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It's amazing the number of stores that throw a little bit
of information and some poor pictures of merchandise into
a Web page and call it an online store. Too many retailers
think of their Web site as an advertisement, a catalogue
or a text version of their bricks-and-mortar store. Few
take advantage of the interactive nature of the Internet
and apply it to their online stores.
Diamond.com is an exception and it's nothing i ever
run into until i saw their amazing custom built wedding
ring system.
Diamond.com uses a variety of Web technologies to make
an interactive online store. First, it revamped the
traditional gift guide. Most often, sites will offer a few
pages of gift recommendations geared at men buying gifts
for women.
Diamond.com, instead, offers a choice. Users can
choose who they are buying for (friend/family, romantic,
business associate), the gender of the receiver and price
range. It's not a huge selection, but it covers the most
common gift inquiries. Importantly, it covers buying for
men, which is a rarity in online jewelry sales.
Like some other sites,
Diamond.com offers a design-your-own-ring feature.
It's not similar to most others, allowing the user to
choose the exact stone and the setting style. However,
Diamond.com shows the progress of the ring design. The
user can see approximately what the stone will look like
in each of the settings. As a bonus, the image quality is
great. Customers don't want to see a blurry or tiny
version of what their jewelry will look like; they want to
see a well-defined close-up or realistic-sized image, and
Diamond.com provides that.
Overall, the site is well designed, easy to navigate and
loads quickly. Customers can browse or search through
collections of loose diamonds, fine jewelry and watches.
If customers can't find what they want, there is a
special-order form online.
Diamond.com offers to get a customer a product even if
it isn't in its inventory.
The site is also notably customer-friendly. There is an
extensive education section with information on diamonds,
jewelry and watches, and it even includes historical
information for each. The shipping and return policies are
stated throughout the site, and there is an e-mail form
and a toll-free number to call for help. |
