Shop Online at Harvey Norman: We Review The New Online Store
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The Harvey Norman online store just went live today, offering home delivery, and a buy online, pickup in store option.
New online shops have been popping up all over the place recently, and Harvey Norman joins Dyson, Bonds, and David Jones, by launching its online retail store this month.
People have been speculating for a long time when Harvey Norman would launch an online store, but now the wait is finally over, shopping online at the national retailer is a reality.
The popularity of online shopping can no longer be ignored by major retail companies, and Harvey Norman has finally seen the light — and I’m guessing Gerry Harvey probably read all those recent reports about the surge in online spending too!
The first thing you notice when you land at the Harvey Norman store, is the option to buy online and pickup in store — this obviously makes a lot of sense for a national retailer with over 170 stores, and it means shoppers can save on shipping too.
Home delivery also takes advantage of its nationwide store network, with products dispatched from local Harvey Norman stores. This could be great for customers too, because it should mean delivery costs are low, but although delivery for small products starts at just $5.95, the fees increase quite a bit for heavier items. To remain competitive however, I think Harvey Norman is going to have to offer free delivery on selected items eventually, just like the audio visual specialist online retailer BigBrownBox does.
Large items like home appliances can be delivered, but it could be expensive, depending on your location to a store. I live within a few km of a Harvey Norman store, and they would charge me $49 to deliver a (bulky) washing machine. Extra bulky items can cost from $75 to $199 per box.
Product categories available in the store include computers, gaming, TV & audio, cameras, phone & GPS, home appliances, furniture & bedding, bathroom & tiles, flooring, and outdoor. At this stage, furniture is only available in-store only, and cannot be ordered online — prices are not even listed, and you have to contact Harvey Norman to get one.
Along with the usual credit card payment options, Harvey Norman also accept PayPal.
The popular Harvey Norman ‘Interest Free’ offers are only available in store, which is a shame.
The home page is full of ‘Hot Deals’, and selected products come with bonus gift cards up to $200 in value, like a Samsung 55 inch LED 3D TV with a $200 gift card, and a Fisher & Paykel fridge with a $75 gift card. The bonus gift card offers end this Sunday, 27 November though, so you’ll have to be quick if you want to take advantage of the bonus.
As I browsed deeper into the product categories I expected to see most products at full retail price, but there are actually discounts and bonus offers all over the place — even the iPads were discounted.
The overall design of the site is very good, and it’s easy to navigate and quickly find what you’re looking for, with plenty of options to narrow your results. Product pages are well laid out, with good size product images, detailed specifications, and nice large ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Check Store Stock’ buttons. My only complaint was that the delivery cost does not appear on product pages — you have to add an item to your cart and enter your postcode — hopefully they’ll change that.
An option to add products to a comparison list as you shop is a great feature, and seems to work really well. There’s also a useful wish list feature (for registered members), that lets you bookmark products to view later, and email to family and friends.
Buying guides in each product sub-cateory are a nice touch, and I’m sure shoppers will appreciate them.
Shoppers will also appreciate the integration of brand cash back and bonus redemption offers, clearly visible in product categories and pages — although you do have to scroll down to the fine print at the end of the page to find the offer details.
Customer service has been restricted to a ‘Contact Us’ form only, and with no contact telephone number listed, you’d have to hope they respond to enquiries promptly! I tested the contact us form, and I wasn’t impressed, there was no onscreen confirmation that my enquiry was submitted, and I did not receive a confirmation email either. Harvey Norman customers will expect a customer support number, and its omission is a big mistake. A live chat option would be a good idea too.
Overall I’m pretty impressed with this online retail offering from Harvey Norman. If they add some free shipping items, a customer support telephone number, and onscreen / email confirmations to the contact us form, I think it’ll become a popular destination for Australian online shoppers.
We would love to know your thoughts about the new Harvey Norman online store, check it out, and give us your feedback in the comments below.
