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Unit 2 Criteria A

I will now inspect how ASOS are responding to the pressures of the e-marketplace by using
transactional websites to:
Present their products and services
ather information
Provide a personalised service!
E-commerce
"-commerce stands for electric commerce which over one million people use in today#s
society! It is another way of saying $selling and buying%! "commerce has allowed firms to
establish a market presence& or to enhance an e'isting market position& by providing a
cheaper and more efficient distribution chain for their products or services! (odern
electronic commerce typically uses the )orld )ide )eb in the transaction*s lifecycle though
it can be used in a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well! A large percentage of
electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items like premium
content on websites but most e-commerce involves the trade of physical items!
The Purpose & Objective of ASOS
ASOS ob+ective is to become the leading fashion website in the ,- and attract growing
numbers of overseas customers! ASOS have . smaller aims which they have set for their
business that will help them achieve their ob+ective! ASOS is the ,-*s market leader in online
fashion retailing! It offers own-label& branded fashion and designer goods! It has rapidly
grown to become the ,-*s largest independent online fashion retailer! ASOS is main purpose
is to inspire and power your fashion discovery/ but without an internal brand and strong
strategy they would not be able to live up to that promise
Overall I think the website is good and very user friendly and is successful in meeting its
ob+ectives as it has a different products and is sorted in groups so it is easier to find things
0uicker! 1ut it needs improvements like new colours to website as well as different design so
it looks more attractive and interesting! Stay to same design structure sometimes puts off
customer2online users!
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ASOS.com is structure
4he structure of ASOS!com is to make the website efficient and effective so the consumers
can easily access what they want! 4he layout is also very simplified and is organi5ed properly
to make the website user friendly and because of this there is more ease of use for the user
as he doesn#t have to worry too much if there is a problem!
6! 4his is the business logo& with the purpose to give first impressions of the
establishment and to be distinguished from other competitors! 4he logo also can be
used as a promotional tool as it can help attract potential customers& making it
e0ually as important as the company name! 4he 7ogo stays on the same side of the
page if you click on another sub-heading! 4he disadvantage
8! 4his shows special offers and is relevant as new customers can see what the site has
to offer before buying anything! 1ut it is mostly to show that the website is
fre0uently updating its offers! 9or e'ample potential customers may e'plore for good
discounts for specific items and may wait until better offers are available! If the same
offers are still not replaced by a long period of time& this could put off potential
customers because it shows the website as outdated and falling behind other
competitors that offer fresher deals!
.! 4his is the key part of the website as this is similar to an advanced search as you can
make a direct search into what you want as well as what product your item fits in!
4his feature can be found on other ma+or online retailers as it is proven to be
effective and time saving!
:! 4his is where you can create your very own personal account& where it holds your
personal details such as bank details and also it is used to make transactions as your
debit2credit card may be linked! Also within your account& you can select your
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desired items which will be saved in a virtual shopping cart allowing you to continue
purchasing other products or proceed to buy the item already in the basket! An
advantage of this feature is that& the basket can be viewed at any time and can give
the customer more time for a decisive decision!
;! 4his section hosts brief information about what the company has to offer& in this case
$<;= brilliant brands%! 4his information is mainly directed at new customers who
have never visited the website and have no idea what is being offered!
>! 4his particular feature is to separate men and women#s clothing accessories to fit
your gender for e'ample men will only view the men#s selection and women will only
view the women#s selection! 4his will save valuable time as you will not be obligated
to look through women#s accessories to get to the men#s accessories as this feature
will eliminate one opposing gender!
?! 7ike number 8& this is also a form of advertisement& as it provides shipping details
$free shipping to over 8.= countries%! 4his will give many customers overseas a
chance to order from this website& e'panding their market globally!
<! 4he 1rand section is used to separate different branded products into individual
category& making it easy for the customer to identify there perforated brands for
e'ample @ike! 4his feature will save time as it will not make you obligated to go
through any other brand to get to $@ike%!
A! 7ike number <& this is also about brands e'cept this brand is for ASOS only products
as they are trying to promote their own company!
Overall& ASOS have provided customers with a simple but sophisticated website which is
bright& and easy to navigate& user friendly!
1ecause of their user friendly website customers feel safe in using the site and find it easy
and simple to navigate and if problems occur ASOS offer an online customer service which
allows customers problems to
be resolved! Bia the ASOS
website customers are able to
create an ASOS account upon
which ASOS is able to view
whenever they sign in& they
styles& their previous
transaction and are able to
send that customers
promotions as well as the monthly ASOS maga5ines!
