 | Content (0-4): 3 |
 | Pricing (0-2): 2 |
 | Navigation (0-4): 2.5 |
 | Style/Design (0-4): 3 |
 | Supplementary information (0-2): 1.5 |
 | Overall incentive to shop (0-4): 3 |
 | Total (0-20): 15 |
Scoring system explained – click here | |
Website of the week – Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, is an award-winning airline and one of the fastest growing carriers in the world. Based in Doha International Airport, the airline operates flights to over 80 destinations across America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Far East.
STYLE
Qatar Airways’ duty free offer is one of the many services found on the airline’s main website. The duty free page can be accessed via “˜The Experience’ section on the navigation panel on the homepage, under the “˜Onboard’ sub-section.
Information, images and links are neatly displayed on the homepage in boxed sections. Links to the various sections and pages found on the website are neatly categorised as well. By running the cursor over the various sections on the navigation panel at the top of the page, a drop-down menu displaying the sub-sections for that particular section appears.
The airline’s website adopts a colour theme of grey, white and dark purple – matching Qatar Airways’ corporate identity – which is elegant and pleasant to the eye at the same time.
CONTENT AND USABILITY
Qatar Airways’ duty free selection is offered online via a PDF version of its inflight duty free catalogue. An introduction to the airline’s duty free service and a link to download the PDF catalogue is found on the website’s duty free page.
The airline invites its passengers to indulge in “a bit of retail therapy” on “what is surely to be an enjoyable and memorable flight” with the wide selection of brands and products available, including both the “latest and timeless classics”.
An impressive 127-page duty free catalogue is offered, featuring attractive and colourful full-page advertisements effectively distributed alongside products from the relevant category.
There are a total of seven product categories namely Ladies Fragrances, Cosmetics, Skincare & Nails, Arabic Fragrances, Gents Fragrances, Jewellery & Watches, Travel Accessories, Kids & Souvenirs and Cigarettes & Liquor. We like the fact that fragrances for men and women are organised as two separate categories, which makes browsing easier and more specific.
Products are displayed by categories and each item is accompanied by the product image, brand and product name, size/quantity, product description in four languages – a detailed one in English and brief ones in Arabic, Japanese and Chinese – and price in Qatari riyal and US dollars. Items are also boldly labelled in red as “˜New’, “˜Exclusive’, “˜Bestseller’ or “˜First airline in the world to offer’ where applicable – a good way to pique the passenger’s interest.
Product images are of a good size and quality, providing a fairly good view of the product details.
Products are grouped by brand within each category but the brands are not arranged in alphabetical order. However, all the brands available under each category are listed on the bottom right of every page. The brands that are featured on a particular page will be highlighted on the list, giving passengers a brief overview of the page contents and making it easier to locate the brands.
A pre-order service for duty free items is offered by the airline. Passengers are reminded, both on the website and in the catalogue, that not all products displayed in the catalogue can be provided onboard at all times due to space constraints. They are therefore encouraged to make use of the pre-order service to reserve items to be delivered to them onboard their flight.
Passengers can browse through the online catalogue and pre-order items before their flight by submitting their orders and personal and flight details via e-mail or fax. They can also pre-order items that are unavailable while onboard by requesting a pre-order form from the cabin crew, to receive the items onboard their next flight. Order must be submitted at least 72 hours in advance.
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Qatar Airways’ homepage features an elegant colour theme and an organised navigation panel with drop-down menus |
Product selection
“˜Ladies Fragrances’ is the largest category in the catalogue, spanning 17 pages and featuring 39 items in total. As promised, many new products are featured including new scents from Estée Lauder, Escada, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Bvlgari, Chloe, Narciso Rodriguez and Dsquared².
A good selection of 11 pages of cosmetics and skincare products is available as well. Cosmetics range from popular brands like Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Guerlain, Revlon, Dior and Benefit and skincare products from Biotherm, La Prairie, Clarins and Clinique.
“˜Arabic Fragrances’ is a two-page category that offers four scents for men and women from Amouage and House of Designer Shaik.
