Best Buy Mobile Site Review
Woah there! This post is pretty old and will likely contain dated information and opinions that have changed.
In my previous blog post, I discussed if apps were really needed for e-commerce on the iPhone. It seemed to me that retailers should instead focus on making their websites more usable for customers using mobile phones. In my research I had only really looked at UK sites. When looking further afield, it would seem the US are way ahead of the game.
The Best Buy US mobile site is a fully transactional, mobile version of the full site with some features you wouldn’t normally expect on a mobile device.
Homepage
The header features a basket icon, indicating that the site is transactional and not just for browsing. There is also a clear link to a store locator which has geolocation support – perfect if you are actually mobile.
Right underneath the header is a search field, for those who know exactly what they are looking for. Especially useful if you wish to compare prices whilst you’re out shopping.
One of the things that first takes your eye is the large slideshow which has a great horizontal slide transition. I was disappointed that you can’t navigate to each slide, via a swipe gesture though. You have to wait until it was visible and then tap it.
Probably my favourite part of the homepage was the faux dropdown for browsing categories. Excellent iconography and design makes this page clearer and easier to use than many other sites.
Browsing and Navigation
Best Buy have really taken advantage of the fact they sell, on the whole, electrical devices that have a list of specifications e.g. screen size, megapixels, memory etc. You can refine your results by many criteria, but clear expandable menus mean you never really feel as if things are cluttered.
Incredibly, you can also compare 2 similar products side-by-side. This works much better than you might expect on such a small screen. It really made buying decisions that much easier and enjoyable.
Product pages
This is where it becomes clear that there is definitely a focus on collecting in store. The information on the first page is dominated by information on where and when items can be picked up. As a result, the “add to cart” button isn’t even immediately visible.
The enlarged product image was also only around twice as big and had no alternate images. This would likely prevent me from making a buying decision.
Further down the page, however, there are comprehensive details including an overviews, customer reviews (with sort options) and specifications.
It’s also possible to email or text the product details to yourself or a friend, which is very useful if you want to continue shopping when you get to a PC.
Shopping Cart and Checkout
The basket page is informative and well laid out, although if you don’t scroll down you may miss some obvious features, such as update quantity, recommended accessories and store pickup (if you somehow managed to miss it on the product detail page!)
The checkout itself is all fairly standard and clear enough to proceed without too many issues. Shipping options and the final total are all well laid out. There is even some nice informative graphics for those trying to pay with gift vouchers etc.
Summary
I was really impressed with what Best Buy have achieved on a mobile device without relying on an iPhone app. It’s probably the best e-commerce experience I’ve had on my phone and almost preferable to using the full site.
I think it’s let down by not having better product images and limited touch gesture support (swipe, pinch etc). The footer is also a bit bloated and fiddly – Amazon seem to have got this right.
With half a dozen stores in the UK already, a great brand and some awesome innovations, I can see Best Buy becoming a big success over here and I look forward to being able to use a UK version of the mobile site.