Website of the Week ANA Sky Shop www.ana.co.jp | |
 | Content (0-4): 1 |
 | Pricing (0-2): 2 |
 | Navigation (0-4): 4 |
 | Style/Design (0-4): 2 |
 | Supplementary information (0-2): 1 |
 | Overall incentive to shop (0-4): 2 |
 | Total (0-20): 12 |
Scoring system explained – click here | |
Website of the Week – ANA Sky Shop
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is Japan’s largest domestic airline and the second largest international airline after Japan Airlines. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and serves 22 international routes.
Established in 1952, ANA’s main international hubs are at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Its main domestic hubs are at Tokyo International Airport, Osaka International Airport, Chubu International Airport and New Chitose Airport.
ANA Sky Shop, the airline’s dedicated duty free shopping website, can be found under the “˜Services’ tab on ANA’s English website, ANA Sky Web. The inflight duty free shopping service is only available on international flights.
Style
Visually, the home page doesn’t excite, despite the use of a fail-safe blue and white colour combination. Aside from those of products, images are used sparingly. Product images are small and cannot be enlarged for a clearer look.
Content and usability
The ANA Sky Shop home page greets users with a series of disclaimers, informing them that certain items are limited in quantity or unavailable on certain routes. There is also a link to view the LAG restrictions. While this is well-intentioned, it deflates the urge to shop, especially since there is a lack of promotions and special offers.
Despite this, the “˜Product List’ that details items with a shortage of stock is updated every two weeks and is still useful information for passengers.
The central image on the home page features a link (“˜To The World’) to a page showcasing local products: “We are pleased to introduce four products from Japan, the country where ANA Sky Shops originated. Selected with utmost care, these products are offered with great confidence.”
The four products presented are a Somès Saddle Men’s Belt (Â¥8,000), made of the highest quality leather; a Hakuhodo Make Up Brush Set 8 (Â¥13,000), jointly developed by Hakuhodo and ANA’s international cabin attendants; Tasaki Sinjyu Micare Pearl Crossing (Â¥14,000), a set of two pendants; and Honkaku Shochu “Katana” (Â¥3,800), Japan’s premier shochu packaged exclusively for ANA.
The product information displayed provides a brief summary of the item but misses out important details such as the volume of the shochu and the types of make-up brushes. Prices are displayed only in Japanese Yen (Â¥). Nevertheless, these local items are a welcome complement to the international brands available onboard.
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The site uses a fail-safe blue-white colour theme but there is a lack of striking images to capture the user’s attention |
The site presents a total of nine shopping categories: New Faces, ANA Selection, Watches, Accessories/Jewellery, General Merchandise, Perfumes, Cosmetics, Liquors/Sweets/Cigarettes, and Scarf/Necktie. They can be accessed from ANA Sky Shop’s main page by clicking on the tabbed links under the central image.
The New Faces section features the latest products, including cigars (Davidoff Exquisitos, Â¥2,900), jewellery (Tiffany & Co Atras Cube Pendant, Â¥19,300), fragrances (Hermès Kelly Caleche edt 50ml, Â¥9,300), cosmetics (Clinique Fresh Bloom All Over, Â¥3,200), skincare (Guerlain Super Aqua-Day, Â¥5,200), watches (Bvlgari B zero 1 Black 22mm, Â¥170,000), shawls (Etro Calcutta Shawl Yama, Â¥15,500) and ties (Ferragamo Necktie Dog, Â¥15,000). A total of 30 products are listed.
Items are displayed in rows of five, along with its corresponding product code and image, inflight retail price (in Yen), and domestic retail price in Japan. The inclusion of domestic prices is a good reminder of the savings made shopping onboard.
Images cannot be enlarged and unlike the local product showcase, there are no product descriptions. Users are also not given the choice to pre-order.
Navigating to other categories is easy, given that category links are located at the top of the page. Similarly, to return to the home page, just click the “˜In-Flight Duty-Free top’ link below the plane image. As all the products are listed on a single page and pre-order is unavailable, little navigation (and clicking) is needed.
The ANA Selection section lists 32 premium items, with price points ranging from ¥5,000 (US$46) to ¥192,000 (US$1,777). The list includes fine jewellery (Tiffany & Co 1837 Diamond Element Single Drop Pendant, ¥122,600), designer handbags (Ferragamo Gancio Logo Hand Bag, ¥49,000) and watches (Bvlgari Solotempo 37mm, ¥160,000).
