Some Observations on Three Consumer Electronics Websites
In today’s world of technology, electronics have become an essential part of our lives. With the advances in technology and communication systems, the sizes of integrated circuits or chips decrease every year, which in turn make the electronics smaller, more reliable and more powerful. In addition, due to the economic crisis, customers’ demands are becoming more crucial. They prefer cheaper products with better functions which consume less power. Therefore, it is useful to evaluate those websites in the market that will lead us to a better idea of how to choose better and cheaper products. The evaluation of these websites will be based on user friendliness, the organization and layout of the websites, contents, and how effective the site is at conveying the information it is trying to present. The three websites that I will be evaluating are www.cnet.com, www.buy.com and www.amazon.com
First of all, cnet.com is evaluated. Most consumers are concerned with the duration it takes to load the website. The consumer will be frustrated if the website takes a long time to load. Although cnet.com is loaded with pictures, information and links on the webpage, the loading of the webpage is instantaneous.
Furthermore, cnet.com is a very informative and user friendly website. The main page of cnet.com provides information on new products release and many safety precautions while using electronic equipments. The content of cnet.com is large; the consumers are able to find many electronic products, such as notebooks, desktops, television, digital cameras, peripherals, handheld and home videos on cnet.com. In addition, this website also provides customer reviews, specifications and the manufacturer of a certain electronic product.
For example, if you are buying digital cameras products, you can simply click on the digital camera link and you will be directed to an option page. In this option page, the consumer will then choose the desired price range, the manufacturers and the resolution. After choosing a particular manufacturer, you will be forwarded to a page where the website will compare the price of the chosen digital cameras with other digital cameras of the same functionality and requirements. The best price will be highlighted.
Customer reviews about a certain product and its manufacturer are provided. Therefore, the consumer will not need to worry about the reliability of a certain product of an unknown manufacturer. In addition, cnet.com also provides a link to the page that provides you with the latest information about canon digital camera, their discussions and some recommended models by them. Furthermore, the layout of this website is simple and understandable because it provides the information in a straightforward manner. Lastly, cnet.com provides information about new and upcoming products. This reflects a positive side of the website – updated regularly.
Another website - buy.com does not have a wide content as compared to cnet.com. Buy.com only provides commonly used electronic products such as computer, software, home networking, digital cameras and others. However, it has more links towards issues like gifts, household needs, and leisure products.
Besides that, the search on products is limited in the sense that customers are unable to conduct price range and compare different manufacturers. Customers, who are on a budget, cannot compare the prices of products with the same functionality from different manufacturers. The descriptions on products are short and sometimes incomplete which in turn cause customers to make an unwise decision. The website is not updated frequently because new products take a while before being updated onto the website. This website does not provide some of the important features such as customer reviews and ratings of the products. Therefore, this reflects that the company is not honest enough to inform the customers on which products have its downsides.
The product images on buy.com are not appealing to the consumers. For instance, the enlarged images of the products are not detail. Furthermore, in the digital camera product image, the customers are not able to view the product from different angles therefore; they cannot see the buttons and screens to capture the image. In addition, some of the links do not even provide larger image and sub pictures. To evaluate this website as whole, the contents of this website is average since it is quite complete for visitors to access to the products they want. Their advertisement is occasionally updated and other people have obtained some of the information at early stage. Its user friendliness needs to be improved further because it does not provide broader information on the products
Lastly, amazon.com is a general website to find consumer needs but limited to electronic products. In fact, it is one of the best profitable companies so far. We found that its search engine is quite objective since it links to the desired items by just typing the name on it. For example, if you simply type the cell phone model Motorola V600, you will be directed to the model. In addition, it gives other images of Motorola models too in case you would like to look at other models. This objectivity also contributes to the user friendliness because you can easily find products without browsing to other parts of the website. Having updated information on new products is also one of Amazon.com’s goals to ensure customer satisfaction. Most of the customers might want to purchase new products regardless of their prices.
This website welcomes every visitor, but requires customers’ identification for purchasing. Therefore, customers must sign up for an account in amazon.com for future reference. This identification serves as a good protection from credit cards fraud and other criminals’ activities. Amazon.com offers rebates for some of its products and customers can easily check their rebate status by logging in to their accounts. The customers can also check the status of their orders by logging in to their accounts. Amazon.com does offer accurate contact information in case dissatisfaction might arise among the customers. There are a few options in their contact information since this is a trading website. The options include order and refund questions, account assistance, typographical errors, website and product suggestions.
This website has its user friendliness in the sense that it does not require special software to view the information. Some visitors might feel a little troublesome by having their computers installed to certain software. In addition, this website does not charge customers for viewing its information. This will also enhance their skill in welcoming every visitor to look at their websites.
Certain websites do not offer other options for better viewing, but amazon.com does. The most interesting feature is that by clicking on the image you look for, you will be able to view the image from any angles. This will improve the customers’ willingness to purchase the product since the different angles of images will satisfy their curiosity.
The customer can learn about the products in more detail since detailed information is included. There are customer reviews by those who purchased the products earlier. This reflects the willingness of the company to share other customers’ comments and discussions with you. There are a few recommended things that will fit into the products because they also want the customer to maximize the usefulness of the products. For example, customers who look for digital camera are recommended to purchase higher storage of memory card. This higher storage of memory cards will enable the camera to capture more pictures.
Nowadays, business industry is moving towards an extremely competitive market. Therefore, whoever can meet the customers’ satisfactions, will make good profits at the end. People do not just earn money by creating websites and persuading people to buy their products. They can also earn big profits if their websites are frequently visited and provide satisfaction to the customers.
After reviewing the above three websites carefully, cnet.com gives a good choice of products with the cheapest value and worth value for money. Buy.com provides limited products to the customers and does not concern customers who are on a budget. Amazon.com indeed provides good and reliable information. Interestingly, it provides rebates and free shipping of certain products for those customers who are on a budget. However, amazon.com does not provide the easiest search detail information as cnet.com does. For example, from cnet.com, customers are able to find exactly the resolution of their cameras, their budget price, and manufacturers. In addition, the information on cnet.com is clearer since they have buying guides for those customers who are new to digital cameras. Thus, cnet.com ensures excellent customer satisfaction and serves as a reliable website for today’s electronics age.
Works Cited
1995. CNET Networks, Inc. May 2004 <http://www.cnet.com/>
1996. Amazon.com, Inc May 2004 <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/104-1709462-4150323>
1997. Buy.com,Inc May 2004 <http://www.buy.com/>