Template for Brand Inventory

Executive Summary

The purpose of this analysis was to identify the degree to which retailers in the XXXXX sector are adhering to ‘points of parity’, as established by the literature, and have developed meaningful ‘points of difference’ for their retail website designs. In this way, the analysis reflects an inherent component of a brand audit; namely, the brand inventory.

Eight retailers were selected, approximately half of which were chain retailers and have were non-chains (less than 11 retail stores). Unless otherwise specified, all stores in the study have both an online and a physical store. Comparisons are made between the chains and non-chains to further identify the degree to which there are differences. It was initially anticipated that non-chains may conform less closely to the guidelines as a result of having fewer resources.

The report contains definitions for each design characteristic and the general guidelines for implementation as established in the relevant literature.

The report concludes with an overall assessment of the results and implications for website design.

The remainder of the executive summary should address the following: The extent to which the retailers met the guidelines. Think carefully about this and how you want to write it so that the information is concise, relevant, and readable. And, as a reminder, the information needs to be presented using logic and relying on the evidence (the data), NOT your personal feelings. Evidence of personal feelings is evidenced with statements that are presented in first person.

So, it might be best to start with general statement that reflects what the data indicates. It there is a lot of consistency/inconsistency either among the retailer or the retailers and the guidelines, simply state that and then provide a summary of the evidence to support this view. In doing so, it provides executives with a relatively efficient means of understanding the results. The raw data from the template is include as an appendix in the event that such information is needed to help verify the executive summary.

Website Design Characteristic 1: The Search Box

Definition : The search box is also referred to as a ‘search field’ or ‘search option’ in the literature and among practicing professionals. It is typically evidenced on a website by a single-line text box or search icon (which will transform into a search box on click activity) with the dedicated function of accepting user input to be searched for in the retailer’s database. Search boxes on web pages are usually used to allow users to enter a query to be submitted to a Web search engine server-side script, where an index database is queried for entries that contain one or more of the user's keyword research. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_box).

General Guidelines :

· Charlton (2012) surveyed the top 50 UK retailers an found that the most popular location was center (23%) with top right second at 16%. Top left was 1% and elsewhere was 10 percent. He notes that practice in the U.S. tends to rely more heavily on top right positions.

· For full sites, it may make sense for a box to be present so that it is easier for the user to identify. For mobile, a magnifying glass may sufficient (mobile testing is not a requirement for this assignment, we are only looking at desktop versions)

· Auto-complete helps avoid spelling errors an allows for more accurate searches, resulting in higher conversions. (

· A fixed bar (Sometimes called a ‘sticky bar’) is one that remains at the top of the page even during vertical found that sticky scrolling (i.e., it doesn’t disappear when scrolling). Denney (2012) found that fixed bars are 22% quicker for consumers to navigate.

Website Characteristic 2: The Logo Position

Defined : The brand logo is the visual representation of the brand (e.g., the Nike Swoosh). It is sometimes incorporated with the brand name.

General Guideline :

· The logo should be displayed on each page.

· Logos are most effective when placed at the upper left corner. Whittenden (2016a) reports that users are “89% more likely to remember logos shown in the traditional top-left position than logos placed on the right.”

· Although centered logos may be easier for the web designer, Whitenton (2016b) reports that logos positioned on the left allow for significantly fast navigation to the homepage (based on the logo being clickable); specifically, users were “6 times more likely to FAIL to navigate to the homepage on a single click when the logo was centered versus left aligned.”

Website Characteristic 3: Access to Homepage

Defined : Access to the homepage is defined as the capability of returning to the homepage in a relatively efficient manner.

General Guideline :

· Loranger (2017) has argued that having the logo icon link to the homepage is a long-standing convention.

· Loranger also notes that the standard location for the logo is top left corner.

· Loranger recommends having a dedicated ‘home’ link as well in order to minimize homepage-navigation confusion. Placement should be in the top left of the page.

· A third option is bread crumbs. Loranger notes that breadcrumbs ‘tell people their current location while offering one-click access to the higher site levels. The best practice is to start the breadcrumb trail with the Home link as it represents the highest level.’

Website Characteristics 4: Menu Icon

Defined : The purpose of the menu icon (or word) is to provide the user with a list of options for navigating the website. Harley (2014) has argued that there are few icons that have near universal recognition from users. The three-line ‘hamburger’ icon is an example of an icon that has become very popular and appears to be gaining wide recognition.

General Guideline:

· Inclusion of a menu icon is not a requirement, but one that appears to have become increasingly popular, particularly with mobile versions of the website.

