For this analysis I have broken down the key elements of the website and identified some of their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities to Improve and Threats, but I started by analysing the Homepage, being the window to the website, the first point of contact with the customer. This examination is mainly from a usability perspective backed up with my VM and Merchandising knowledge, as I don’t have any information regarding the Graziashop customer or any data on sales or interaction with the current website.

HOMEPAGEStrengths - The images are very appealing, the mix of cutout product, with street style and shoots makes the whole page very dynamic and show the product in both practical and more inspirational ways. - The Holiday Shop banner at the top is a great way to retain customers and help them discover more product. During this festive time the customer is mainly shopping for Christmas presents or outfits for parties, so it’s good they find what they are looking for as soon as they open the page.Weaknesses - I feel there are some messages that might seem confusing. For example, there is a carrousel with “Editor’s Picks” right above a slot called “Editor’s Picks” with gift ideas. They don’t have the same product in them, and the fact that they have the same name is a bit misleading. - The bottom slots of the page - promoting a Designer and Categories -require a few scrolls to access to them.Opportunities to Improve - Showing the customer the pages are updated regularly and that there is new product every day (?). This can be achieved by creating different kinds of “New In” areas. Or modifying the “Editor’s Picks” to “Editor’s Picks of the Day” or “Editor’s Picks of the Week” to keep the customer coming back to the site daily/weekly.Threats - There are more and more e-commerce platforms so it is very important that Grazia retains the existing customers - by continuously stocking the product they are looking for, informed them of the trends and have exceptional customer service - but also by captivating new customers. So the Homepage must be appealing and very easy to navigate. If a first time customer feels overwhelmed they will close the window.

WE LOVEStrengths - Great highlight for special products, where the photography is very high quality and shows the great details of the piece. This can be a good spot for very expensive products. - The description is both funny and informative. - There are other products being recommended at the bottom of the page, even if the customer is not particularly interested in the main one, there is always the chance she might be tempted by some of the suggestions.Weaknesses - The whole box with images of the product seems too big, which doesn’t seem to add relevant information about the product. It takes too much screen which breaks the connection with the Recommended Items.Opportunities to Improve - Make the brand name / item name more clear. - Use this space for very special items. Limited editions, very expensive, collaborations, etc..Threats - If a visitor is not interested in the item being highlighted and doesn’t see the recommendations straight away she might loose interest.

HOT DROPSStrengths - Curated selection, makes it special and guides the customer to see product, making the catalogue less overwhelming. - Link to the rest of “New In” items at the bottom of the page is a great way to cross-promote more product. - Newness factor, always appealing.Weaknesses - At the moment there is a mix of full price and discounted items in this section. Since the website doesn’t seem to be promoting Sale at the moment, this section should probably be focused on newness, featuring fresh items with no markdown.Opportunities to Improve - The name of the brand isn’t very clear in these boxes. That adds value to the items. This can be achieved by either highlighting it in bold or adding a little caption under the title. For example, this week there is a wool hat with the description “Hats Off to Stella, for creating..” not mentioning/highlighting it is from Stella McCartney. For such expensive items it is always better to make it clear for the visitor what the brand is without having to read the whole description. - This is a great space to include the items from brands with a low sell-through mixed with best sellers.Threats - None relevant threats.

WINTER ESSENTIALS (from Shop Essentials drop down menu)Strengths - Top banner acts as a mood board, providing the customer inspiration. - Curated selections are also a better - less overwhelming - customer experience. - Opportunity to mix different price points and brands under the same theme.Weaknesses - There is a Winter Essentials area at the bottom of the homepage which has the same name but different content (it links to Categories), it might be confusing to the customer.Opportunities to Improve - Cross promote other areas of the website. For example, on this Winter Warmers theme there could be links to Shop all Coats, Shop all Boots, Shop all Knitwear, etc.. at the end of the page. - Better merchandising of the page (check Listing Page SWOT analysis for more info).Threats - No relevant threats.

COVER STAR STYLEStrengths - Very in-line with the magazine aesthetics. - Source of inspiration for the customer, how to recreate looks based on celebrities formal/street style looks.Weaknesses - No relevant weaknesses.Opportunities to Improve - Maybe list of past Cover Style Stars in the same page (not just the drop down menu).Threats - If the customer isn’t particularly interested in that celebrity or her style it’s not likely she will click that section.

HOLIDAY SHOPStrengths - Having specific seasonal Landing Pages is a great way to present to the customer the right product without having to browse through the whole website. - The image is very appealing and festive. - The Partywear theme and the Gift Guides are crucial during this Christmas time.Weaknesses - The themes seem a bit repetitive. Personally “Eveningwear”, “Partywear” and “NYE Edit” all seem the same concept. - The Gift Guides are at the bottom of the page which makes it less immediate. At this time of the year these are probably the sort of products people are looking for. - The Gift Guides could be divided into more groups, rather than just a low price point (“Stocking Fillers”) and a high price point one (“Luxury Gifts”) and the “Editor’s Picks”. This is a great opportunity to promote different kinds of product, from across all Categories and price points.Opportunities to Improve - Create a bigger Gift Guide and make it more visible - a banner in the Homepage during the whole period of Holidays promotion - could be a good idea. - Gift Guides based on different price points, personalities and specific sorts of items that could be great gifts are a good strategy to promote a good range of products. - Different themes to promote rather than just Partywear and that make sense during this period, with titles that are more objective.Threats - Gift Guides not being very visible.

