The Online Insider Sends Mrs. Insider the Vaunted Blue Box!
Written: Aug 10 '06
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One of the most important things that companies must do for their online customers is to make them feel that they're buying from the same store they've walked through offline. To do this right, the images, the colors, and the text needs to flow seamlessly between stores, catalogs and their website. For some brands, protecting their brand image is the singular focus for the whole organization.
A site like tiffany.com would rather look good and feel right to the consumer than sell product at an optimal rate. I don't mean to say that Tiffany doesn't want you to buy from the website. They do, as it's cheaper for them. But they'd rather you have a good experience at the site, buy there or maybe call or visit the store in person, as they want to make sure they retain your trust and business. It's not just about more sales. It's about more channels and touchpoints to generate lifetime loyalty.
The Tiffany blue box is one of the most recongized and respected retail icons in the world. It stands for quality, luxury and great customer service. So the site needs to live up to that same standard. Does it?
Using the site
Again, this site is chiefly concerned with brand experience. So you shouldn't be surprised that you're greeted with an image of the Tiffany box on the front page of the site, or that all of the background colors are in this same shade. You also shouldn't be surprised to see that there are no price points on the front page of the site, and there's limited merchandising - just one image that shows a woman's earring.
Tiffany isn't going to sell you. They want you to take your time and look around. The site is heavily driven by images of items for you to view. They've also invested in neat technology apps to let you build your own custom rings out of their inventory of stones and settings.
When you arrive at the Jewelry homepage, you can search by jewelry type or collection. Jewelry type contains categories like earrings or Men's jewelry, and collection contains the names of designers (like Frank Gehry) or the brands of particular items in the store (like Tiffany's popular Dragonfly collection).
Let's assume we want to shop for a necklace (as I recently did). You use the Shop By Jewelry pulldown and click to necklaces. This takes us to the Necklace area. Tiffany shows us that they have 107 necklaces in stock, but rather than show us all of them on one page (like what Overstock or Amazon might do), they engage us with 5 items at a time. The necklaces are shown from a distance of about 1 foot or so, but a rollover shows a closeup of the item to you.
If you click a particular item the top of the page then shows price and limited item description. Again, there's no heavy sales text because the image and the brand sells better than any merchandising ever could.
To move ahead or behind, use the small rollover arrows to scroll. If you click the text, you're apt to miss items (you'll jump over the pages).
Once you add the item to the cart, it takes only three pages (five if you need to create an account) to check out. Tiffany does a great job of incorporating gift giving into the site, and you can add your custom message as you check out.
Shipping and Handling
Tiffany.com has the following S&H policies.
Ground shipping: $12, please allow 4-5 business days.
Express shipping: $17, please allow 3-4 business days.
Please allow an additional 2 weeks for delivery of hand engraved items and an additional 3-5 days for delivery of machine engraved items. Items on special order may take longer.
Big spender note: If your order is above $1000 you get free shipping if you're only shipping to one address! Woo Hoo!
Though the Insider didn't hit that threshold, my order arrived on time for my anniversary. Mrs. Insider was pleased with her pendant, and thrilled with seeing the little blue box!
Bottomline
The site is a feast for the eyes, but it might be a tough road for those with slow connections or old browsers. If you're looking for that special gift, Tiffany.com might just be the place to find it. And if you don't want to buy it then, don't worry... they'll be more than happy to help you out in a retail store near you.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Open Heart Pendant
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bhweb22
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Member: Brian H
Location: Northeast
Reviews written: 297
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