IT'S NOT GREAT - AND IT'S NOT UNIVERSAL
 Dec 22nd, 2001
Advantages:
20% off first order
Disadvantages:
Sloooooooooooow
Recommendable:
No
Detailed rating:
Layout & Design
Navigation
Quality of the Content
Products & Services Pricing
Security & Privacy Statement
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  LostWitness
About me:
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
Member since:15.07.2000
Reviews:694
Members who trust:829
Review rated by 73 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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One of the most difficult tasks facing modern retailers is managing the conversion from offline shopping to online shopping – or eTail as it has become known. This is an equally difficult task for the catalogue shops – but in all cases there are great benefits to be had for both the retailer and the customer. Great Universal, a retail company based in Lancashire, have been involved in catalogue shopping for many years now – as a catalogue brand, they are one of the most widely known in the market. One of the difficulties that they face is therefore trying to convince the youth of today that they have products of interest to them – without losing the customers they’ve collected previously. Their new online shopping outlet shows great potential – but also demonstrates one of the key pitfalls that catalogue shopping companies face in the migration to online offerings.
Appearance
======== The home page has a very simple layout, with functional menus across the top and a shopping menu to the left hand side of the page. This is not a site that will instantly attract your attention - the colour scheme is relatively bland and uninspiring, and graphics are used to very limited effect. The livery and design is very much in keeping with the catalogue design – and is therefore rather in need of an upgrade. Furthermore, when browsed using Internet Explorer, the whole page content is justified towards the top of the screen – so you get this burning desire to keep scrolling down, when in fact there is nothing to scroll down to.
It is worth pointing out that when you visit the site for the first time, various introductory offers are emblazoned in front of you (such as a discounted first order). Once you have registered (and the cookies have done their thing) the site recognises you are existing customer, and removes these offers from the browser. What do they sell?
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Great Universal sell a wide range of goods – their online catalogue is quite extensive, and features a full range of : Womenswear
Menswear
Sports and Leisure Goods
Household Goods
Audio Visual Entertainment
Toys and Games
Jewellery
They sell a good selection of popular brands – within the clothing department, the brands on offer are relatively main stream but
for example, the menswear stocked includes Peter Werth, Diesel, Kangol and Levi’s clothes. Within the electrical items, I spotted Sony, Goodman’s, Samsung and Philips amongst the brands. I don’t believe that Great Universal stocks any particularly exclusive items – but the appeal is very broad and very main stream. Unlike the normal catalogue, there is also a section for sale items and special offers – online shoppers will always have access to the latest deals by browsing here.
Registration and Log-In
================= One of the key advantages that Great Universal can offer is in fact one of the most popular principles of catalogue shopping. As a registered customer, you can browse and place orders on line, and then make payments in interest free instalments. This is a great bonus for customers who do not have – or would prefer not to use – a credit card. When you complete the registration process, you will be asked whether you wish to open a credit account, or settle using a credit card – of course, should you choose the former, you can always settle in full at a later date anyway. I chose this option, mainly because I wanted to see how it worked. When registering, please be advised that the site conducts a full credit reference check there and then – so if you aren’t allowed a credit card for any reason, it’s quite possible that you won’t be allowed a credit account with the store. I was accepted immediately, and the whole process took no longer than five minutes.
When you subsequently log in to the site, you will need a unique reference number. This is NOT emailed to you upon registration, and you will have to wait for your first invoice or statement to arrive before you get this number. Once you have it, this, plus your postcode and email address will be required each time you log in. Security tightens even further if you subsequently wish to access your full account details, when you will be asked to supply another password. This password is sent through the post, further delaying things for new customers. I personally feel that the level of security is exhaustive – why is a user name and password not enough? As a seasoned online shopper, the Great Universal site has one of the tardiest logging in procedures that I have encountered – and this would potentially put me off managing my account online. I have no doubt whatsoever that anyone not used to shopping online would be put off by this site. Furthermore, at log in you are prompted to state how you wish to be addressed – whatever you choose is ignored anyway.
Online Account Management
===================== Once you have fought your way through the logging in procedure, the following functions may be administered online:
Check Account Balance
Request Cash back
View Statements
Display item history (orders, returns etc)
Make card payments These options are presented in a smaller, pop-up window, that contains no other information apart from these options in a simple blue menu. The account management system is very easy to use – and virtually self-explanatory – though access to help information is limited. If there is something that you don’t understand in the account management section, you are prompted to email customer support. A list of FAQs could probably make things easier all round. There is a very thorough Help Guide (including FAQs) but this is linked from the home page – the account management section opens as a new window and is not directly linked to the help guide.
