Please provide a review of the effectiveness of abcstores.com website
in selling hawaiian goods on-line.

I am looking for an e-commerce expert to conduct the review (some
knowledge of Hawaiian goods would help as well).

In your review, please compare abcstores.com to its main competitor,
hilohattie.com

What is abcstores doing effectively?  What could it improve (relative
to hilohattie.com)?

Issues to consider: graphics, ease of purchasing, product offering,
affiliate programs, search engine ranking, etc.

Thank you.

Thanks for asking!


First impressions:

-- Wider than standard 800x600 browser, requires horizontal
   scroll. Actual display area width is 745 pixels.
-- Loads in 24.9 seconds at 56Kbps, weight approximately 90K. 
-- Clean white background.


A MORE DETAILED LOOK
**********************************************************************

Graphics and Display
********************

I really like your Hawaiian theme and background images. They're so
appropriate and beautifully implemented. The raised/shadowed button
design feature for the central display space is perhaps my only
concern in the graphics area. The grid is perfectly fine. The current
trend is more toward open spaces or less obvious delineation.  This is
not a barrier to purchase, of course. It simply speaks of style
reminiscent of early e-commerce efforts, without a full-scale "retro"
look which might link your company's early branding more closely to
the current look and feel. The web's a great place to bring back
beloved styles from the past.

The left menu buttons appear as if they might been accidentally
crunched into the left side of the page. As a customer, it leaves me
wondering if there is some part of the button that isn't displayed,
plus the shadow effect makes the button pad seem to tilt off the
screen. This, of course, is only a minor visual cue, however, such
cues can be cumulative, and create a questionable impression in the
mental process of turning users into paying customers.

Graphics optimizing is certainly adequate. Considering the page
weight, the site's download speed is impressive. Hilohattie.com's
download was excruciatingly slow using a 56K modem.

Within the Online Catalog itself, type (font) sizing on names of
individual items and the category bar should be uniform with the rest
of the site's typesizes. The type size for each item should match the
the type sizes for descriptions and prices. Use bolding to emphasize
the item names. The larger sizing says (to many shoppers) "clunky
little shopping cart program" which is definitely -not- the case.


Cross Browser Compatibility
***************************

The site has some display problems in browsers other than IE. The left
and right side buttons don't align correctly by a 18 pixels or more.
These small abnormalities in lineup make the site appear less
professional. As an eCommerce developer, watching site logs for a
number of clients, I've seen that while the sites general viewer
browser stats follow current browser use figures, -shoppers- who use
Netscape number far above their statistical percentage of browser
share, up to 25% of a site's total paying customers. Netscape (and
other non-IE) browser users as a rule, average a longer time on the
web, which translates to a greater likelihood or propensity for online
purchasing. Hilohattie.com does not exhibit cross-browser display
difficulties.


Browser Security Warnings
*************************

ABCStores.com generates a security warning in Netscape (combination of
secure and insecure material on the same page), and generates ActiveX
security warnings in Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0, with all
current patches installed, and if default or higher settings are in
use. Users are still being advised in many Internet security bulletins
to disable Java or ActiveX. The last thing you want is for customers
to be told that their browsers don't think your site is trustworthy.
Most are not capable of understanding "safe" code vs. unsigned code.
They'll believe their browsers before Thwate. Hilohattie.com doesn't
generate similar browser warnings.


The Shopping Experience
***********************

I notice that a number of items on the shopping Category pages do not
have "Buy Now" buttons, only more info buttons. To some users, this
may indicate that the items are not currently available. Uniformity is
encouraged, all with two buttons, or all with one.

The text descriptions on the top of the Category pages are a bit wide
for comfort. The eye has difficulty traveling back further than 4 or 5
inches to the beginning of the next line. A handwidth is a good
estimate for multi-line text.

The checkout process is smooth. I felt there was one page too many
(separate credit card method and credit card number entry), however,
that would not be a barrier to purchase for most. The Next button for
purchase should actually say Purchase or Complete Purchase, if at all
possible. I realize there is explanatory text next to it. In the minds
of some customers, Next implies that they'd be taken to a further
purchase page, and those users may become confused. This is a critical
KISS function. You don't utilize a Cancel button on the purchase page.
This feeling of being "allowed" to gracefully back out of a
transaction adds to a customer's trust of an online merchant.

