the recent weeks is clear: after repeated strikes more and more businesses, especially online retailers, are prepared to desert Royal Mail for alternative suppliers. However, I think it’s not just the strikes that will drive businesses away from Royal Mail. It’s also that Royal Mail has failed to come up with innovative services that match the needs of ecommerce businesses and their customers.

At Ecommerce Expo last week, I saw a number of delivery companies trying to attract retailers. But what they were advertising wasn’t their lack of strikes - it was services that make life a bit easier for both retailers and customers.

DPD, a parcel delivery company, was advertising their “Interactive SMS delivery notification” system. When a retailer provides them with the parcel recipient’s mobile phone number, they send a text message to the recipient to confirm the delivery day. If recipients aren’t available to sign for the package on that day, they can reply by text message to arrange an alternative date. For customers, this means greater transparency and less of the disappointment of receiving the usual Royal Mail “Sorry, you were out” card.

Home Delivery Network, another parcel courier, have partnered with PayPoint to create Collect+, a network of neighbourhood convenience stores that can accept parcel deliveries. As many of these shops are open until late in the evening, customers can collect their parcels when they come home after work, and avoid a trip to the local Royal Mail delivery office. Some major online retailers, such as Littlewoods and Woolworths have already signed up to offer this delivery method to their customers. Royal Mail could have found a way to use their Post Office network in a similar way, instead of closing down Post Office branches.

With delivery often being one of the biggest customer concerns in an ecommerce transaction, retailers are likely to be looking for advanced delivery services that will differentiate them from their competition. If Royal Mail can’t keep up, retailers may not return to use its services even after the strikes are over.

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Do you need high-street advice to buy online?

By Alexander Baxevanis on 14 October 2009

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Step into middle England’s best loved department store, stroll through haberdashery to the audio visual department where an awfully well brought-up young man will bend over backwards to find the right TV for you - then go to dixons.co.uk and buy it.

1926310454_e19d38395aThe text above, one of a recent series of advertising messages by Dixons won’t come as a surprise to those of us at Webcredible who’ve been through countless usability testing sessions with ecommerce websites. Especially when purchasing large, high-value goods or goods where design is an important factor, customers are right to want to “try before they buy”. And this often means browsing the high street, coming up with a shortlist of products and then looking for the cheapest price online.

Dixons’ campaign hasn’t gone without a reply from some of their high street competitors, who rightly point out that Dixons doesn’t even sell many of the upmarket products found in high street stores. And does Dixons really want to highlight that their competitors can provide better advice than they do?

So, apart from creative advertising, what can online retailers do to make consumers more confident to buy online without browsing through the high street? Here’s some tips:

  • Showcase the product online from as many angles as possible. ‘Catwalk’ videos for clothes and demo videos or 360° views for gadgets can replicate (to some extent) the experience of seeing a product up close.
  • Add product reviews and, even better, Q&As with your expert staff. If customers can ask you a question and get a satifactory reply (or even find that their question has been already answered) then they’re more likely to buy without seeking advice from your competitors.
  • Put a generous returns policy in place, and let your customers know. If customers know they can easily return a product they don’t like, they’ll be happier to checkout even when they’re not 100% sure about their purchase. On the other hand, if they get stuck with a product they don’t like they’re less likely to come back.

In our e-commerce usability report, due out next week, we’ve seen that some sites do better than others in helping consumers pick a product. How well does your site perform in this area?

P.S. Come meet us in Ecommerce Expo at Earls Court, 20-21 October.

Photo credit:  Indiana Stan via Flickr / Creative commons

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