Thursday, September 20, 2012

J.Crew Updates the Sale Search {meh}

Rebekah (in this post) made an observation that I could not agree more with:
i don't like the new side bar in the sale section - how when you click on a clothing category, the rest of the categories disappear from the side bar now and the only option are further refined searches (size/colour). this means you have to click twice to look at the next category instead of just once. i know it's a small thing, but what was the point of changing it? so annoying.  
I do not care for the new update to the Sale Section search either! I am sure J.Crew's tech department thought this enhancement would be helpful to customers, but the opposite is true!

I now have to open a category in a "new tab" in order to have a tab with the other categories of merchandise available. It is an extra inconvenience when shopping the sale section (click here to shop online). Minor negative. But a negative nonetheless.

If someone at J.Crew is reading this, please take note of the comments and the poll results and consider making another change (as in changing it back, please).

What are your thoughts on the re-design of the Sale Section search function? Are you a fan of the new design or do you prefer the earlier design?

Quick Poll: Do you like the new Sale Section search?

40 comments:

  1. I noticed this too and was annoyed. I primarily use my IPad when shopping and this gets annoying to have to open new windows :-(

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree- especially annoying on the iPad with the additional tabs. Maybe J.Crew will consider changing it back. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. SO annoying. Not once did I ever think, "man, I wish these sweaters were sorted based on sub-categories". No.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very annoying. But I am relieved to see this post because I thought the JC site was just having one of its fragile days or maybe I had done something wrong.

    And I don't want the JC techies classifying clothes. The trench dress is not "outerwear."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is too funny about the fragile days. Now all I can think is, "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian"! ;)

      Delete
    2. ROFL, Alexis. Can't wait for the 24 hour Christmas Story marathon. When I go into JC and see those pilly dream sweaters I will be exclaiming Fra-gee-lay inside. lol

      Delete
    3. HA Gigi about the pilly sweaters! Me too now. Oh too funny! :)

      Delete
    4. Oh now I will be thinking fragile when I see sweaters too! And tees and jewelry....

      Delete
  5. I hate it. It is really annoying when I am using my iPhone to shop. Also, there is not enough merch in the sale section to need further categorization, and I agree with wellfedfred, the categories are usually inaccurate anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I saw that, but thought I'd clicked & activated it somehow. Mickey, utilize that Apple connection and join the rest of the retailers in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I find this to be extremely annoying too. I hope they aren't considering it to be an upgrade to the website. Perhaps if enough of us give them negative feedback about it they will go back to the way it used to be.

    For those interested, there are some new promo-priced items - updated list is here. :)

    Also, I am working on my review for the Biennial medium satchel in calf hair and should have it posted on my blog later today.


    ReplyDelete
  8. I noticed it a few days ago and it is incredibly annoying having to click back to the main women's sale page every time I want to view another category. Whoever thought of this "improvement" obviously doesn't know the meaning of user-friendly!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Does anyone have an opinion of the shrunken blazer in embroidered plaid? I'm wondering about the fit. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. agreed. i noticed it immediately, and totally got annoyed. hopefully they read this and fix this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I noticed it too and was frustrated having to open new windows and hit the back button. It doesn't make online shopping easy

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's terrible and they obviously didn't do any user experience testing to alert them of their mistakes. Less clicks=less frustration for the user. Big fail.

    However, most of us hate shopping Final Sale anyway, so now we have another reason not to bother.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My pet peeve about the sale section is that you can't select multiple sizes, colors, or categories at a time. So annoying!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree! I love that about Bluefly. It's so helpful, particularly in light of the fact that different items are sized differently (i.e. letter sizing vs number sizing).

      Delete
  14. Hate it! also noticed that if I click "back" to get to the main sale page with the categories, it frequently loses my settings for how many items to display - so I have to go back and change it from 15 to 90... again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i agree mack! i feel like as long as you are still signed in to the website (or at least in the same window!), it should be able to remember your viewing preferences. i don't know a lot about this type of thing, but i feel like it's something that should be possible in the 21st century.

