Retailer UX Audit

Usography reviewed 100 top retail web sites in Spring 2011, and created the Retailer UX Audit to present the results. We rated the sites according to a list of 30 user experience feature criteria (listed below). Feature categories included Social Commerce, Purchase Support, Catalog Navigation, and Multichannel Shopping.

The site with the highest score, with 18 out of 30 possible points, was:

Sears.com

Also near the top, were the following sites:

Buy.com 15
Amazon.com 13
Nordstrom.com 12

The UX criteria we used to score the sites were developed during an initial site review. The criteria included:

Social commerce features:
1. Email To A Friend
2. Product Reviews
3. Wishlist Or Registry (gifting)
4. Share Via Social Media
5. Facebook Like
6. In-page Product Question & Answer
7. Customer Tags
8. Customer Images Of Product
9. In-Page Discussions
10. Shop Together
11. Video Product Reviews

Purchase support features:
12. Alternate Images Visible
13. Expert Advice (Chat, Callback)
14. Coordinated Products, Outfit
15. Video Of Product Or Subcategory
16. Interactive Product Demo
17. Multi-Store Marketplace
18. Price Drop Alert
19. Express, One-Click Purchase
20. Virtual Try On Or Try Out

Catalog navigation features:
21. Next, Previous Product In List
22. Category-Specific Filters
23. More Like This
24. Narrow Product List By Keyword
25. View Product Page In Spanish

Multichannel shopping features:
26. Print Page
27. Find Product In Local Store
28. Save To List / Favorites / Bookmark
29. Order Online, Pickup In Store
30. BFF Us / Text Me

The Audit summary results are reproduced below, with the total score for each retailer, and links to their product detail pages at the time of the evaluation. Companies included in the Audit can request a more comprehensive debrief with Usography that includes your company's full results as well as those of your main competitors (available at no charge). To request a full debrief, send an email to: audit@usography.com.

Notes:

1. The list of sites reviewed did not include any retailers that are, or have recently been, our clients, or that are actively pursuing, to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest or lack of objectivity.
2. We may have missed features if they were not immediately visible on the product detail page.
3. Alternate images were only counted if they were visible as thumbnails on the product page, not if the customer needs to click a link to see them.
4. In-page Q&A is a social feature that lets all customers view questions and their answers. It does not encompass links to ask customer service questions or live chat.
5. Many sites have had new releases since the Audit was created.