Computers and electronics merchant Crutchfield takes highly technical, potentially confusing merchandise and presents it on its Website in a way that makes it easy for the average consumer to understand and purchase. That’s why it was awarded a Silver in the 2010 MCM Awards Computer and High-Tech Equipment and Software category.
Why it won a Silver
Crutchfield does an exceptional job of serving both new visitors and existing customers with a well designed Website. Crutchfield.com has a clean, crisp layout with all the desirable bells and whistles, and includes effective carousels, category headings and product links.
“This is a solid Website with many best practices,” a judge said. “Many elements on the site are done well, including the site structure, navigation, offers, technology integration, flash, excellent product copy and site offers.”
Crutchfield lets users know not which items were in stock, but also the products it is running low on. The judges felt this gives consumers a sense of urgency when it comes to making a purchase decision.
Further, Crutchfield.com is an excellent place to do product research. And if a consumer still could not get enough information from the product specs, product details and user generated information on the site, the judges though Crutchfield did a great job promoting its 800-number and live chat buttons on its product pages.
Copy is a winning attribute as well. “The copy is on target when it needs to be, or bulleted, or very detailed,” a judge said. “It would be very easy to bury the customer with words in this category, but Crutchfield performs a great balance.”
Why it didn’t win a Gold Crutchfield seemed to be a little too focused on selling its “Crutchfield Signature” products, and that took away from product navigation. Why’s that? It limited the cross-sell opportunities by offering up signature suggestions over name products.
“The funky way they lock you into their signature products area takes a lot away from overall usability,” a judge said.