Reviews of Comparable Websites
Within the vertical of online shopping:
BaubleBar has a very clear and crisp home page with definite segments on purchasing all kinds of jewelry. The home page is pleasing to the eye and the user knows exactly where to shop what. Also, when you sign up for the website, you get a flat 15% discount on any purchase.
Another fun aspect of the website is that, it has a S.W.A.T (Service With Accessorizing Talent) page, which answers styling questions or gives shopping assistance. This makes it easier for customers to decide on what kind of jewelry they ought to buy for different occasions. The website offers free shipping on every purchase of $25 and has easy return policies, which makes the shopping experience extremely easy.
The jewelry on the website is priced anywhere between $10 to $120. BaubleBar often comes up with offers such as, ‘the buried bauble,’ for a limited time when they sell jewelry at $10, $15 or $20. The attention to detail in packaging makes the buyer feel truly special. Every jewelry is wrapped in layers of bubble wraps and carefully placed in a pocket jewelry bag (complimentary earlier), along with a neon thank you envelope placed inside a box. The thank you envelope carries the return label and bill of purchase.
CharmingCharlie does not have a user-friendly interface, the homepage seems a little cluttered although they recently relaunched their website with a few changes.
As a first time customer when you login, the website displays a popup which says that new customers get a $10 discount, but you don’t see that information anywhere on the website after the popup gets dismissed. The shopping experience is average, since the jewelry showcased on the website is not displayed on a model.
Also, when you hover the mouse over the different categories of products, there is an immediate drop down effect which is very distracting.
The website is popular for its jewelry, clothing, handbags and accessories, along with some new additions of beauty, home and kids’ products. Prices range from $10 to $44 and shipping is free on purchases of $59 or more. The website often comes up with deals on clothing and jewelry, such as ‘2 for $12′ and ‘50% off’ for limited time. Items get delivered in a simple packaging of bubble wraps and a box, which is sometimes sloppy and ineffective in protecting the product from damage.
Within the vertical of travel:
Besides its bundle deals, and deals on hotels, cars, flights and cruises, Expedia offers a lot more options on travel to its customers via ‘vacation rentals,’ ‘today’s travel deals,’ and its rewards program for all its members.
To increase ease of booking, its popups like, ‘this place is a popular location on your dates,’ helps make reservations and save up significantly.
Its amazing display of pictures of hotels and the reviews on the page helps decide whether the hotel is a great choice for stay. The information on booking the number of beds on the same page, without having to go to another page a is systematic approach. The checkout page of the website provides information on where to eat and things to do nearby.
Expedia also offers better discount deals than Priceline does, with an average discount of $10 to $15.
Priceline.com is a very simple and user friendly website. When selecting packages, it provides all information on hotel and flight together, unlike Expedia, where you have to first select the hotel in order to go to the next step. It also immediately offers car deals below in case the customer wishes to rent a car during his stay.
However, it does not provide additional details which helps in the ease of booking such as information about the destination, places to visit nearby etc.
Also, the pictures displayed on the website about selecting the hotel or the rooms are not so great and definitely do not help with booking.