Ordering goods is a very simple task – a simple shopping basket facility is provided and you add/subtract items and checkout in a similar way to any other site – except the items are added to your account (providing you have chosen this option). Browsing the Site
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I have always found the site easy to navigate, and when looking for specific items have had no problems. You can carry out a search using keywords (e.g. jumper, Diesel) or if you have the paper catalogue, you can search by catalogue number. The search engine runs relatively quickly, and will display all relevant goods in a logical format. That aside, when choosing key words, be as specific as possible. Diesel plus Menswear for instance, would restrict your search more efficiently. Browsing the site using the menus is just as easy – if not a little bit time consuming. Each of the main headings is split into further sub menus – and then into a further set of sub-menus. This means that unless you have a 100% accurate idea of where your chosen product is located, you would be better advised to use the search engine. When searching, you can also drill down through a list of products to select those of a certain price or colour – which will tailor the items found even more to your requirements.
One of the big issues that a site such as this faces, is the concept of impulse shopping. The site carries such a large range and number of goods, that browsing can become an exhaustive task. Furthermore, unlike the traditional paper catalogues, each item is shown with a very separate picture to any other item. So it’s unlikely, for instance, that you might go to the trainers, and find some jeans you like the look of. Many catalogue shoppers like shopping from a catalogue because you can do it at leisure with a cup of tea – the web site fails to emulate this ability, and quickly becomes a very functional task. The pictures tend to be very small, so that they can get a lot on one page, which means that you have to keep drilling down and selecting them individually to get a decent look. The speed of page loading is such that even the most seasoned shopaholic will grow tired of this. The company therefore have something of an uphill struggle to get the site to be as tempting as the paper catalogue – and certainly need to work harder in this area. Delivery and Returns
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A distinct advantage on other sites here – all deliveries and returns are free. Deliveries are made using a parcel courier, and returns can be made this way, or via the Post Office. What’s more – the free delivery is within a 48 hour period (according to time of day ordered and as long as the item isn’t too big). Delivery documentation is excellent – very user-friendly and very simple to understand. My only gripe is that the portion of the delivery note required for you to get proof of return is very small – and very easy to lose. One of the advantages to ordering online is that the system is cleansed nightly of items that are currently out of stock – which means that if you can see it on the site, then chances are you will be able to get it – something that is definitely not the case with the traditional paper catalogues. Pricing
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Catalogue shopping is traditionally more expensive than anywhere else – all those apparently free extras such as free delivery and spread payment plans are all built into the prices charged. Registered members are entitled to cash back on all purchases – so prices will always be at least enough to cover that. That aside, the prices are considerably more than you would pay elsewhere – a Play Station 2 is £100 more than in Woolworth’s! This is something that Great Universal need to examine closely. High street retailers save a lot of costs by conducting business online – the catalogue companies don’t stand to save as much, but still need to be competitive. At the moment they aren’t – and this will put a lot of people off. Customer Service
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I have mixed experiences. Very often, when calling the help line, you get a recorded message saying everyone is busy, which then cuts you off. I would prefer to get in a queue – but as the number is not free I suppose they think this would be the more popular options. When I placed my first order, I wasn’t very happy with the item and subsequently returned it. Four days later, I received a call from customer services, regarding the return, to enquire whether I was happy with the service I had received. The advisor was impressively helpful – even offering to ensure the 20% introductory discount was re-applied to my account to make sure I received it. Small touches – but as a new customer, personal attention is always welcomed and I was very impressed.
I also receive special offers and news via email – which I much prefer to getting loads of unsolicited paper mail and leaflets. The Top 5 Benefits of Shopping Online
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1 – 20% discount off first order. 2 – 12.5% cash back on all orders (it’s 10% through the catalogue)
3 – Ability to identify whether items are in stock 4 – Keep up to date with sale items and special offers
5 – No unwanted junk mail The Bottom 5 Drawbacks of Shopping Online
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1 – Site is relatively slow to load – browsing can be tiresome 2 – Pictures of items are small – you have to drill right down to see them properly.
3 - Prices are very non-competitive compared to other online retailers. 4 – Security is rather excessive
5 – Web site design is uninspiring to look through My Verdict
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I’ve been impressed with the level of service, and I think the delivery process is much better than many online retailers. The site is hard work to use though – the range of items is good – and will appeal to most people in some shape or form – but the whole process is very task-orientated. I doubt Great Universal make much money through impulse purchasing on this site. I shall continue to keep my account open, as I may be able to take advantage of special offers or sale items. I would not shop regularly here though – it’s just too much hard work, and it’s too expensive to justify. Not recommended.
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03.02.2002 17:20
Fantastic op - very thorough. Jess x
11.01.2002 08:08
My mother runs a Kays catalogue (same company) and they are dire. I think a better, more universal title for an opinion on Great Universal would be "shite". There's nothing great although the service is universally bad. Marty :)
05.01.2002 17:59
I used the site once for ordering my Christmas presents not last year but year before (2000!). I found it the same then as now! I also have the catalogue where as the telephone service is excellent and their prices are better than my other catalogue getting through and delivery times are appaling! Great op as usual Squidget :o)