Thinking Outside the Box

Easy browsability as well as searchability. Web sites must be easily browsable by several different criteria, and file sizes should be manageable for dial-up users. The last thing online catalogers want to do is bore potential buyers with long download times so that they log off without buying.

Thorough product descriptions. Potential buyers can’t see, touch or smell the product, but they should know exactly what they’re getting. The Avon site (www.avon.com) does an exemplary job by not only listing the touted benefits of each skin care product, but enumerating the entire ingredient list—a wonderful example of truth-in-advertising for the cosmetic industry.