I do my share of online shopping, but when it comes to clothing, it’s rare that I’ll take a chance and purchase something online. To me, it’s always been easier to go into a store and examine things up close. I like to touch the fabric, examine the detailing, and of course, try it on. Store websites just never seem to give me enough detail to feel comfortable with what I’m buying.
Nonetheless, before I go into a store, I do sometimes take a look at the website to see if a store has something I might want to check out. Which is why I found myself on the Kohl’s site this weekend, looking at summer dresses.
Now, you may have no interest in dress shopping, but bear with me as I walk through my experience.
I started out by following the links to Women’s > Dresses. Easy enough. From there, the first link gave me the option to View All.
Which took me here:
Well. Okay. Not exactly what I expected. This apparently is showing me all types of dresses, not all of the dresses on one page. But I up the number of items viewed on the page from 12 to 96 (the max) and keep going.
Scrolling down the page, the photos are small, but show enough to help me decide if I want more details.
So, I choose a dress.
I scan down the description and find the details I want–fabric, length, how to wash, etc. Easy to read, exactly what I need to know. (For some of the dresses, there is also a link to size charts, which give guidelines for selecting sizes in various brands. This brand, however, apparently isn’t covered by the size charts–definitely an opportunity for improvement.)
Next I turn my attention to the photo. To my surprise, when I mouse over the dress, the right panel changes; as I move over the parts of the dress on the left, the right shows the details.
Finally! I can actually see most of the details.
Based on past experience with other retail sites, what I expected was a long, sales-y description of the item; a photo with not quite enough detail; and possibly the option to open detail shots in a separate window that might or might not actually allow me to see more.
What I got, though, actually made me feel comfortable purchasing a dress online–that is, if it had more details on the sizing. While not the same as touching or trying on the dress, the site gives me a pretty good idea of the fabric, seaming, and details of the dress. It doesn’t require any extra clicks, and it’s kind of fun to use.
Kudos to the content and user experience folks at Kohl’s for making the content and design work together to create a small element of delight.