!oos an Services
ASOS& the online clothes retailer offers many high 0uality products from recognised brands
such as Adidas and @ike! Although a clothes retailer& they also offer accessories such as bags&
sunglasses and watches& fitting for both genders! ASOS also offers services like $Price
Promise%& where they will match competitors pricing! Categories listed below with an in-
depth description of the products and services:
C"othin#- ASOS offers a wide variety of high 0uality clothing for both men and
women! (any of their products range from top brands including the likes of @ike& -
star and 3ack D 3ones! ASOS has gained popularity and recognition from other ma+or
clothing manufactures& which convinces them to sell their branded items over at
ASOS! All products can be sorted by different price range& lowest to highest/ this also
refers to new products!
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Accessories- this specific area covers the wide accessories offered by ASOS! 9or
e'ample bags& sunglasses& watches and +ewellery! 1oth genders each have their own
selection to choose from! 4his section also offers the latest accessories to show
consumers the new products that have arrived in store and shows what a popular
choice is for other consumers!
$e%s"etters- ASOS offers an online newsletter which is messaged through email to
any customers who have subscribed to it& ASOS is able to inform all those interested
in ASOS of any offers that might interest them! ASOS knows if the offer will interest a
specific person as at the time of subscribing to the newsletter& users are asked of
what categories they are interested in and also what they want to hear about in their
copy of the newsletter!
Price Promise- ASOS have their very own comparison service called $Price Promise%&
a service where it matches competitors pricing for the benefit of the consumer! 9or
this service to work terms and condition must be met& for e'ample it will only apply if
it is a non-ASOS brand and must be in stock!
Customer Service- this section is dedicated for the customer who is not satisfied with
any purchases made or has a problem due to failed shipping2delivery! In addition& to
this a formal customer complaint could be made against the company& which will be
dealt immediately!
&e"iver' & Shippin#- as ASOS is only an online retailer& it must offer a delivery
service& according to which they offer to ship across to over 8.= countries! ASOS is
based in the ,-& which means it will get delivered the following day or within .
working days& however this is not the case outside the ,-! 9rance for e'ample will
take up to ;-A working days for free delivery& but can speed up the process buy
paying additional charges for e'press shipping which will take up to 8-? working days
for the cost of E;-E8=! All shipping could be tracked on the website!
Fight to Fefuse Service- ASOS (arketplace reserves the right to refuse service to
anyone at any time! ASOS (arketplace*s services are not available to temporarily or
indefinitely suspended ASOS (arketplace members! ASOS (arketplace reserves the
right& in ASOS (arketplace*s sole discretion& to cancel unconfirmed or inactive
accounts!
ASOS (arketplace may& at its sole discretion& change some or all of ASOS (arketplace*s
services at any time! In the event ASOS (arketplace introduces a new service& the fees for
that service are effective at the launch of the new service! ,nless otherwise stated& all fees
are 0uoted in ,- Pounds G1PH!
7ooking at structure of ASOS as a whole& it is well set out to allow customer to search
through a whole database of products but there is also a few problems with this overall like
for e'ample& the method I had shown was very time consuming and would be much easier if
you do a direct search but beforehand you must at least have some information on what
kind of product you seek! Overall the strengths outweigh the weakness as the website is still
user friendly and the loading time of the website is very 0uick as well compared to other
consumer websites!
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Prouct (nformation
9rom the annotated
image above& I will show you
how most consumer
websites are set out!
4he
layout breaks into different subheadings bring a vital overall description of the product! I will
talk about the different subheadings they have used within the layouts of the page!
6! 4his segment is used to display what the actual product looks like& giving customers a clear
image of what they are purchasing! Also the customer are given the chance to view the
product in more than one view& allowing them to see the back& the side etc! all in which can
be enlarged so that some fine details are not left out! Also the website allows customers to
view products from different view such as being able to 5oom products& seeing from
different angles& rotations& videos of a catwalk producing the customer with a high street
e'perience& as they want to make the customer e'perience as first-hand view as possible!
8! 4his section is a basic summary of the product& where it shows the name& the actual price
as well as a brief description& for e'ample what material is used to make this item& in this
6==I cotton! 4his section also features $Add to 1ag% tab where it is added to your virtual
basket& however before this stage you are given the opportunity to select preferable si5e and
colour& with a handy guide to aid customers!
.! 4his is the final area of the product page where it shows off other products& that other
people have brought& linking to the product you yourself may be considering buying! Also
this part offers recommendation on what will match with your item of choice! 4his is used as
a marketing techni0ue as its aim is to persuade consumers to spend more money/ this is one
of the advantages!