· The hamburger icon has become highly familiar to consumers, but it might not be the most effective. A study by ConversionXL reported a 6% increase in revenue when the hamburger icon was used. However, another study by ExisWeb found that when the hamburger icon was replaced with a ‘menu’ icon, revenue increased 12%. However, this evidence is too weak to know with much confidence, which icon is most effective (more research is needed in a controlled environment). Nonetheless, menu icons are considered important to a web design.

· In the absence of a menu icon, the website should have a ‘navigation bar’ that includes the information that would be included in the menu. The menu items should be understandable and not ambiguous.

Website Characteristic 5:

Product Display

Defined : Product display is how products are presented for viewing by the visitor to the site. With advances in information technology, websites can now provide the opportunity for users to view a product from difference angles, size, and colors, a process referred to as ‘image interactivity’ (Fiore, Kim, & Lee, 2005)

General Guideline :

· At a minimum, it is helpful to display products with the option to see multiple views/angles. A single view is sub-optimal and should be avoided.

· Displays should allow for reviewing the product in different colors

· A zoom option is desirable.

· Displaying the product through short videos has become an emerging trend and has been shown to significantly influence sales.

· The use of virtual reality allows for the most realistic display of the product.

Website Characteristic 6: Image Sliders

Defined : Image sliders (also called carousels, slideshows, rotating offers, faders) are rotating screenshots of brand content that are usually displayed above the fold on the main home webpage.

General Guidelines : Runyan (2013) and others (Moray, 2015; Neilsen, 2013; Peatt, 2015) offer general guidelines on the use image sliders/carousels:

1. The content should be compelling. This is somewhat subjective, but it typically reflects special deals (sales) or other offers that would likely be meaningful to users (e.g., offer of free shipping). Image sliders that simply display pictures of brands without an accompanying key selling proposition (such as a discount) may not be compelling. This may help explain some of the conflicting evidence reported by Runyan and Peatt.

2. It is suggested that the number of features on the slider be restricted to a maximum of four (and preferably three) as it appears that as the number of images in the slider increases, the click-through rate decreases. Both Runyan and Peatt report a decay after the first slider. Although this recommendation by Runyan is somewhat subjective (i.e., there is no exact evidence of the optimal cut-off), this guideline seems reasonable given that the evidence from Peatt suggests that there are a marginal number of clicks beyond the 4th slide.

3. Users should have an option to control the speed/pause of the slider. Some websites use a button, an arrow, or a swipe (for mobile applications) to rotate the slider.

Guideline 7: Social Media

Defined : Social media refers to a two-way form of communication that allows users on the Internet to interact with the information being transmitted. Social media encompasses a wide variety of online content. On retail websites, they are typically in the form of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat, Flickr, and Tumblr. Most retail websites, if they use social media, will use a subset of these. Retailers appear to be increasingly using social media to augment their marketing communication efforts. (Shin & Bissell, 2013)

General Guidelines :

· Social media buttons should utilize the trade dress of social media companies (per trademark use agreement).

· There do not appear to be any generally accepted guidelines on where to place the buttons on the website. Some place it at the top fold, some at the bottom fold. Some use a floating bar that stays visible even during scrolling (on a side-bar). The floating option appears to be viable as long as the bar DOES NOT cover content. It has the benefit of being readily available to users (since the icon are always in view).

· Although there is no known evidence regarding the most optimal number of social media to use, it makes intuitive sense to limit the number of social media to the most popular platforms and only use those where the brand is actively involved in managing the site. That is not a decision for the analyst.

Website Guideline 8: Consumer Product Reviews

Defined : Customer reviews are feedback regarding the quality of the product.

General Guideline:

· There is emerging evidence that consumer reviews are important influencers of purchase decisions. Charlton (2012) maintains that they are ‘no essential for e-commerce sites’.

· According to Reevoo (as reported in Charlton), consumer reviews produce and average of 18% uplift in sales.

· eMarketer (2010) reports that consumer reviews are significantly more trusted (12 times) than descriptions that come from manufacturers (as reported in Flannagan)

· Charlton notes that the presence of negative review can be beneficial because it makes the positive ones more believable. But it depends very much on proportion; there is a point at which too many negative reviews will harm sales.

· Research from Lightspeed (reported by Charlton), however, found that 1-3 bad online reviews would be enough to deter the majority (67%) of shoppers from purchase the product or service.

Consumer reviews (via a review link) should be located near the product description. In some cases, a website may allow for a review to be posted, but not read. This defeats the purpose of reviews and should be avoided.

Website Guideline 9 a:

Pop-Up Ads