Even more annoying than an intro movie. Ask me for my postal code right off the bat? No way to skip around this? Sorry, rona.ca, bad idea.
For people visiting the site for the first time, you haven’t built any trust. Why should I give up a piece of myself before you show me what you have?
For returning visitors, if I just need to check on something - product, store hours, whatever, why would you throw up a roadblock like this? I’ve already committed to your company - why would you drain my goodwill reservoir like this? The rest of the site better be damn good.
This is serving you, not me. A web site, especially for a major retailer, needs to serve the customer, not themselves. There are plenty of ways to capture this information later. Entering the site is not the time to do it. Imagine if you were prevented from entering the store before you gave up this information. What would that do to your retail sales?
If you really need to look at geographical distribution, look at your server logs, or run Google Analytics. How many people are living in “A1A 1A1″?
Web Retailing 1.0 at its worst.
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November 13th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Just to spark the conversation … is there an argument that says that the information on the site will be more relevant to me if I enter my postal code? Local sales offered, regional price differences, prices calculated with the local variation on the PST, etc.?
I get the trust argument, but if they were to remove the entry gatekeeper, would Rona.ca go from Web Retailing 1.0 at its worst to something significantly better?
November 14th, 2007 at 10:06 am
There are numerous opportunities on web sites to capture this information - a little AJAX applet under the retail price offering to calculate the full price of an item with local taxes by entering your postal code would be one way. I have no problem being asked for this information, but a) I don’t want to give it up before I see the site and b) don’t make it mandatory - allow me to skip this part.
Postal codes involve thought - there is effort that goes into recalling a postal code. More than recalling a city and province combination.
Also, this information os not retained on the site; when I go to the store finder, I have to do this all over again instead of being offered the three stores closest to me automatically.
I don’t have a problem with being asked for information; I have a problem with how Rona does it.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Fair enough … and, of course, Rona’s not the only one guilty of this. CanadianTire.ca demands a postal code too. I suspect there are others.
If the information isn’t useful in any meaningful or long-term way, why request it? What do the stores get out of it?
(Surely, your tongue is somewhere buried in your cheek when you say that recalling postal codes require thought … your argument is a little more sophisticated than that!)
November 14th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Actually, I’m not tongue-in-cheek when I say that it takes more effort to recall a postal code than a city/province. I’m trying to find the study; I’ll post it when I find it. The best designs are the ones that don’t make you think (hence the title of an excellent usability book: Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think”); thinking drains the goodwill reservoir of the user, and postal codes drain it just a little bit faster.
Stores are doing geographical profiling - finding out where their users are. They probably use this to plan new store openings and so on. They are gathering this information for them; it’s of no use to the web site user, especially if they don’t carry it through the site.
I might look into this further - they might be doing regional pricing like Walmart.com. In any case, it still pisses me off.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
OK … I see your distinction. It’s not that you can’t remember your postal code, or even that you have to think about it. Rather, it’s about not ‘having’ to think. That is a significant difference to me.
As a loyal reader, I’d like to hear more … !
November 14th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I asked Rona why they do this, and got a nice response from a representative:
D. Walker
The postal code is requested to allow us to show you the proper flyer online for your region as well as pricing in the shop section. Availability and pricing can differ from one region to another.
We hope this meets with your expectations.
Regards.
Diane Sauvé
Service à la Clientèle
Customer Service
OK, they use this for regional pricing and flyers. I tried three different postal codes (Calgary AB, Hamilton ON and Fredricton NB) and found no price difference in the flyers or on the site.
Look harder? Nah. But the system’s still a kludge.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Not to belabour this discussion, but I just bought something at HBC.ca. No postal code required for entry. But more impressive was the fact that I could buy something without having to set up an account. This is new for me … most places expect you to register an account with a user name and password before you checkout. Not The Bay. Put in your name, shipping address, credit card and they’ll send you the goods. What a treat.