LISTING PAGESStrengths - Shopping by Category or Designer is the most intuitive and clear way to organize the product on the site. - Possibility of rearranging the items in an appealing but also that fits the commercial needs of the business. - Some items have arrows that allow seeing different views of it without having to click. This is great in terms of user experience. - Current filters are clear.Weaknesses - When there is too much product in these pages (mainly in the Categories) it might be overwhelming for the customer, which usually doesn’t go past the first pages. - At the moment, in some pages, the items don’t seem to be organized in any particular order. For example, in “Clothing” the first items shown are a bikini and 2 t-shirts. In mid-December these are probably not the type of items the global customer is looking for. - There are a lot of items from the same brand next to each other. This is not representative of the diverse assortment of designers carried by Graziashop. - I can’t find a relation between the items, there isn’t a colour flow, items are not grouped by styles. - While the website is not fully promoting Sale, the items appearing on top should be full price.Opportunities to Improve - Rethink the way products appear in the page. A page that is visually balanced is more likely to decrease its Exit Rate. - Colour flow, suggestion of items that can be worn together, mix established brands with new interesting ones in the first page - these can help achieve a good visual balance. - Filters at the moment are clear but can be improved. Option of “Clear all Filters” once the customer has chosen more than one and wants to revert to the main selection without having to deselect one by one. Adding “Full Price / Sale” as a filter could also be useful. - The whole page would look best if all images were the same size and shot according to the same guidelines.Threats - If the products in the first page are not appealing its not very likely the customer will want to visit the second one. - Not showing a good range of price points, brands and aesthetic in the top of the first page might lead to the customer losing interested, if the first items she sees are not appealing to her.

PDPStrengths - Clear page, easy to navigate. - “You may also like” product suggestions allows to cross promote items. - Possibility of adding to Wishlist.Weaknesses - Some items have less images than others. - Descriptions are very brief for some products. - Not enough information regarding measurements and composition.Opportunities to Improve - Add more product info. - Add video of the item (like Asos, for example). - Back in Stock option, to let the customer know when her size is available.Threats - With no measurements the customer might not risk ordering an item if she doesn’t know her exact size in that particular brand. For items like jewellery where there is only one photo and no measurements is really hard to understand the dimensions of the product, so the customer is more likely to buy these items from other websites where they can get more detailed information.

DROP DOWN MENUStrengths - New In is a great way of showcasing product and keeping the customer coming to the website. - Categories listed and their subcategories are very intuitive. - Good addition of designers list in each one of the Categories. - Highlighting different themes (“Spotlight On”) with appealing image is ideal for cross promotion of Trends.Weaknesses - Subcategories and Designers don’t seem to be organized alphabetically, which doesn’t make it very intuitive. - Some areas are repeated - for example, “Cover Start Style” is both under Clothes and Magazine.Opportunities to Improve - “Shop Essentials” seems like a great way to shop - since the items are already grouped by themes which makes it easier for the customer to navigate through the catalogue. Having a specific Menu for this type of curated selections that are not season-based could make them more accessible. - Jewellery could all be under the same Subcategory (Rings, Earrings, Necklaces and Bracelets appear as different subcategories). This is a Category that can be promoted as a whole, specially during Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.. Threats - Customer not being able to find the Subcategory straight away since it is not ordered alphabetically, which is the case in most E-commerce websites.

SUMMARY

- Overall the Graziashop seems user friendly and in-line with the magazine’s aesthetic. - The menu is very clear and the customer knows exactly what to expect when she clicks one of the categories and the different subcategories in. - There are great areas on the website that are regularly updated with new product and that guide the customer, making the shopping process easier. - The diverse range of brands and price points is a plus, it can attract a wide range of customers, from the more fashion-savy, in search of big designer names, to the ones interested in more quirky and emerging brands as well as customers who are very trend oriented and in look of inspiration. - The elements that connect directly with the magazine are very interesting and not a lot of e-commerce platforms have that. The fact that the user can see something on the magazine and immediately buy it off the website makes the whole experience more interactive. - The mix of photographic images from shoots, together with product and celebrity imagery creates a very dynamic page, providing different sorts of inspiration in the Homepage. - As a visitor I find some messages a bit confusing (like having 2 different “Winter Essentials”, 2 different “Editor’s Picks”), the names of the sections could be a bit clearer so the customer knows exactly what to find in each. - The fact that Subcategories and Designers in the Menu are not ordered alphabetically also seems like something that could be improved, from a UX perspective. - I feel there is an opportunity to group some of the Elements into separate areas allowing to promote more product in an objective way. For example “Hot Drops” can be a section of “New In”. And “New In” can be divided into “New In Today”, “New In This Week” - depending on the quantity/quality of stock received. - Other themes that can be very commercial and searched for all season round (like Partywear, Gym Wear, Winter Essentials, Office Wear, Winter in the Sun, Basics, etc..) could also have their own area in the menu. - Better Visual Merchandising of the pages: show diversity of product, suggest outfits by ordering the items in a smart way, create a colour flow in the pages, reflect the main trends of the season by promoting key items and pair them with the right ones to create looks. Show the inspirational designers first, to attract the customers, and mix them with others to help promote those.