The Hilohattie checkout process was similar, requiring only three
pages up to the checkout point. I did not complete purchases in either
store, which would have necessitated giving personal information, an
action forbidden by Google Answers Researcher Contracts.


Findability - The Search Engines, Etc.
**************************************

Though not a specialist, I know the basics of search engine
optimization, and have achieved top and second position keyword
findability for my own and client's sites. There are several simple
things that you can do that will increase your findability across the
board, without costing more than time investment.

Define your niche. Who are your online customers? What items do they
want most? What are your most popular items? What do you want to make
popular? Target those items for individual pages with fuller
descriptions. Include three to four keyword phrases on your home page
and, if possible, in your category pages, and/or label your links
(using the Title attribute). Page Titles should also include keywords,
or keyword phrases. Example: ABC Stores - The Store with Aloha -
Hawaiian Fashions, Gifts, and Jewelry.

META Tag keywords have fallen out of usage with Google, however, some
search engines still use them. You still need to list your keywords in
order to write your advertising copy, and you might as well list them
on the home page and inside pages also. Your inside page keywords
would be related to the individual items for sale. Legitimately
increase keyword phrase repetition by using image ALT tags to label
and describe items. Label every image with the product name, and even
a very short description.

Write your content for search engine rankings. I especially recommend
a thorough exploration of the WriteRank.com website. This is an
excellent learning site that teaches how to write advertising copy for
customers and search engines at the same time.

Rankings Comparison (Google only)

Hawaiian Gifts 
Hilohattie #7
ABC Stores #11

Hawaiian Shirts
Hilohattie #17
ABC Stores > 100

Hawaiian Fashions
Hilohattie #29, plus #4 #18 #32 #60 through affiliates
ABC Stores #59 

Hawaiian Jewelry
Hilohattie #6
ABC Stores #7

In these and other comparisons of keywords, I find that the principle
difference between the two sites is the use of keywords and keyword
phrases in item descriptions. Content slash keyword phrase frequency
are two critical areas that directly affect how many customers ever
see your site. These almost imperceptible changes should increase your
page rankings over the next three to four months. It can sometimes
even take up to six months for changes to fully propagate. Patience is
advised. Allow the search engine spiders to find your updated content.
Don't resubmit your pages. Find ways to link to inside pages with
targeted items from your home page. These direct links are almost
always spidered on each crawl. Links to specials or sale or featured
items are a convenient way to accomplish this.


Froogle
*******

Still in Beta phase, Froogle can nonetheless play an important part in
product sales. Currently, only the homepage is listed in Froogle.
Refine your datafeed and submit it. This per product exposure could
prove invaluable.


Affiliate Program
*****************

Hilohattie's Affiliate program accounts for a fair percentage of
traffic. Affiliate sites often rank higher in the same categories than
the HiloHattie site itself, depending upon the Affiliate's skill in
optimizing pages. This appears to be an effective marketing and
promotion tool, however, I can't judge its effectiveness as a
contributor to actual sales or revenue.


Areas of Excellence
*******************

Product Selection - I'm impressed with the variety, price ranges,
shipping costs, and the overall presentation of each merchandise item.

Clean, professional look of the shopping cart and checkout pages. 

Excellent Customer Service information given. 

Navigation is clear and simple. 

Your Google Page Rank of 6 is already impressive. Higher than
HiloHattie's (5), in fact. Inbound links from well-ranked Hawaii
directories, or national fashion, gift, and jewelry directories could
bump the page rank even higher. Your top of the category listing in
the Google version of the DMOZ directory is also a plus.

Fast Facts about Froogle
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1060


Summary
*******

ABCStores.com offers an above average shopping experience. A few
tweaks here and there will help bring the site into slightly better
conformity with current eCommerce norms. Providing customers with a
higher comfort zone via familiar layout, and the same accoutrements as
the top stores will breed more online sales.

Turning the focus more to products, rather than the store itself, will
provide many more marketing and promotion paths and give more
customers a good chance of finding your store, and the items they are
looking for.


My credentials: Web and eCommerce development since 1995.    


ANSWER STRATEGY
**********************************************************************

I used my own bookmarks to find the links I've listed. I spent a great
deal of time exploring your site, and the Hilo Hattie site for
comparison.

