Cyber Monday Alert: No Miracle on Online 34th Street

NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for Cyber Monday, shoppers will learn that purchasing gifts online can be as frustrating as visiting brick-and-mortar stores, according to Siegelvision, a leading brand consultancy and simplification firm. 

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The holiday season's most iconic store, Macy's, comes in for pointed criticism from Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn, principals at Siegelvision, and authors of Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity, (Hachette, April 2013).  Siegel also founded Siegel+Gale, the branding agency known for its work with the NBA, Xerox, American Express, Caterpillar, The Girl Scouts, the IRS and New York University, among others.

"Clutter is a natural enemy of clarity, and Macy's e-commerce site is more confusing than most," said Ms. Etzkorn.  "Their site, macys.com, is unnecessarily complicated with a shopper having to navigate as many as eight screens before an actual transaction page opens. Also, free gifts are displayed as an incentive for the buyer, but it is difficult to understand what merchandise the shopper is actually paying for."

Contrasting this, Ms. Etzkorn cites Heartbreaker Fashion's shopping site, heartbreakerfashion.com, for its minimal visual clutter.  "The sorting options are intelligently laid out, so one could quickly find dresses, for instance, in meaningful categories, such as 'office appropriate,' 'winter,' 'holiday,' etc. There is also a very clear and accessible sizing chart, invaluable when shopping online."

Screen grabs available upon request

Cyber Monday sales last year were approximately $1.5 billion and are expected to rise by double digits again this year.  And according to comScore, final e-commerce spending totals during the 2012 holiday season totaled $42.3 billion.

Siegelvision (www.siegelvision.com) is an independent brand consultancy created by Alan Siegel, a pioneer in branding and corporate identity, to help causes and corporations combat the crises of complexity.  With a commitment to 'clarity above all,' Siegelvision's team of seasoned brand strategists, information designers, graphic designers and customer experience specialists work together to help organizations achieve clarity of purpose, clarity of expression and clarity of experience.

Recent clients include NPR, Hay Group, NYU, Lupus Foundation of America, Urban Institute, Cornell NYC Tech, United Technologies, St. John's College, Phoenix House, John Jay College, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, New York Institute of Technology, Sonifi, AeroVironment, Visuray, and Cornell College of Engineering.

For further information, contact Jeff Graubard ([email protected]) at 212-966-9000.

SOURCE Siegelvision