      Delete
  15. While I can live with it, I don't have an iPad and that seems to be the biggest issue. It irritates me because I just wish they would use their time tweaking things that need help. Like adding multiple size options in the search. Or having tall sizes actually show up in the sidebar in subcategories. Or sorting by NEW ARRIVALS, hello!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I need to replace a lot of clothes. I need at least one suit. Can anyone comment on the Pepper Tweed jacket and dress? The jacket looks too short - does it look like a bolero on, or does it hit below the waist? TIA!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I liked it when they had both the categories and subcategories, but the way it is now is terrible. Also, not every category needs subcategories. It was nice for shoes, for instance, but like someone said, most categories don't need it. Agree they should be spending their time on things that are actually useful, like sorting by new arrivals, both in sale and regular sections.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Why didn't they just expand the subcategory within the category and leave the other categories intact, like they do on the non-sale pages? I suspect that may have been the goal but it wasn't thoroughly tested before implementaton.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I shop mostly on my iPhone (I know, I'm such a caveman) but what I hate is that once you are viewing an item and selecting a size and then a color or maybe changing your mind about a color, well that's a lot of clicks. Then to go back to the main page, you literally have to arrow back. Why on earth don't they have a navigation at the top of an item. IE women-tops-Naomi blouse. So you can then click on "tops" and go back to the main search vs having to arrow back each dang decision you made on size, and color etc. Phew. Seriously, this amazes me it hasn't been figured out yet.

    ReplyDelete
  20. OT-if anyone has a Talitha in Feather Paisley in a 10 and would like to trade for a 12, please e-mail me-fdfoster @ comcast.net. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't understand why I can't search for XX-small in the sale section.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to be annoyed by this, but I figured out a way around this! In the lefthand searchbox, enter 'xx small' and on the results page, click on 'sale.'

      Delete
  22. I was having the same issue last night with all the multiple clicks and this so-called enhancement to their sale site is a downgrade in my opinion.

    By the way, I think I've officially lost my mind. I could swear yesterday was the last day for the 30% off sale promo (unless they extended it through today?) so at 11:59pm last night - literally - I had a panic attack about not having purchased every sale color in the double serge pencil skirt I love so much (except crimson maple which is lovely but I bought it in the sterling skirt instead) so I immediately hopped on my computer and submitted an order within the span of one minute. Who does that? I need my stomach pumped of the crewlade.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Also, didn't there used to be a "clearance" tab on the left column of the sale page? I recall that certain clearance items don't always show up when I view all sale items at once, or at least that's been my experience in the past, so I always check the "clearance" tab and as of last night I noticed it was gone. I don't mind so much provided that clearance items are showing up with the rest of the sale merchandise, but I did like the ability to limit my search to items significantly reduced.

    ReplyDelete
  24. One more thing before I get back to work... ;)

    When I'm on an item page and I like the pieces with which it's styled (which, let's face it, is not always the case with JC but still), I would like to see direct links to those items on the same page rather than other items I *might* be interested. The Saks website does this and I love it. I imagine that could only be good for business too; say you're looking at a pair of pants and you like the sweater in the picture too but don't want to go searching the entire sweater section for it? With a link to the sweater on the same page, you could add it to cart in a matter of clicks. I honestly think they would see an improvement in their average units per transaction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Dara, this would be great. Although sometimes the clothes don't seem to exist and remain a mystery forever...

      Delete
  25. i'm glad it wasn't just me :)

    thanks for bringing attention to this alexis!
    will be so pumped if they change it back!

    ReplyDelete
  26. @fwum fwum - thanks for the tip! I never noticed the sale choice after searching for xx small. It's certainly much easier than sorting through all the xx smalls available online.

    ReplyDelete
  27. has anyone noticed the sale page hasnt been updated in over 2 days?

    ReplyDelete

Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)