Amazon and eBay

 

 

 

 

Amazon and eBay:

Evaluating e-Commerce Website Behavior

 

1. Do you agree with the evaluations of Professors Reeves and Nass? Why or why not?
   

 

There are several valid reasons as well as criteria on the basis of which the professors have rated the two most successful e-commerce based companies and hence it is very hard to disagree to the consent of this professors. Here according to the case study evaluation has been purely based upon how the customer behaved and their satisfaction level i.e. the performance of both the websites were totally dependent upon the key success factor being used by these website to acquire and retain the customers. Amazon's to be graded "A" according to me is fare as this site is far better and user friendly than its competitor i.e. e-bay that has been graded "D".As from the information provided by the case it is clear that Amazon book-buying site follows a consistent style and tone that has been pleasing the customer as well as this site makes the customer feel that they are dealing with a real sale person. Also the customer database have helped a lot for this site to greet customer on their following visit to the site i.e. welcoming them by their name and also guide them to the different part of the site which instigate a felling of being treated by someone who knows you very well gives a different feeling which also has helped this site to be user friendly.

Also this site focuses on personalization and easy navigational option that has made this site more users friendly and quick. Affordable cost as well as a variety of good for selection has made this site preferable for one who love to buy on line. A detail information about the products including the price and other criteria and features of the product are also included and hence make it easier to for the customer to analyze what amount of money has to invested so as to buy the product. Amazon has also implemented the security software which is tough to be cracked which gives customer a sense of satisfaction which can't be explained in words.

e-Bay on the other hand fails to impart the quantity of intangible benefits to the customer and hence lags behind Amazon in acquiring and retaining customers. One of the example i.e. e-bay does not correct typographical errors which is not good for the customers part during transaction. The confirmation time is also very long which further make this site user un-friendly. The only positive feature when compared to that of Amazon is the bidding option, but again this is for the advantage of organization rather than customers.

 

 

1. How could Amazon improve the experience it offers its e-commerce shoppers? Give several examples.
   

• The menus above, as shown in the illustration would have been easier to access if it were fixed even when customers scrolled down the page.
  

 

 

• Though it sells branded accessories it fails to provide the customers with the similar kind of ambience that they get while visiting the brand's official website. For e.g. when a customer purchases from Amazon, a pair of Nike shoes they don't get to customize the product according to their taste. This is the reason customers prefer to log on to the official website and buy what they want.
  
• Moreover Shoppers don't get the option of whether the clothes they are about to purchase fit them. The store could design a program where buyers can enter their measurements and accordingly the program would come up with a 3D model on which clothes about to be purchased could be tried upon before it reaches the customer's door step.
  

  
   

1. What should eBay do to improve the experience it provides to customers as its auction site? Give several examples.
   

 

According to the research of Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass, websites are not liked and disliked on the basis of design but the behave of site on people's visit. On the researchers evaluation the eBay site has graded D. This grade has been graded on the basis of various short coming of the site found on the research.

Research results indicated some errors on eBay :

• Typographical error and product description reduce credibility
  
• Don't suggest or offer to improve the errors
  
• Impoliteness towards customers
  
• Trade off among picture quality, size and detailed background
  
• Take longer time up to 24 hours to signing up
  
• No personalized service
  

So, it is found that there is lot to improve the experience it provides to customers. It has failed to maintain the basic success factor of ecommerce.

 

Performance and service

Normally people don't want to wait when browsing, selecting or paying in Web store and motion on a dynamic web interface demands greater user attention than a static web interface. A site must be efficiently designed for ease of access but in the case of eBay for signing up for an account can take as long as 24 hours for confirmation. So eBay should improve its performance and service on its site.

 

Look and Feel

eBay is B2C site. B2C sites should offer customers an attractive Web storefront, shopping area and multimedia product catalogue but it is found that eBay tradeoff s among image size, picture quality and details of background in product presentations. Higher visual trustworthiness images on a web interface lead to greater user attention to the product examined than lower visual fidelity images. In addition, compared to smaller images, larger images on a web interface enhance user memory performance for images. So eBay should design its site in such a way that customer could get exciting shopping experience with audio, video and moving graphics to a more comfortable look and feel rather than making tradeoff on size and quality.

 

Personal attention

Personalizing shopping and bidding experience encourages customer to buy and make return visits but eBay lack personalization. It fails to carry the notion "personal" shopper. Personalized service encourage customer to return visit the site and can increase sells through with special offers.

 

eBay can improve their customers' experiences should follow some recommendations to increase positive customers' experiences boost customer loyalty and satisfaction. eBay can try few basic ways to improve the customer experience:

 

 

• Collect Feedback            
  

      Multichannel collection
  

      Real time alerts and actions
  

    Identify the weakest link

• Personalize product and experiences
  

    Configure to order

    Mass customization

• Customized offers
  

    Personal pricing

    Product/ Service

• Redesign Processes
  

    Efficiency and experience

Design the complete customer experience

• Act as one organization to ensure consistency
  
• Act on feedback and communicate actions to employees and customers