As a whole the product information page is user friendly& due to its simple but well-designed
layout& giving the customer the satisfaction to continue without hassle!
&isavanta#es)
(tems can*t be "eft in the shoppin# ba# for a "on# time)
9rom research I have found out that there are not many complaints about the business
however from looking at customer reviews& there have been complaints that customers are
not able to keep items in the shopping bag for a long time! 4his is a disadvantage for the
customers as they may want to keep the orders in the basket and revisit the website at a
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convenient time for them and if the customers return to the website and the products aren#t
there they will be disappointed! At ASOS they could improve this by making a link on the
website which allows the customers to save their items in the basket/ this option is provided
to registered customers however not to guest customers hence this could be an area of
development for the business! If the items are not left in the shopping bag for a long time it
will cause inconvenience for the customers as they may be forced to complete the whole
process of looking for the items again and adding them to the basket this will waste the
customers time and effort and to avoid this the customers may decide to shop elsewhere!
Overall I would give this a rate of > from the scale of 6 to 6= this is because ASOS will have to
ensure that the shopping e'perience is easy and simple for the customers by doing this it
will meet their needs hence retaining the customers! Also this is a small problem for the
business and they should be able to eliminate this problem by finding a system or link which
ensures that the customers are able to keep their items in the basket for a long time and the
customers are able to return to their transaction anytime!
+aintainin# &e"iver' an On"ine s'stem)
At ASOS they provide a wide range of delivery options this could be a disadvantage for both
the customers and the business as it may be difficult for the business to maintain these
orders and make sure that the deliveries reach the customers on time! At ASOS they provide
their customers with a date or estimate of when the customers should receive the parcel
however this could be a disadvantage for the customers because if the parcels are not
received on time it will make the customers unhappy and may make the decision to shop
elsewhere! 1y having so many delivery methods is that it could make it difficult for the
business to maintain and control the deliveries that they have to make! 4his is because they
will have so many parcels that have different re0uirements to deal with& as well as ensuring
that they make the right delivery they also have to ensure that they deliver it on time& if the
business is not able to do this it will affect in their achievement of their aim which is
delivering impeccable service!
9or ASOS another disadvantage that could affect the customer#s needs is that they may find
it difficult to maintain their online marketing system and their database system! At ASOS
they will have to ensure they manage their online market system as it will help them to
monitor the progress that they are making and will ensure that they provide good customer
service! 4he business will have to ensure that the website is regularly updated with new
promotions and products& by doing this it will ensure that they meet customer satisfaction
as they will return for repeat business hence provide them with an competitive advantage!
Also by regularly updating the website it can help to attract new customers as they may be
interested in one of the new products being sold! If the system is not updated the business
will lose the customers loyalty as the customers will not be aware of what the business is
providing and they will not be updated about the progress that the business is making hence
they will be considered as unreliable! Also to ensure that they attract as many customers as
possible ASOS will have to ensure that they provide their customers with reason to return to
the business for repeat business and the only that this can be done is by contacting the
customers and by updating the website! Overall I would give this a rating of ? on the scale of
6 to 6= as delivering is a part of the service that ASOS is providing hence they will have to
ensure that they keep the customers happy by making sure that they do everything to abide
by their aims and to ensure that their parcel is received on time! 4here will also be
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disadvantages for the business which could impact the customers! 9or e'ample the business
will have to employ people that have the skills needed to complete this +ob and this
therefore could be more e'penditure for them& with more e'penditure it will mean less
money for the business to invest into new market sectors which could make it difficult for
the business to attract and retain customers!
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4he internet can be accessed by people all over the world/ therefore businesses will have to
ensure that they can meet to those people#s needs for e'ample different language and
cultural needs! 4here are many websites which have sections that can be translated by doing
this it will provide the business with a competitive advantage as other businesses may not
provide this service and it will increase the businesses target audience! 4he ASOS website is
in "nglish however they do offer the service that the currency can be changed and
customers are also able to take the international delivery option! Jowever they could
change the language setting for customers in countries aboard or they could provide the
customers with the translation option which help with the communication problem that
could occur between the business and its customers!
4he customers on ASOS are able to change the currency so this provides customers with a
wider choice however this could create difficulties this is because they have to make sure
that they are updated with the e'change rate value and have to make sure that they are not
overcharging their customers as it could create a bad reputation! Some of the currencies
used by ASOS are "uro and ,S dollars!
Capturin# Customer (nformation
Information from customers is done in different ways and forms!
