Unit IV Web Assignment
Advertising is one of the most crucial marketing practices that help organizations influence consumers’ purchasing decisions and build loyalty towards their brands. Among the most common marketing strategies that entities use today is website marketing because of its cost-effectiveness and potential to reach global consumers. However, despite its cost-effectiveness, website advertising’s success depends significantly on its capability to capture potential consumers’ attention and entice them to purchase a product. Therefore, this analysis will compare two clothing company websites, tobi.com and us.asos.com, to identify the characteristics of an effective website design based on different elements such as financial incentives, convenience, and influencing purchasing decisions.
Types of Financial Incentives Offered on Each Company’s Website to Entice Consumers to Purchase
Tobi and Asos are online clothing retailers based in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively. Both companies have a website to advertise their products and allow consumers to place their orders. An analysis of the two companies’ websites reveals that they use financial incentives such as discounts on purchases to encourage consumers to purchase. For example, Asos offers a 25 per cent off sale for its women and men items and brands when consumers use specific codes such as “winners” during purchases (“Asos”, n.d.). Similarly, Tobi offers a 50 per cent off sale for their merchandise (“Tobi”, n.d.). Arguably, the discounts and bonus services provided by the two company websites work as an essential mechanism of enticing consumers to purchase and build brand loyalty.
Besides the financial incentives, one of the company’s websites also offers significant convenience and added value incentives to their online consumers. Some of these conveniences and incentives include bonus services with purchase and shipping services for global consumers. For example, Tobi offers consumers free shipping for goods worth over $75 and a free 10-day return shipping (“Tobi”, n.d.). Arguably, the convenience provided by Tobi encourages consumers to select the company as the first choice for their clothing purchases. Besides, the added value, such as free delivery for goods worth $75 and above, entices consumers to purchase more merchandise to enjoy the free service, increasing the company’s revenue. Conversely, Asos does not offer greater convenience and added value incentives, making it less competitive than Tobi. Therefore, arguably, Tobi is likely a more competitive online cloth retailer than Asos because of the added value and convenience that it offers its consumers.
Overall Effectiveness with Respect to Influencing the Target Market to Purchase
Essentially, Asos and Tobi are effective in influencing their prospective consumers to purchase. The two websites achieve this by having a quality web design. As the literature suggests, the quality of a website design, including the process and architecture, is vital in attracting consumers and enticing a purchase (Ganguly, Dash, Cyr & Head, 2010). Furthermore, both websites use a technical interface instead of employees in their websites, which likely attracts consumers to interact with the site. Besides, the quality web design promotes trust among its consumers, which probably influences them to purchase. Furthermore, the colors, images, sufficient information about their products, new arrivals, and discounts are also among other factors influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions.
However, although Tobi offers added incentives than Asos, the latter’s website appears more effective with respect to influencing the target market to purchase because of the web simplicity. One of the factors that make Tobi’s website less effective is its pop-up ads. Research shows that pop-up ads negatively affect buying decisions and consumers’ purchase intention (Wijaya, Yulianti, Rani & Ekonomi, 2020). In this case, Tobi has a few pop-up windows that prompt consumers to sign up and create an account with the company before reviewing the available products. Unlike Tobi, Asos’s website directs consumers to the home page within the first click, where they can access information on the available products, the former, and discounted prices, and their merchandise varieties. Arguably, consumers are more likely to exit sites that do not direct them to the required information in the first attempt. Therefore, compared to Tobi, Asos is more effective with respect to influencing the target market to purchase because it directs the site visitors to the homepage at the first click.
Comparison of Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Customer Websites
B2B and B2C websites have varying prospective target markets and unique needs. On the one hand, the B2B website targets other businesses while the B2C targets consumers. Therefore, the web design of B2B and B2C websites is likely to differ significantly. For example, a B2B website is likely to have numerous and complex information to give other businesses adequate information of various products and their buying cycles. Conversely, the B2C website is expected to have a simple design that promotes easy usability and appealing visual designs to attract consumers.
Characteristics that Contribute to the Effectiveness of the Website’s Design
Besides the added value, convenience, and financial incentives, numerous features make Tobi and Asos’ website’s design effective. Some of the characteristics include simplicity, navigation, content, and mobile-friendliness. Some of these features, such as mobile friendliness, enable the company to reach out to several consumers, including those that use their mobile devices and laptops in shopping. The two sites are also easy to navigate, allowing the consumers to interact with the content. Besides, the websites use compelling language for their offers, making it easy to entice consumers.
References
“Asos” (n.d.) Asos. Retrieved from https://www.asos.com/us/women/?affid=5497¤cyid=1&channelref=affiliate&pubref=728811&publisher=httpwwwindy100com&awc=5678_1627056591_0da76203a5d0b8ff489e08cbb6992fec
“Tobi” (n.d.). Tobi. Retrieved from https://www.tobi.com/
Ganguly, B., Dash, S.B., Cyr, D., & Head, M.M. (2010). The effects of website design on purchase intention in online shopping: The mediating role of trust and the moderating role of culture. International Journal of Electronic Business, 8(4), 302-330. doi:10.1504/IJEB.2010.035289
Wijaya, V., Yulianti, N.M.D.R., Rani, Y., & Ekonomi, F. (2020). Pop up ads affecting buying decision mediated by purchase intention in online marketplace (Lazada) in Denpasar. Information Technology Journal, 1(1), 33-40. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345615868_Pop_Up_Ads_Affecting_Buying_Decision_Mediated_by_Purchase_Intention_in_Online_Marketplace_Lazada_in_Denpasar