The Watches section features 11 products, with brands such as Baume & Mercier, TAG-Heuer, Aigner, Folli Follie, Longines and Swatch.
Eleven items are also listed in Accessories/Jewellery, including necklaces set with diamonds and pearls. Prices points range from ¥4,900 (US$45) to ¥66,000 (US$611).
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The four local products in the special showcase are a welcome complement to the international brands available |
The Perfumes section only lists six items, ranging from classics such as Chanel No 5 (Â¥8,300) to new formulations such as Fragonard’s range of cream perfumes (Â¥3,400). Also included are miniatures sets from Yves Saint Laurent (Baby Doll 4 Stories, Â¥3,900) and Bvlgari (Â¥4,100).
Cosmetics has a comparatively wider selection of products – 26 – with prices ranging from Â¥2,800 (Origins Peace of Mind Trio) to Â¥13,100 (Chanel Ultra Correction Nuit Crème 50g).
Shoppers will find a fair choice of brands here, including Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Christian Dior, Clinique, Lancôme, Clarins and L’Occitane. The selection seems to focus more on lip products (four lipstick sets, two lip gloss sets and one lip palette) and carries only one mascara (Lancôme Duo Virtuose, Â¥5,400).
ANA Sky Shop carries a good selection of high quality items in its dedicated Scarf/Necktie section, a reflection of its corporate passenger profile. A total of 19 skus are presented, from brands such as Ferragamo, Ermenegildo Zegna, Bvlgari, Dunhill and Hermès, a brand coveted for its silk scarves. The lowest price point is Â¥12,000 for the Hermès Twilly Scarf while the highest is Â¥36,500 for the Hermès Project Carres Scarf.
Some 13 items are found under Liquors/Sweets/Cigarettes, a section usually separately presented on other sites. Seven of these are liquors, and include Chivas Regal 12yo (Â¥1,700) and 18yo (Â¥5,800), Royal Salute 21yo (Â¥9,800) and Ballantine’s 30yo (Â¥30,000). The three cigarette skus available – Marlboro Lights, Mild Seven Lights and Super Lights – cost about an average of Â¥1,000 cheaper than those sold in the domestic market.
The remaining three items are chocolate truffles (Godiva nine-piece Luxury Gift Box, ¥2,800), candy (Anis De Flavigny Candy Set, ¥2,400) and teabags (Fauchon Teabag Assortment, ¥3,000).
General Merchandise comprises 23 items that don’t seem to fit under any of the other categories but make good gifts nevertheless. Cashmere mufflers from Fendi, Dunhill and Morgan & Oates (Â¥15,000-25,000), leather wallets, ballpoint pens from Montblanc (Â¥29,800-33,500), coin purses in baby pink and blue, teddy bear mugs and toys, a 512MB memory stick and ANA model planes are some of the items available.
Overall, there is room for improvement. The ability for online pre-order and the use of better quality, enlargeable images and the inclusion of product descriptions are some ways to significantly enhance the shopping experience. Several spelling mistakes were also found, but these can be easily corrected.
The provision of a more well-balanced product assortment and better categorisation, as well as the provision of a search facility, will allow passengers to find desired products easily. The site can also use animation and more striking images to better engage the user as well as to create a stronger brand image.
What we like:
• The local products showcase
• Neat layout
• Easy navigation
• Supplementary information such as LAG restrictions and domestic retail prices
What needs improving/adding:
• Ability to pre-order
• Stronger Sense of Place and branding
• Search facility
• Bigger and clearer product images
• Product descriptions
• Spelling
Website of the week scoring system explained:
Content: How wide is the range of items on offer? Are there good quality photos and product descriptions?
Pricing: Are product prices listed? For all products?
Navigation: How easy is the site to use?
Style/Design: How does the site look?
Supplementary information: On allowances, currencies, after-sales service, useful tips and so on.
Overall incentive to shop: This includes tone, promotions, offers, competitions and, importantly, pre-order.
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PREVIOUS WEBSITES OF THE WEEK
Website of the Week: Air Transat Duty Free Boutique – 21/02/08
Website of the Week: DFS Galleria.com- 14/02/08
