19 Dec 2003 | Dr_God said...

My main beef with the way Apple handles this is when you're in the Store, and you want more than the skimpy details they provide for each model, there isn't a "More Details" button. I can understand why, because this would pull the customer out of the store (where I'm sure Apple wants the customer to be.) And when you're in the regular area of the Apple site, you can't get pricing for the different models. I think it's a pain to keep flipping back and forth between the site and the store, so I would vote for an integrated solution.

19 Dec 2003 | Benjy said...

I can see seperating them out and having more information, specs, photos, etc. on a product page and a less information on the store page along with the ordering fields, but there should be clearly marked links/buttons between the pages.

19 Dec 2003 | Jon Gales said...

I believe the reason Apple doesn't have more info links from the store to the product pages is because most people don't buy big ticket items on the drop of a hat. They have surely seen the info page, read about the product in reviews and probably seen the product in action at a store.

When I shop at the Online Apple store, I know right what I'm getting and it's an easy experience. Almost like a convenience store... In and out. It even has one click.

19 Dec 2003 | One of several Steves said...

My guess about the different approaches would be that Dell and Gateway are direct retailers, but Apple and Palm are distributors as well as retailers. For Gateway and Dell, the web site is in essence their only retail channel (sure, there's phone, and Gateway have a limited number of stores, but teh web is their bread and butter), so it makes sense to integrate shopping everywhere.

For Apple and Palm, they have to be sensitive to their relationships with thousands of third-party retailers. You risk pissing those people off and potentially losing distribution outlets if you're too aggressive with your efforts to sell directly to the public. So there's that risk in integrating shopping throughout the entire site.

Personally, I don't like the idea of separate product catalogues and stores from a usability perspective. If I'm interested in a product, I want to buy it right there. But I understand the business concerns to know that may not be feasible for distributors as opposed to retailers.

19 Dec 2003 | The Scholar said...

I don't mind seeing separate products and store pages, but I do believe Apple could do a better job of linking the two together. Providing the customer with as much product information is important and Apple's individual product pages do this very well. However, sometimes compulsive buyers may be even more tempted if they saw a "buy now" type button on these pages.

19 Dec 2003 | Ken Schafer said...

My guess (and this is a brand new thought) is that for some sites there are three modes for using the site - browse, search, and shop. This implies that you should be able to access the same information in all three modes. It might be that a "Store" is a way of looking at the information on the site rather than a separate place. I would argue that product pages without a "buy" button are impotent and should be avoided as they leave the potential customer without a way of reaching an obvious goal.

In this model, "store" might not be a product catalogure per se, but rather a view of product lists enhanced by retail merchandizing, suggestive selling, etc.

Like I said, this is a brand new idea, but I'm warming to it already.

19 Dec 2003 | Jon Gales said...

The Scholar: If you look at Apple's info pages, they do have Buy Now buttons... :P. Take a look at this for an example.

19 Dec 2003 | bill said...

I have a lot of insight into why Palm has two pages, as I was part of the team that build Palm's store, which is an outsourced function.

When we were contracted to build the Palm store, there were struggles at Palm and on our side regarding elegantly moving customers from product information to the cart. The resulting solution of a product page on palm.com that has a "BUY NOW" button linking to a product page on the store.palm.com site was merely because consensus could not be reached.

In post-launch usability testing, customers found it somewhat confusing moving through two product pages to actually purchase the product(kind of a no-brainer).

Based on testing, we recommended allowing users who decide to buy from a product information page be sent directly to cart, bypassing the store product page, but that would also mean bypassing valuable cross-sell/upsell opportunities. Being that merchandising cross-sell is extremely valuable to consumer electronics retailers, it was never implimented.

19 Dec 2003 | padawan said...

What matters to me first is how easy it is to find extensive information about a product. In the case of Apple, I know that apple.com/[product name] will work. From there, I might want to check the US page (because it's where they post brand new information) but shop at the French Apple Store, or at a physical store. The shopping act is different than the information/selection act, and there is no obvious way to integrate both in this case, IMHO. Also Apple has a network of resellers to deal with, while Dell has only its own web site.

Dr_God: on every product at the Apple Store you have a link to a "more info" page (although not necessary a very obvious one, it's the small arrow icon next to the item name).

20 Dec 2003 | Dr_God said...

padawan: it must be even less obvious than you say, because I can't find the little arrow icons you are referring to.

20 Dec 2003 | nick said...

I can see how integrating the two would be good for usability and so forth. But separating them lets you see the product in a purer state -- and get excited about the product before seeing the price. It's kind of a no-pressure buying experience. Look around, we won't bother you, come get us when you're ready.

23 Dec 2003 | scottdye said...

Good point, nick.

26 Dec 2003 | danny said...

I really like the way that Apple has made the distinction between product information and store. I would back my "feeling" up with the following points of analysis:

• apple sells complex products. they can limit returns if the user is clear in their minds about the product, before buying it
  
• on the web, long copy sells.
  

However, saying this, I think that Apple would be smart to:

Finally, if ANY company is in need of the 37express treatment, I think it is Dell. Their site is VERY confusing. Perhaps they get in trouble because they are slapping together TOO much information at once?

02 Jan 2004 | Sam Walker said...

I'm willing to bet that the main reason apple does this is for URLs. The info pages are nice, clean URLs, like apple.com/imac/ , while the store URLs are long, unfriendly generated things. Also, this allows them to have several pages of info, and easier maintenance. I guess they could make the store URLs less unfriendly, but I kinda like it how it is - the store is a browse-able database, while the info pages let you focus on one product at a time, and get lots of info.

06 Jan 2004 | Sam Walker said...

I'm willing to bet that the main reason apple does this is for URLs. The info pages are nice, clean URLs, like apple.com/imac/ , while the store URLs are long, unfriendly generated things. Also, this allows them to have several pages of info, and easier maintenance. I guess they could make the store URLs less unfriendly, but I kinda like it how it is - the store is a browse-able database, while the info pages let you focus on one product at a time, and get lots of info.