Customers browsing habits can be monitored by the use of cookies! A
cookie is a small information file that is sent to your computer& mobile
or other device when you visit a website and it will recognise your
device on future visits! 4hese types of files do a number of different
+obs such as remembering your preferences and chosen items&
assisting you to improve your site e'perience as well as trying to
ensure that the adverts or offers you see online are more relevant to
you! 4hese cookies collect information from the customers about
what type of products they are looking at or have bought recently!
4his information is valuable which is used to give recommendations
on similar products that the customer may be interested in! 4he
cookies are a form of spyware used to gather information! 4his is
a form of invasion of privacy because the customer has no
knowledge that information is being monitored! Although this is not illegal it is a sneaky way
of gathering personal information without consent!
Another method is when you register with ASOS/ you will have to give some of your personal
information to the company in order to make an account! Kou will have to give your email
address& your address location and your bank details! Although this is not illegal& the
customer is aware that their personal information will be collected and stored in the
database to make it easier for their ne't purchase! 4hough the personal information can be
safe from& there can also be problems such as data leaks or any cyber-attacks therefore
causing problems but overall the information will be relatively safe! 4he Lata Protection Act
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you have the right to see the information ASOS holds about you! 4hey provide a webpage on
how to retrieve this data by submitting a ask for
one of the stores or by post or online by going
to their contact us page! 4he information and step by step
commands are very clear and it provides you with a list of
information which might be important when re0uesting
the data held about you by ASOS!
Some websites& when taking credit card details& will log
the IP address of the computer making the transaction!
4his is a good security measure that the website takes as
if someone has stolen a credit card and starts using it to
make transactions online and the person states that their
credit card has been stolen& the police can go to ASOS and
ask for the IP address of the computer making that
transaction! 4hey can then go to the ISP
GInternet Service ProviderH and ask for the name
that that particular computer is under! 4hen further action can be taken!
ASOS communicate with their customers in a variety of ways in order to produce a business
to customer relationship by using internet marketing such as using their online 1logs& this
attracts customers who have pros or cons about ASOS to be able to e'press their views and
on which ASOS are able to access and improve on services that customers are unsatisfied
with!
Authentication
ASOS has a range of authentication techni0ues that are similar to most if not all e-commerce
websites! After signing with to ASOS& you will have
a password for your account which is uni0ue to
you and no one else! 4his should not be passed off
to anyone as the account will hold private details
accustomed to you such as your address and your payment details! If someone got their
hands on your account then they could buy things of account without you even realising it or
worse they could sell of your details on the black market! ASOS like most e-commerce
websites have very strict measures in order to keep customers details safe& as long as you
keep your username and password safe then there shouldn#t be any problems!
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If you have forgotten your password to ASOS then you can go to the website and find
9orgotten Password! Clicking on it will tell you to input the email address you had used in
order to make the account! After inputting the email address& ASOS will inform you that a
recovery password has been sent to that email! After going on to your email services inbo'
you will find a link in order for you to make another password! Loing this will replace your
previous password with the one you have inputted and then you can access your account
again!
In spite of this& something can go wrong in advance like for e'ample if someone had found
your email address and password then they can order things without your knowledge or
permission! ASOS like most e-commerce websites use IP tracking on purchases whenever a
transaction occurs! 4he IP address is uni0ue as no one will have a duplication of yours! ASOS
records the IP address if there are any problems! If a customer complains that their account
has been used by someone else then they will shut down the account and track the other
persons IP address to find his or her location and an inspection will take place from there!
Overall& I think that ASOS#s authentication methods are suitable for their website and retain
security! On the other hand& I consider that their authentication methods can be improved
vaguely in order to improve the level of security customers receive! It can be done by
including another method of recognition in logging into accounts& as this would make it
difficult for people to get onto accounts without authori5ation! ASOS could have a service
which right away shows customers by te't message or email when their account is still
logged in!
Techni-ues use on customers
Offers on the .omepa#e)
On the main homepage of ASOS there may be many items
which are cheap and popular to customers who can also
bring in new customers and e'isting customers which
haven#t checked the product! ASOS also places these kinds
of advertisements in the centre of the page and also on the
sides of the webpage! 1y doing this will make the customers
notice more easily if there are any special deals on the
website& most of which have pictures with the price of the
item or with a number in a percentage! $UP TO /01 O22
SA,E%
Emai"s)
ASOS may also send you an email with lots of offers like new products and offers but ASOS
give discount to members who have shopped with them for a long time! 9rom time to time
they may send you a voucher for a discount code on any products as a sort of thank you for
staying loyal with the company! 4his is a good effect as this makes the customer feel that
they can get something back from buying products! 4he disadvantage to this e'tent is some
people don#t really open the mail& they sometimes delete it or don#t
read it!
