Where would the world be if there wasn’t online shopping? It allows even the shut ins to get what they want/need. I chose Kpoptown.com as my monthly review this time. Its an online store for merchandise of different  Korean bands.

                           When you open the main homepage, your brain is overloaded by bright colors. The majority of the page is a bright pink and white, but as you scroll down changes and add some bright blue. There is so much information on the screen that it takes so long to process it all. There’s no real organization at all. There’s different categories  to shop by in a pink bar across the top. Cd, collectible, by artist, jewelry, accessory, cosmetics, brand, fashion, lenses, wigs, and food. There is no real organization to the categories as well. The homepage is so long that half of it won’t even be seen.  It is not simple in any way. Half way down there is a discount code and there is another one all the way at the bottom. I suppose its like a reward for reading the whole page, but its really not useful. Mid-top of the page is a set of pictures, but they scroll by so quickly, that you don’t really have a chance to look at it That was just the homepage. 

                           So I recently went to a U-Kiss concert and I decided to look for a U-Kiss light stick. I clicked on the search bar, since I wasn’t even gonna mess with searching through the categories, but sadly it turned up no results. The annoying the was that it didn’t even offer suggestions to something similar. Feeling slightly less enthusiastic, I searched for just light stick, just to see what options were available. The results pulled up several pictures of different light stick options. They all had their prices listed underneath their picture which was a nice feature. I chose the Super Junior light stick because that is a group I am familiar with.

                           When you click on it and open the item info page, it shows you information about it, the discount that was applied, the different members you could choose from, and pictures of the item from different angles. On the left hand side, there is a side bar that lists different items for different artists, not similar at all to the item I was viewing. I added the product to the cart which flew the picture to where the cart was located which made it easier to find on the page.

                           At check out, there was once again to much information on the page. In bright  red letters, the site advises you to make sure what you are ordering is not a pre-ordering item and to choose USD for payment since this site caters to many different countries. The cart itself shows the light stick that I’m pretending to buy, that it is available, the number I’m buying, and the total price of that item, plus the shipping cost. It then gives you the option to include any coupons and vouchers, including  the ones on the homepage most people probably didn’t see. It also shows items other customers bought as a last ditch attempt to get you to buy more. It then asks you to make an account, put in the delivery and billing addresses, asks you again to make sure it is not a pre-order and that the currency is in USD, choosing the delivery options, and payment methods. And that is all on one page. It scrolls and scrolls. The page shouldn’t be that long. All of that would have been much easier on the eyes  if it had been over several pages. It then takes you to where you can pay by pay pal.

                           My assessment of the site? It is way to complicated for the computer illiterate. Since I have had experience with the shopping on the site, I was able to navigate it pretty easily. However, someone who has no experience in the subject matter whatsoever would have a terrible time trying to buy something. I think the only reason this store is still running is because it is the only one I’ve come across that sells the products.