The Purpose of the website

The Game.co.uk website is the online store for the popular store Game, where you can purchase games, consoles, gaming accessories and more. Its sole purpose is to sell and advertise its products to the customers through the use of the internet.

How it markets its goods:

The designers of the Game website have cleverly positioned the popular games at the top of their ‘Games’ page. They have provided images to show the product and information stating the price and format. (PS3, Xbox 360 etc...)

Furthermore when a customer immediately enters the website they are attracted upon the latest releases. For instance, on the left hand side is the latest release of Halo. As you can notice it states ‘From £37.99’. This catches the customer’s attention and leads them looking into the product and often buying it.

The website also includes a navigation bar in which customers can use to search for the item they would desire by choosing category or format. Then as they go through they would be exposed to other offers on games in that particular format and this could obviously gain extra sales.

As you scroll down to the bottom of the index page you can see a list of other services which Game offer. However these are not put into direct view because the company does not put in as much effort to advertising these services as they are not widely used although they are placed in an area commonly utilised.

Another website which offers the same goods is Gamesation.co.uk. Their website offer similar prices and similar services but have a different layout in presenting their products. For instance they put in more information on the front screen which results in very small text and makes it unappealing to carry on through the website. This is why people like me prefer to use Game.co.uk.

How it conducts transactions:

The Game website allows its customers to place desired items into a ‘Shopping Basket’ where their prices are totalled and where you can also view, remove and pay for an item. For example, here you can see I have placed two items into the basket and it shows the product name, price and the total price.

Once you are in the process of checking out, unless you have an existing account with the website you will need to input your personal data, including name, address, card details, etc. After you have finalised the transaction you will then receive an email with a receipt attached to it and also the ordering details.

You then have two choices; either collect it in a nearby store or get it delivered straight to your address. Which one you choose, you still have to pay by card as it ensures payment for the company. When you receive your product you have within 16 days to return it, if by any chance the product is faulty or wrong. You will receive a label with the address for which to return it, however you can take the email receipt and the product to any Game store and they will administer the refund.

Customer relations:

If you have a query or question about an order or product you can email the company via their website by going on to ‘Help’ located in the top right hand corner and then selecting ‘Contact us’. A new page will then load up in which you click on the email link ([email protected]) and then Microsoft Outlook will suddenly pop up. This where you then enter your e-mail address and send the website a message. After about 1 month you will receive a message answering your query. This is a long period of time to wait, which is why it makes more sense to call them thought their customer services number (which can also be found in the ‘Contact us’ page).

Optimisation of just-in-time purchasing of stock:

Game use a system of keeping medium levels of stock for popular products but have fewer amounts of games they sell very rarely. Some games they don’t stock at all and in which you need to order them and they will get one delivered from elsewhere. On the website it does state the availability such as in stock and 3-4 weeks meaning the time before they will have the product given to you.

Distribution of goods:

Game use the royal mail as their free method of home delivery and this takes between 2-4 working days after placing the order. If you wish to know at what stage your order is at you can choose the track your order section on the Game website. This allows you to see how far away it is from being dispatched for your required location.

You now can pay extra for courier services where you get your product quicker and these are normally done through DHL and other similar companies. Another method Game stores use of distributing their goods is through in-store pick up, this is where you place your order and then collect it at your chosen store. However this can take longer than the actual free delivery waiting time of 2-4 working days.

Presentation and exchange of information

As you view a certain type of game you will initially see:

Once you have clicked on your desired product, another page will open showing you the same information from the previous page but in greater font. As well as this there will be also a detailed description of what game is about.

When you place an order you receive an email with an attached receipt and on this will be your order and all other necess...

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