3ecommenation)
)hen you have an account on most e-commerce website like ASOS
for this matter then the website will build up a list of
recommendations of the specific product you are viewing! 4his is
good for customers as they can see what other customers on the
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website brought similar to their product and could also make a decision in buying another
item from the website!
Other 4ebsites)
"very now and then ASOS may place adverts in other websites to bring in more customers
from other websites! 4hey do this because they are affiliated with other websites so they
can gain the trust of other customers and make more money but e-commerce websites will
not place adverts in rival websites due to the intense competition between them!
$e%s"etters)
ASOS offers an online newsletter which is messaged through email to any customers who
have subscribed to it& ASOS is able to inform all those interested in ASOS of any offers that
might interest them! ASOS knows if the offer will interest a specific person as at the time of
subscribing to the newsletter& users are asked of what categories they are interested in and
also what they want to hear about in their copy of the newsletter! )ith sending this
immediately to customers& ASOS is capable to get consumers who might not be fascinated in
making a buying or even looking at the site end up going to the website! 4his could mean the
user may possibly seen something in the newsletter that has caught their attention!
I conclude that ASOS use newsletters because it is an effective way for ASOS to inform
people who purchase from or are simply +ust interested in ASOS! It has the ability to make
users visit the site and possibly make a purchase! 4his is because the newsletter is sent
directly to consumer through email and so it is most likely that the person will open and
read the newsletter and if there#s something interesting inside the newsletter grabs their
attention& they can easily click on it to be directed to ASOS#s website and find out more
about that particular offer!
Usabi"it' an Accessibi"it'
In general ASOS is an easy to use e-commerce website! 4he process of signing up to ASOS is
a very easy thing to do as you +ust give your email address and password and then you are
done! Also when buying a product from the website the process is broken up into couples of
parts in where you +ust sign in& give in your payment details& give an address detail or use the
cardholders address& then you finalise it by confirming your order and then it will be
processed by the company soon!
In e'pression of the website it is very easy to use and very user friendly in its navigation so it
won#t cause any problems for ine'perienced and new customers on the website! 4he good
thing about the website is that making a direct search will enable you to find what product
you are looking for and because the website is in a simple layout then you can also view
other products more easily and effectively!
ASOS is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience&
regardless of technology or ability! )e are actively working to increase the accessibility and
usability of our website and in doing so aim to adhere too many of the available standards
and guidelines!
Other methods of collecting data involve putting a code on a website that leaves cookies on
the user#s computer!
Customer E5perience the site offers
enerally& I would say ASOS!com is very successful in meeting its ob+ective in being effective
e- commerce! 4he structure of the catalogue works well as most if not all of the products are
all categorised properly without much drawbacks!
4hey could also break the categories into sub categories to make the usage of the website
better but so far there shouldn#t be any problem with it now!
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Jowever there is also another problem with the website! 4he main thing with it is that in
order for the website to work you will need cookies in order to enable the website! ranted
this can be resolved with some configuration of your internet browser this is a problem
because for e'ample say if you went to a cybercafM and used their computers and went on
the website& your personal information like your email address and your password will be
saved on the computer so if someone else went on the website then they could use your
account to buy things without you realising it! 4his can be fi'ed by removing personal detail
after e'iting or logging out from the website!
On an average& I would say that ASOS provides a good customer service as they try to make
products ine'pensive and try to stay loyal to their customers by giving discounts and
vouchers on special offers but like all e-commerce website it is more of a business
opportunity to make more money! 4hough the demise of the high street shops of ASOS& this
clearly shows why ASOS!com is still one of the best online retailers on the web used mostly
than other retailer shops which have e-commerce!
All businesses want to gain customer satisfaction as it will ensure that the customers will
return for repeat business and it will also help to improve the businesses reputation! Also it
is very important for businesses to gain customer satisfaction as the customers are the main
source of income for the business and the reason for the business to provide service to the
customers! If ASOS are able to gain customer satisfaction it will help develop a better
relationship between the customers and the business hence gaining customer loyalty! 4here
are many ways that businesses can gain customer satisfaction for e'ample ASOS have to
ensure that they meet the customer needs and demands! 4hey also have to ensure that they
provide good customer service by doing this it will provide them with a competitive
advantage as the customers will not shop elsewhere! ASOS will also have to ensure that they
are always developing and e'panding the business by investing into new products& services
and market sectors! 1y doing this it will provide the
customers with more choice therefore gaining customer
satisfaction!
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