Good design adds value to consumer products as well as to the Web sites that sell them. How? By positioning the brand to have a higher perceived value among consumers, which increases demand while building a community of brand enthusiasts. In the case of e-commerce Web sites, good design is also essential in creating an easy, stress-free shopping or banking experience that consumers will want to repeat.
Case in point: Ikea. The Sweden-based purveyor of knock-down furniture and accessories commands a global community of consumers who line the streets and camp out for days to be among the first inside for the grand opening of new stores. Why? Since its inception, Ikea has hired world-renowned furniture designers to create stylish contemporary pieces based upon how people will use them in real life, and which are also affordable and (generally) easy to assemble.
This approach allows consumers to own furniture that transcends the typical, anonymous assemble-it-yourself particle board casegoods from discount stores. Buying Ikea provides the satisfaction of outfitting a lifestyle based upon sophisticated design, and doing so on a budget. The brand’s commitment to building good design into Ikea’s DNA is paying off with success in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.
As BusinessWeek writer Kerry Capell observed, “Perhaps more than any other company in the world, Ikea has become a curator of people's lifestyles, if not their lives. At a time when consumers face so many choices for everything they buy, Ikea provides a one-stop sanctuary for coolness.”
In adding value to Web sites, truly good design extends from aesthetics into the shopping experience itself. Ikea carries through with a Web site that represents its design and lifestyle sensibilities to bring the Ikea experience online. Easy to navigate through intuitively placed headers and icons, the site allows visitors one-click access to every product category. Shopping and customer support options are along the top of the navigation bar so visitors don’t have to search around the Home page for access to needed features.
The online shopping process is easy to understand and quick. When the item is selected for purchase, the shopper is given the option to order online, or purchase at their nearest store. The online ordering form is clear, concise and designed to eliminate confusion as to whether the order was placed (a procedure that isn’t always obvious on some e-commerce sites).
So whether your brand has a sticks-and-bricks home, or is strictly online, good design is essential in creating the added value that inspires consumers to choose it over the competition – and in creating the online ordering experience that will have customers eagerly coming back instead of abandoning their shopping cart in frustration.