Under “˜Gents Fragrances’, a total of 24 men’s perfumes are available including brands like Kenzo, Mont Blanc, Bvlgaru, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Davidoff. New scents such as 1 Million by Paco Rabanne (US$66) and travel retail exclusives from Jo Malone are offered as well.
“˜Jewellery & Watches’ features sports and casual watches for men and dress watches for women from brands such as Folli Follie, Swatch, Misaki, Equss and Lambretta. Necklaces, earrings, bangles, rings and jewellery gift sets from well-known brands like Toscow, Swarovski, Jakk, Antica Murrina and Ella Morissa are available as well. Prices range from US$99 for a Swatch Luludia watch to US$575 for a TX 800 Series: Linear Chronograph watch and US$30 for an Ella Morissa Dual Tone Bangle Set to US$185 for a Swarovski Kauri Necklace.
“˜Travel Accessories, Kids & Souvenirs’ features a variety of items such as writing instruments, wallets, headphones and cuff links. In addition, useful travel accessories such as personal travel navigators, travel adaptors, passport holders, travel locks and battery-operated shavers are offered. Also listed under this category are children’s toys, watches and perfumes as well as Qatar Airways souvenirs such as aircraft models and playing cards.
Four types of cigarettes from Marlboro, Dunhill and Benson & Hedges and Scotch whiskies, Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker are available under “˜Cigarettes & Liquor’.
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The duty free page welcomes passengers with a friendly message and a link to download the catalogue |
Information
Important information on duty free shopping is briefly mentioned on the website’s duty free page and covered in detail on the first two pages of the catalogue. Passengers will find useful information regarding payment, purchasing, products and exchanges.
Passengers can also access the “˜Help’ section on the main website for comprehensive information and FAQs related to air travel in general. Important information regarding baggage allowances and LAGs are covered as well. We feel that it would be useful if information on duty free allowances is also included.
Noteworthy features
Members of the Qatar Airways frequent flyer programme “˜Privilege Club’ have an incentive to shop duty free as they will receive 2 Qmiles (reward miles) for every $1 spent.
There are certain features on the airline’s main website that might be useful to the passenger as well.
A “˜Google custom search’ function located on the navigation panel allows visitors to search for information on the airline’s website via key words.
We are impressed with the “˜Contact Us’ section of the website, with its dedication to customer service. The following message to passengers is featured: “Our aim is that you receive genuine service and hospitality from Qatar Airways – a service that is personalised and tailored to your needs. We would like to know how well we achieve this, and truly welcome your views.”
Contact details of the airline’s worldwide offices are listed. There is also a dropdown menu featuring a comprehensive list of query topics such as Local Qatar Airways Office, Website Feedback, Privilege Club, Existing Reservation and Refund Request. Clicking on each of the topics will either display the required information or a relevant contact/feedback form that can be submitted online.
There is also a “˜Passenger Survey’ link on the “˜Contact Us’ page but at the time of viewing, an error page stating that the page cannot be found is displayed.
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The attractive duty free catalogue features an effective usage of product images and advertisements | |
NAVIGATION
Apart from locating the duty free page from the airline’s main website, navigating the duty free offer is a straightforward process as passengers need only browse through a PDF format catalogue.
The navigation panel and links are neatly organised and easily accessible on the website.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Qatar Airways has a well-designed and attractive duty free catalogue with an effective usage of images and advertisements – well-spaced and of good quality and size. The product selection is well-balanced across the different categories, comprising a good variety of new and classic items that caters to a range of tastes and demands. The availability of a pre-order service – both pre-flight and onboard – is a plus point. On the whole, a clear message that comes across is the airline’s focus on customer’s needs and its dedication to delivering a personalised customer service.
What we like:
o Organised layout and elegant design
o Pre-order service
o Well-balanced and varied product selection
o Effective usage of images and advertisements
o Comprehensive and dedicated contact and feedback section
What needs adding/improving:
o Currency converter
o Information on duty free allowances
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.
PREVIOUS WEBSITES OF THE WEEK
Website of the week: Bahrain Duty Free – 08/01/09
Website of the week: Duty Free Shop Argentina – 18/12/08
Website of the week: Aeromexico – 11/12/08
Website of the Week: Discover Your World of Fragrance with World Duty Free online – 04/12/08
