What makes a top ecommerce website?

Around this time last year the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) launched the annual HOT 100 shops list in association with Hitwise. It’s coming around for that time again for the new 2010 results to be released and in preparation for the results we have been looking over previous year’s data and checking out the competition for the top spots.

How is the list compiled?

If you have just asked this question you are not alone. When first reading the article released by the IMRG last May it was as clear as mud what the measures of the rankings were. It’s only obvious if you keep up to date with the smaller quarterly top 50 reports as they use the same measures. Essentially it is purely based on traffic levels. Granted you could argue this in itself does not tell you enough. Sales are not discussed, so the site could drive millions of visitors but convert none of them. Also advertising spend is not factored in, so the company at the top could simply be the one spending the most.

The information is very useful none the less as traffic is a good measure of merchant activity. The study excludes any price comparison sites, Ebay and social shopping sites like Kelkoo. Essentially then what we are left with is the most popular shopping sites on the internet in the UK. It’s a good stake in the ground for the top companies to know where they stand compared to their closest competition. For us as an agency it gives us the opportunity to analyse the top performers and get further insight into what makes them the most popular with the UK population.

Who’s on the list?

The spots on both the quarterly top 50 reports and last year’s annual top 100 are mostly filled by the same usual suspects, and for anyone who hasn’t been sleeping under a rock for the last 5 years, they will not come as any surprise to you at all. Amazon are always pretty safe at the top and for good reason. Whilst personally I think the website has some shortcomings, it generally is a hive on constantly updated activity, great deals and the widest range of products available to man all on one website. The site naturally rank for pretty much any retail related term conceivable and will continue to do so, ensuring they get a large share of the search engine worlds traffic.

Argos and Play again are normally safe in the top 3 positions. The top 10 then sees a bit more movement but normally based around the same group of sites. Next, Tesco, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer normally feature in this mix with companies like Expedia and Thomson’s flirting around the 8 – 12 positions.

Which sites are working the hardest?

It’s fair to say for a site to have got in to the top 50 of such a prestigious list, they must be doing at something right. To be in the top 10 their website should generally be excellent. But there are some companies who really showcase the best that is on offer in terms of website design, functionality and overall ecommerce expertise. It is a good reason why they continue to be in the top 10 of the list and keeping on top of this will ensure they will be there in the future.
I have put together a list of what we think showcases the best that an ecommerce website can offer, from taking the best areas of selected websites in the top 100 list.

Littlewoods

The website littlewoods.com has lots of great features; combined with a wide product range and credit on offer to make purchasing easier during difficult times, the site naturally stays within the top 20 of the list. I think this is likely to be even higher when the new report is released based on increased offline advertising driving even more traffic to the website.

Whilst the website showcases lots of great features, such as the search function, well categorised navigation and well timed promotions, what we like best about the site is the integration of social media and reviews into product pages. Whilst the reviews are not in your face and put ahead of important product imagery or description, they are summarised on the product listing page and really add value to the product purchase decision. The ease of adding products to social networks allows popularity of the range to be spread easily and helps support their social media work being carried out which again is good.

John Lewis

Worthy of a regular top 30 spot, johnlewis.com is one of the best website designs out there. The are a couple of drawbacks to their offering. One is the product presentation which at times can be uninspiring for ranges that could really stand out. Generally the thumbnail view works but some of the ranges would certainly benefit from a magazine style layout to really showcase how an expensive home ware product or piece of clothing would look in a home environment or on a model. Other concerns are a lack of review feature and minimal use of video and audio on product pages.

Apart from the these points the website in my humble opinion has got to be one of the most compressively designed ecommerce websites out there, it contains excellent search refinements on product listings, making it simple and quick to find an exact product even if you didn’t know yourself it was one you were looking for. The basket is simple, clear and safe and the update on delivery costs and timings though out the shopping process ensure the customer is left satisfied and ready to purchase.

Next

What makes Next really stand out is the product presentation. Balancing between thumbnail and magazine page layout, you are shown the most appropriate and inspiring view depending on what product range you are looking at. Keyword search is also effective and intuitive, allowing you to quickly find a product if you prefer not to browse and instead get straight into a specific product.

The homepage is kept very seasonal with a large space dedicated to constantly updated style news, meaning each time you visit the site you are presented with a new fresh look. The site is kept very stylish which is in keeping with the brand and the retail outlets that support the website. As one of our clients, you can argue that I’m extremely biased for saying Next’s website is one of the best out there, but then we wouldn’t recommend the functionality to them if we didn’t think it was the best and most effective (yes we do have the results to prove it).

River Island

The riverisland.com website is quite different to the other retailer’s websites, in that the whole website is built in flash. Flash is not search engine friendly and can cause major accessibility / usability concerns. The advantage is that it provides a very interactive shopping experience and in that aspect River Island certainly delivers.

What we like most about the site and what really adds to the shopping experience though is the “Style Insider” guide. This is actually on a sub-domain and not within the main flash area. Essentially it is a style guide and news area and contains all the information you need on how to match up outfits and style inspiration for different occasions.  The section gives a real advantage to shopping on River Island and will undoubtedly help improve conversion on the website as the products featured in the style insider. The main drawback is that the products are not linked back into the website from the style guide as the flash area does not allow deep linking and instead everything goes back to the homepage.

Summary

Obviously the website features are not totally comprehensive and there are plenty of other sites in the list that have functions or designs that make them particularly worthy of a top spot in the hot 100 list. I will be following up this article after the new top 100 hot shops list is released, detailing some of the features on some of the new entrants or websites moving up to try and give some insight into how their websites have helped draw in the traffic worthy of a top 100 place.