Is the User Experience (UX) of the Havaianas US website as enthusiastic as this brand?
Sorry, the answer is NO.
To begin with, please tell me what your impressions of Havaianas are?
Some of you may have no clue about this brand, but I think it’s easy to find some keywords from the poster above.
Colorful, happy, enthusiastic, summer, and fun.
Exactly! This is my previous impression of Havaianas and my expectation of its website before I visit. With my imagination that I may have the impulsion to buy a colorful flip-flop through its website, rush to the beach, ignore the cold weather and the gloomy atmosphere of Covid-19, enjoy a bright and happy vacation.
However, the real experience of the Havaianas US website is … far away from my imagination.
It’s not an enthusiastic experience; on the contrary, it’s awful and dull.
Functional but not useful: the feeling of the Havaianas US website’s UX.
When I open the official website of Havaianas US, I am disappointed. Although the website's UI is neat and consistent with the brand, I am quite questioned about its content structure. No stories, no conversations; the only content there is product information. Every product exhibits there and says, “Hey, I am for women,” “Hey, I am the best selling,” but can you feel the impulsion to “buy them”? Totally not.
Suppose the purpose of Havaianas US’s website is to give the customer a comfortable purchase experience. I have to admit that this website made it (but the presupposition is that the customers are well educated about the products they want to buy). It only took three steps to purchase: Get to the website, find the product and choose the size, then make the payment. The process is relatively simple and convenient. This way works well when the website is integrated with Havaianas’s social media platforms (it has done well), providing more detailed stories and inspiring content of the brand and products.
But what if I am a new customer of Havaianas US? Imagine that I want to buy a pair of shoes for my vacation and have heard Havaianas from my friends, so I search the brand want for more information from the website. I’ve seen flip-flops, sandals, and espadrilles on the website, but which type is more fittable for my trip? There are also lots of lovely patterns for different kinds of shoes, and each one looks great, but which is more close to my needs? Even if I’ve found my favorite shoes, I could get confused about which size to choose since the size chart only provides little information. Every question I’ve mentioned above can make the customer get fatigued about this purchase journey and leave without buying anything. From this view, I could tell that the conversion rate will be meager.
Moreover, Havaianas US’s website on the mobile device has the same design and structure as the desktop one. But with even more terrible performing in terms of speed.
To sum up, I need to shout at Havaianas US to pay more attention to its website's user experience:(
Finally, something is interesting…
As a customer, I would give up the exploration at this point and leave the website with a negative impression of Havaianas. But as a marketer, I try to find something impressive on the website.
…And I made it!
Scrolling to the bottom of the website, I’ve found a small icon with “Our Story.” The link has taken me not only to the introduction of Havaianas history but also the global website of this brand, which is much better than the US one. A description of “why you need Havaianas” at the middle of the page, and with more detailed information about different types of shoes, now I get the answer that if I want a more elegant and feminine one, I should choose sandals than flip-flops.
More surprising, there is also an AI Chatbot at the corner of the website!
The AI Chatbot quickly solves my confusion that I’ve discussed above with detailed information, humanlike language, and an enthusiastic tone (like the brand character)! Moreover, if I still have questions about the size or other stuff, I can choose to talk with a sales advisor online. That’s really helpful to guide me to the final purchase.
In conclusion…
In the time of coronavirus, more and more customers choose home delivery than the onsite stores. Brands must obtain more customers online and provide them with valuable and memorable UX through the website.
In my opinion, Havaianas US has failed to set its website to serve its customers well. It’s regretful for such a great brand with excellent products to lose their customers if they have an unpleasant online experience. Havaianas US should redesign its website structure and provide more valuable content and helpful information to win more customers’ hearts.
As a fan of Havaianas, I am looking forward them to polishing up the website:)
