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Why UX is so important for your brand.

August 26, 2014

After recent news showed that Marks & Spencer’s sales had decreased by 8.1%, which they mainly blamed on the launch of their new website, we thought we’d take a look at the importance of UX for any brand. Whether it’s the moment a customer walks through your door or the second they take their first click, they are preparing themselves for an experience. An experience that could dictate whether they become lifelong customers or contribute to an unappealing bounce rate.

For instance if you owned a bakery store and customers were greeted by an overpowering smell of an air freshener, rather than the delights of a freshly baked bun they would be obviously disgruntled. Why wouldn’t you be? It’s part of the experience. Similarly if your checkout wasn’t clearly labelled customers may wander round your store with their items and eventually get sick, put them down and leave.

So, here are our picks for ‘The Good’, ‘The Bad’ and ‘The Wonderful’. As always, feel free to add your own via the comments.

The Good

Dominos

From start to finish the website is easy to navigate with self explanatory steps plus simple customisation meaning you can tailor your own experience. Although the website itself is lacking a bit of va-va-voom it gets to the point quickly and before you know it you’re eagerly awaiting email confirmation. However, the most impressive part of the user experience is the “Real time steps”. You can see your order being placed, prep, right up to it being in transit on the way to you. A fantastic way to complete the customer journey in a pool of mouthwatering anticipation.

The Bad

Sainsbury’s

With minute writing on the desktop site and an unimpressive 1 star on the app, Sainsbury’s fails to top the bill of successful user experiences. Customers firstly need to complete a vast array of unnecessary stages to get to the shopping channel and start adding things into their digital basket. Even more infuriating; until you enter a postcode it will look like your items are vanishing into thin air until you finally want to check out and you’re left flabbergasted as to why you ordered 15 tins of baked beans. It takes a rocket scientist to order some shopping; most will eventually go out and avoid the hassle in store. Or less loyal customers will try ASDA.com instead.

And The Wonderful

Not on the High Street

Not on the High Street has nailed the online customer experience. Not only does it’s sharp, responsive website look great on desktop and mobile but the style and layout makes it a dream to navigate. They have carefully selected the most appropriate categories to take the stress of present buying away from the customer. The search engine is sharper than a draw of knifes and the filtering system is so detailed you can tailor everything to your specific needs. It’s a breath of fresh air for online consumers.

If you’re looking at launching your own online store or you already have one but it needs a bit of love in the UX or CRO department contact us here and we can help improve your business today.