If anything I've said is unclear, or should you have questions about
the material or links provided, please, feel free to ask.

--larre

Hello:

I have a few comments, which I think may help you.  I hope you will
take these comments in the spirit of constructive criticism, the
spirit in which they are intended.  I am the owner of a website for
the past 4 years, similar to yours, and would like to share some of my
experience with you.  From time to time,I hear from comments from my
customers, sometimes good, sometimes bad.  I find that more often, the
bad comments are much more useful to me than the complimentary ones.

You question caught my eye, because I am from Hawaii, and am familiar
with your company and stores.

Anyway, here goes.

1.  Your homepage is much too heavy.  You probably have fast
connection, but a 90K homepage is an eternity on the modem (what the
majority of your visitors are using).  Graphics are the main culprit. 
I would try to use them more sparingly.

2. This may not be an issue for your Japanese visitors, but clicking
on your image of the ABC card drives my browser into a spasm.  You are
displaying Japanese characters on the page this image links to, and a
Japanese plug-in is required.

3.  I would remove the link to your ABC Cam.  Just because you could,
doesn't mean you should.  I don't think it adds much value.  At first
it looks like its going to be a movie or live video cam of Hawaii. 
Instead it appears to be a streaming video.  Altogether, I saw three
frames of basically the same thing (on a DSL connection).

4. I would also remove the image of your "Request a Catalog."  This is
a redundant link and is contributing to your heavy home page.  You
already have a link for Request a Catalog that does the same thing.

5. Keywords:  Very important.  If they can't find it, you can't sell
it. I would carefully reexamine your keywords.  I know you sell
tshirts, but when I typed in "tshirts," I got no results. "t-shirts"
returned only 2 results and "tees" returned only 8 results.  Manually
navigating your store (not using your search engine), I counted about
40+ tshirts for sale.

6. Your checkout button.  I would do further testing on your secure
server.  By its very nature, a secure sever returns information much
slower, but I think someone needs to evaluate how fast your server is.
On a DSL connection, it took 10 seconds to transition the Billing
Information screen.  My first impression was that it wasn't working
(at all).  If I were a customer, that may have been my signal to move
on to the next website.

7.  Shipping charges.  You should make it clear how much a product is
going to cost before a customer will decide to buy.  I had to hunt and
hunt, but still couldn't find the answer to a very basic question. 
Don't make your customers struggle.  Make it "easy" for them to make
an informed buying decision. How much is my order going to cost with
the shipping?  I just my mom her mother's day present (to Hawaii, from
California). Yikes! $13.00 postage for something that wasn't very big
or heavy.

8. PDF file. Returns and exchanges.  I would convert this .pdf to an
.html page.  The .pdf diminishing the user experience.  If your
visitor doesn't have Acrobat, you're forcing him to download software
just to read what you have to say.  I would recommend not doing that,
it only adds to frustration.  I say that, because you've got it
connected to the worst possible page (returns and exchanges).  They
are already not in the best of moods if they want to return or
exchange something.  Why add to that aggrevation by forcing them to
download software just to return something.

9.  My account.  If a visitor clicks on this link, they fall into 1 or
2 scenarios.  They have an account, or they don't.  If they don't, I
see nothing that tells them how they get one.  You might want to
consider putting some verbiage on this page.

10.  The golden rule is that surfers expect to be taken to what they
click on.  When I click on Customer Service, instead I am presented
with more links (like shipping, returns, etc.) rather than just
telling me the information on that page.  The focus of this page is
currently "give us some feedback," not Customer Service.  I would put
"feedback" as a link instead.

11. Graphics on homepage (bottom).  On the bottom of the home page,
there are three graphics.  The text on these graphics too tiny to read
and it really doesn't serve any purpose (on the homepage).  I would
remove this from the homepage and consider placing elsewhere.  Your
Thawte certificate link is broken.  It is very important that
everything functions on your site.  Trust is everything on the Net. 
People are giving you money.  They may think "if they're careless with
their own website, will they also be careless with my order."

I hope I haven't been too harsh and you've have found these comments
helpful.  There is a book called HomePage Usability - 50 Websites
Deconstructed by Jakob Neilson.  It's an excellent resource and has
many design tips, much of which reiterates some of the comments I've
made.

Aloha and good luck with your site.