The Amazonization of Global E-Commerce User Experience (UPA 2010)

The Amazonization of Global E-Commerce User Experience  Arne Ki(ler, Fork Unstable Media  UPA Interna7onal. München, 27th Mai 2010 

HELLO UPA. Arne Ki3ler: Director Consul7ng  Fork Unstable Media  Interac7ve Agency in Hamburg, Germany since 1996  Digital Branding, Interac7ve Design and E‐Commerce    © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

INTRODUCTION   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONIZATION – WHAT‘S THAT?   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

EXTREME AMAZONIZATION. Wise use of patterns or dangerous loss of differentiation???   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

OR, MORE GENERALLY: THERE IS A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN STANDARDS AND DIVERSITY IN E-COMMERCE   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

MORE BALANCING ACTS. Standard vs Diversity Amazonization Differentiation Globalization Localization Equalization Individualization   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

MY PRESENTATION TODAY. My Presentation: Introduction to the 3 balancing acts Pros & Cons to consider Simpliﬁed model to handle a combination of all 3 aspects   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONIZATION vs. DIFFERENTIATION   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

THE CONTEXT. Market leaders such as Amazon play an important role in shaping usage patterns that influence many e-commerce websites. This is special for e-commerce because for other genres there are no similarly influential players. We have labelled this effect „Amazonization“ even though there are other influential shops, too.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONIZATION: HOMEPAGE-GRID.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONISATION: MEGA-DROPDOWNS.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

E-COMMERCE PATTERNS = AMAZON? Amazon cited as reference for all major e-commerce patterns   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

COMMISSION-COMMERCE A new type of service companies offer brands a mostly commision-based setup and maintenance of their online-shop. Even though the underlying platforms such as Demandware offer full differentiation, this business-model can easily result in shops that place common practice before the brand they are representing.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONIZATION: ADVANTAGES. Familiarity to users Low responsibility of failure Temptation to skip testing Easy decision, „cheap“ development   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONIZATION: CHALLENGES. Loss of differentiation Considering the long-tail: Risk of becoming economically unviable Context: Amazon is NOT an average shop!   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

AMAZONISATION vs. DIFFERENTIATION. Patterns are good! Visual Design needs to differentiate Content Design is important But: Beware of the context!   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

Globalization vs. Localization   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

THE CONTEXT. E-Commerce is global and has risen in relevance for companies. E-Commerce has global management attention. A high level of Standardization has become the most common approach to Web Globalization. Centralized Development and Technology Mastersite with Global Templates   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

EXAMPLES   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

GLOBAL STANDARDS: ADVANTAGES. Cost Effectiveness Consistent brand appearance Quality Assurance Comparability   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

GLOBAL STANDARDS: CHALLENGES. Users are local!! Local variations in assortment and structure Languages / Room for text Measurements, address conventions etc. Marketing   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

GLOBALIZATION vs. LOCALIZATION. Global templates & platforms will last But: Competition for UX is local Modular concepts and design required Organisation and processes matter   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

GENERALIZATION vs. INDIVIDUALIZATION   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

THE CONTEXT. Amazon were one of the ﬁrst and few companies to turn the late 90s Personalization hype into individualization features that actually offer beneﬁt to the users and helped to drive sales. While Individualization remains a promising approach from a user perspective there are also valid reasons for retailers to offer an equalized shop.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

INDIVIDUALIZATION EXAMPLE: CONTENT   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

INDIVIDUALIZATION EXAMPLE: UI   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

INDIVIDUALIZATION: ADVANTAGES. Potentially relevant shopping suggestions Catering for usage preferences Potentially better sales Increased customer loyalty   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

INDIVIDUALIZATION: CHALLENGES. Good Individualization takes effort Bad Individualization is worse than none Strong brands want/need to guide users and provide orientation   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

EQUALIZATION vs. INDIVIDUALIZATION. Good Individualization remains difficult Individualization will benefit from m-commerce and social commerce. Focused shops or shops with standardised goods and broad user base can best benefit from Individualization Brand-Guidance vs. Individualization (only service Features!)   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

3 IMPORTANT STRATEGIC QUESTIONS Standard vs Diversity Amazonization Differentiation Globalization Localization Equalization Individualization How can we look at all 3 perspectives at once?   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

THE CHALLENGE: HOW CAN WE BALANCE ALL 3 ASPECTS AT ONCE?   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

POSITIONING MODEL FOR BUSINESS MODELS AND FEATURES   18.01.10 © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

POSITIONING MODEL. Diﬀeren7a7on  Amazoniza7on  Globaliza7on  Localiza7on    © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

FASHION BRAND SHOP. Differentiation: Differentiation needed to communicate the brand‘s image and personality.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

FASHION BRAND SHOP. Globalization: Apart from functional localization of details, the brand will pretty much appear the same in every market.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

FASHION BRAND SHOP. Equalization: For a brand shop it is important that the brand is presented in a strong and guiding way. Individualization might let the brand appear deliberate.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

ORDER SUMMARY PAGE. Amazonization: At this critical step of the checkout process it is wise to stick to established patterns and avoid irritation.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

ORDER SUMMARY PAGE. Localization: This page sums up all previous checkout-steps and thus needs to reﬂect the local variations for payment, postage etc.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

ORDER SUMMARY PAGE. Equalization: Even though this page features mostly individual user data it is not considered an individualized page.   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

SUMMARY. Standardisation and diversity are both valid and relevant aspects in E-Commerce E-Commerce teams are facing a balancing act for at least 3 of such aspects The ideal combination of all perspectives will vary for different business-models and features   © 2010 Fork Unstable Media 

DANKE!  I appreciate your feedback! arne@fork.de @arnekittler slideshare.com/rn3_hh PS: Enjoy the party!!

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The Amazonization of Global E-Commerce User Experience (UPA 2010)

by Arne Kittler

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