Usability Tip: Observations from Blended Online and In-Store Commerce

Many merchants who have both physical store presences and e-commerce sites often try to leverage the instant gratification element of shopping. Don't want to wait for your Bluray DVD player to be shipped? Just order it online and pick it up in 30 minutes at your nearest big-box electronics or discount store.

This is not a new approach -- it has been adopted by several major retailers in the US. But it does lend itself to a comparison of in-store and online shopping. A couple of observations about the transition from online to store -- or vice versa:

• Although search engines do drive a large volume of traffic to e-commerce sites, we've noticed that users still do a fair bit of exploration on their own once they arrive at a site. So site structure still matters.
• The online organization of items should always be driven by your customers' mental model for how it should be organized, not how it is organized in the store. Multiple models of organization (by customer type, by item type) are sometimes used to increase the likelihood of finding items.
• Customer service online can be much faster than locating an in-store staffer to answer your question. The increase in IM chat agents on retail sites and airline sites are an example of IM being used to facilitate Q&A.
• Picking up a pre-ordered product sounds simple – head to the customer service desk and avoid the line. That assumes that there are staff at the service desk, however. Indicate the peak hours of the store so that customers can avoid these times, if possible.
• Watch how your customers interact with store employees. What are the most common questions? When are they being directed to the ecommerce site? The online experience should support these store interactions and surpass them if possible.
• Provide in-store customers with the ability to place an order via the e-commerce site... especially if the item they want is out of stock or not available at that location. Leverage their immediate interest and provide in-store kiosks or online stations.