Saturday, August 23, 2008
Online Shopping Site Review (Adila)
the website that i've chosen is studiofrost.livejournal.com
this site may be unfamiliar to those outside of the malay community here in singapore
this is because the owner of the online boutique is a SURIA channel artiste
her name is nurul aini and she's mostly the model for her clothes
she's an actress of great calibre and has set up this boutique somewhere around late last year
the reason i chose this site is because i have made purchases from here before and i do find the site reliable
let's start on my review
here we go
:)
(click on pictures on enlarge)
1. TARGET AUDIENCE
as mentioned above, it is pretty obvious that the target audience for this online boutique is the malay female community
most of her fans are aware of her online business and do spread the word with their family and friends
however, i do believe there are buyers from other races/ ethnic groups too because the items on sale are all suitable for ladies in general
popularity rating: 2/5 stars
target audience constrained to local malay ladies, should consider media advertising to target other races
2. VARIETY
the boutique has a unique style of marketing their clothes
updated on a weekly basis, the items on sale are usually grouped together by themes
yeap, thematic approach people
below is the sidebar from the website indicating previous themes that have been used
this site may be unfamiliar to those outside of the malay community here in singapore
this is because the owner of the online boutique is a SURIA channel artiste
her name is nurul aini and she's mostly the model for her clothes
she's an actress of great calibre and has set up this boutique somewhere around late last year
the reason i chose this site is because i have made purchases from here before and i do find the site reliable
let's start on my review
here we go
:)
(click on pictures on enlarge)
1. TARGET AUDIENCE
as mentioned above, it is pretty obvious that the target audience for this online boutique is the malay female community
most of her fans are aware of her online business and do spread the word with their family and friends
however, i do believe there are buyers from other races/ ethnic groups too because the items on sale are all suitable for ladies in general
popularity rating: 2/5 stars
target audience constrained to local malay ladies, should consider media advertising to target other races2. VARIETY
the boutique has a unique style of marketing their clothes
updated on a weekly basis, the items on sale are usually grouped together by themes
yeap, thematic approach people
below is the sidebar from the website indicating previous themes that have been used
other than having the thematic approach for clothes, they also have accessories and shoes for sale
however, the updates for new shoes and accessories are pretty rare
here are the types of tops that they offer
not much choices as seen from the example that i've extracted from the sitetops for sale are limited to blouses, cocktail dresses and maxi dresses
to elaborate on how measurements of tops are taken, studiofrost placed it in the FAQ section
there are a variety of prints and colour for each theme as seen in the picture below, a little consolation there
as of late, the clothes do come with the fabric type/ content
i have showed examples of the labels on the above pictures
seen above, the bargain bin section sells 2nd hand items which are still in good quality, as promised on the website
an interesting part of the website would be the babyfrost section
since the target audience are mostly ladies, the probability of them being mothers are pretty high
therefore, babyfrost sells baby apparels and accessories meant for the little ones
babyfrost section is usually updated on a monthly basis
here's a collage of some of the itemsmy personal favourite would be the rompers and colourful leg warmers
:)
variety rating: 4/5 stars
they should consider introducing the sale of pants/ bottoms3. AVAILABILITY
judging from the quick response rate from the buyers, clothes can get out of stock pretty fast
from personal experience, i saw a dress from the collection that i really like on wednesday night
when i finally decide to make my purchase on thursday afternoon, it's SOLD OUT
so i guess the stocks are pretty limited
approximately 5 pieces/ pattern
availability rating: 2/5 stars
should increase the stock size to cater to larger number of buyers4. PURCHASE/ PAYMENT
at the end of every new entry, this box will appear for interested buyers
as stated in the picture above, purchases can be made by leaving a comment on the entry stating the item of interest, name of buyer and email add
potential buyers may post as many questions as they need via email to help them in the decision making process
the down side of this online boutique would be the payment method
there is only one mode of payment for buyers, which is by bank account transfer
studiofrost uses DBS Savings Plus account and that in itself is a constraint
buyers would need to have an ibanking account to be able to immediately confirm payment via email with the reference number of transaction
from personal experience, my emails were replied almost immediately
that made everything so much easier as they can confirm my payment without me wondering where my money got transferred to
:)
studiofrost will entertain both registered and normal postage
buyers will pay $2 for normal postage while registered postage costs an additional $2.42
for example,
1. normal postage
that made everything so much easier as they can confirm my payment without me wondering where my money got transferred to
:)
studiofrost will entertain both registered and normal postage
buyers will pay $2 for normal postage while registered postage costs an additional $2.42
for example,
1. normal postage
item cost: $38
normal postage cost: $2
total cost: $40
2. registered postage
item cost: $38
registered postage cost: $2 + $2.42
total cost: $42.24
normal postage cost: $2
total cost: $40
2. registered postage
item cost: $38
registered postage cost: $2 + $2.42
total cost: $42.24
upon confirmation of purchase and paymentstudiofrost will mail out the item asap
buyers can expect to receive the item within 2-3 working days
i've ordered a dress on monday and received it by wednesday
i call that efficiency
:)
a sample of the packaging through registered mail will look like this
payment and purchase rating: 3/5 stars
should include more payment methods to suit international buyers, should there be any5. REDRESS
unfortunately, studiofrost have a non-refundable/returnable policy which disallows buyers to exchange purchases should they not like ithowever, buyers are encouraged to ask studiofrost as many questions/queries before confirming their order to avoid post-purchase regret
redress rating: 0/5 stars
non-exchangeable policy is rather inconvenient for the buyer, perhaps studiofrost could reconsider it6. RELIABILITY
stated above are the testimonials from satisfied buyersi do consider myself as one of the buyers that has a positive point of view for studiofrost
reliability rating: 4/5 stars
7. REWARDS
one of the perks for studiofrost fans is vying for a position in buyer of the month
as stated in the picture, buyer of the month will receive 10% off their next purchase item PLUS a mystery gifti do find that this reward is a good incentive for avid online shoppers like me
perks rating: 5/5 stars
8. OTHERS
coming soon for studiofrost is...
studiofrost.net i view this as a stepping stone for a more reputable growth
9. PERSONAL VIEWS
i didn't have much difficulty browsing through the site and i do enjoy the unique thematic approach that's being used
everything on the site are organized and arranged in a systematic manner which entails easy navigation
i would however prefer if studiofrost included a wider range of clothing like pants/ bottoms or accessories like belts, earrings, bangles et cetera
studiofrost could also offer more modes of payments for the buyers for example:
`MASTER
`VISA
`Credit cards
`Paypal
and finally the issue on redress, studiofrost should allow slight leniency on at least the exchange of sizes/ colours of sold items
i would strongly recommend other online shoppers to consider this online boutique for their sprees
overall experience @ studiofrost rating: 4/5 stars
HAPPY SHOPPING LADIES!
:)
print screened photos are copyrights from studiofrost.livejournal.com
collages are copyrights of entry author
xoxocollages are copyrights of entry author
-d|La
Labels: clothing and textiles
Adila walked on the sunny side♥.
12:00 AM.
12:00 AM.