 | Content (0-4): 3 |
 | Pricing (0-2): 2 |
 | Navigation (0-4): 3 |
 | Style/Design (0-4): 3 |
 | Supplementary information (0-2): 1 |
 | Overall incentive to shop (0-4): 2 |
 | Total (0-20): 14 |
Scoring system explained – click here | |
Website of the week – Ukraine International Airlines Sky Shop
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), based in Kiev, is the leading international carrier of Ukraine. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger and cargo services to Europe, Southern Asia and the Middle East.
Let us take a look at how its online duty free offer fares, for an airline whose core purpose is “˜to give [their] customers a safe, punctual, reliable schedule and the highest international standards of service.’
STYLE
UIA’s duty free catalogue is found on the airline’s main website where travellers can also book flights and access a whole range of travel-related information and services. Sharing the same website design and layout, the duty free catalogue can be found under the “˜In Flight’ section of “˜Information and Services’.
The website adopts a colour theme of shades of blue and features an image of the UIA aircraft set against a background of a sunlit, cloudy sky. The website has a distinctive identity with its obvious choice of colours, natural background setting and obvious display of the UIA aircraft and logo.
Information is displayed neatly against a white background in an easy-to-read font.
CONTENT
“We have made it our business to bring you the latest fragrances, alcohol and gift ideas from the top brands” is how the airline assures its customers about the duty free offer. Travellers are also encouraged to shop onboard for low duty free prices and are reminded that duty free shops are sometimes not available at some destinations.
Pre-order service is not available but the inflight duty free brochure is provided for travellers to preview the duty free selection. A link to download the catalogue is provided at the end of the introductory passage for UIA’s Sky Shop.
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A distinctive airline identity with obvious colour theme, background image and prominent display of the aircraft and logo |
The UIA Sky Shop catalogue features four product categories: Fragrance/Cosmetics, Sweets, Liquors and Tobacco.
Fragrance/Cosmetics is a very broad category encompassing two sectors that are usually organised as separate categories. Spanning 18 pages of the 24-page catalogue, travellers have a good range and variety of products to choose from. Products from the same brand are grouped together but they are not sorted in any particular order (alphabetically or price-wise); fragrances and cosmetic products are placed alongside one another.
Travellers will find a wide range of established fragrance and beauty brands such as Chanel, Dior, Lancôme, Clinique, Yves Saint Laurent, Guerlain, Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein. Beauty product fans are spoilt for choice for travel retail exclusive palettes and value trio packs.
The display of products could be improved though, by separating the fragrances from the cosmetics or by listing the brands in alphabetical order, which will make browsing or searching for an item much easier. Male travellers might also be appreciative of a separate category for men, rather than sieving through a broad category where men’s products are interspersed among the women’s products.
The Sweets category also doubles up as a category for young travellers, with two products incorporating Smarties chocolates with plush toys and colouring kits, aimed at children. The category also offers chocolates from popular brands such as Merci, Toblerone and Ferrero Rocher in giftable packaging.
Taking up three pages, the airline offers a good range of liquor and spirits under its Liquors category. The wide variety includes Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Sheridans, Hennessy, Chivas Regal, Martell, Beefeater and Jameson. Prices range from €6 (US$7.70) for the Nemiroff Gift Set containing five miniature bottles of the Ukrainian vodka and €50 (US$64.40) for a 350ml bottle of Hennessy XO.
The Tobacco category features six products from four brands – Marlboro, Parliament, Camel and Winston.
Each product is accompanied by the product name and brand with product description in both English and Ukrainian. Prices are stated prominently on a shopping bag icon. The product display is consistent in terms of labelling and images.
Information and useful features
The duty free section and catalogue gives a brief introduction of the product offer as well as currencies, payment and purchase details. A specific e-mail contact for the Sky Shop service is listed.
Other information and features that might be useful to customers can be found on the main website, such as the currency converter tool, customs information and contact details.
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Fragrances and cosmetics are displayed alongside one another; The catalogue features a good variety of liquors | |
NAVIGATION
The website has a neat layout with easily accessible links and well displayed information.
The Sky Shop catalogue can be downloaded via a link provided in the duty free section of the page. Easy access is also ensured with a prominent boxed icon, which also links to the catalogue, featured at the top right of the “˜In Flight Service’ page where the duty free section is located.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Although faced with space constraints, the airline’s Sky Shop catalogue gets it just right with its focus on best-selling product categories and its respectable range of products from popular, established brands. The addition of a pre-order service and dedicated duty free information and resources would enhance the offer even more. However, a clear message comes through to travellers – quality products and classic brands at value for money prices – and the airline does a good job in making duty free shopping onboard UIA a straightforward and fuss-free experience.
What we like:
o Neat and clear layout with distinctive airline theme
o Focused product range with good variety
o Consistent product labelling and image provision
What needs adding/improving:
o Pre-order facility
o Better product organisation
o Dedicated duty free-related information
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 Air Duty Free – 23/10/08
Website of the Week: US Airways Duty Free – 02/10/08
Website of the Week: Thai Airways Inflight Duty Free – 25/09/08
Website of the Week: Cyprus Airways’ Shop in the Air – 18/09/08
