Customer-Centric E-Commerce: S&P 500 Company Investigation Essay

This coursework is worth 25% of the total marks available for this module.

This is an individual assignment; therefore, you should not share ideas or material with others, while completing this work.

Please note that this is an individual report and not an academic essay.

It should be 1000 words in length. A tolerance of up to +/- 10% is applicable for this assignment. The word count excludes the title page, table of contents and reference list.

The title of this Assignment is:

An Investigation into the E-Commerce Website of an S&P 500 Company

This assessment consists of two elements:

1. A 1000 word written report.

2. A customer journey map i.e. a visual representation of the customer’s online journey

Element 1: A 1000 word written report (75%)

Your task is to choose one company from the most recent list of the S&P 500 Companies  and to produce a 1000 word written report which appraises the company’s approach to e-commerce, taking into consideration the following:

• Analysis of the online marketplace. You should introduce and discuss: (1) the industry in which your company operates, (2) the scale of its operation, either in the US, UK or globally, and (3) its main online competitors.

• Identification of the company’s online customers. You should identify and discuss whether the design and usability of the company’s e-commerce website meets the needs of the envisaged user demographic. You should take into account and comment on: (1) website accessibility, including fonts employed, colour schemes and its accessibility on different types of devices, (2) trust and credibility, including availability of contact information, real user reviews and transparency of product pricing, and (3) website navigation, including navigational links, search functionality and ease of use.

• The product and/or services offered by the company. You should identify and discuss the products and/or services offered by the company on its e-commerce website and whether these have been sufficiently well-described (in textual form) and presented (in images and/or videos) to allow the customer to make an informed decision on whether to purchase.

Your report should reference at least five published sources of information and be written in the third person. Wikipedia is not to be included as a reference source and over-reliance on web-based articles is not considered appropriate for this assignment.

Element 2: A Customer Journey Map (25%)

Your task is to produce a Customer Journey Map (CJM) for a typical customer who uses the e-commerce website of your chosen S&P 500 company. Your CJM should visually represent the various phases that a customer passes through from the point of initially accessing the e-commerce website (i.e. starting from the website homepage) to completion of the purchase of a product and/or service (i.e. finishing on the Order Confirmation page).

Your CJM should use a standard modelling technique to show clearly the chronological phases, pages and actions that a customer must take in order to complete the purchase of their chosen product and/or service. To complete your CJM, you should read Chapter 10 of James Kalbach’s book entitled “Mapping Experiences: A Guide to Creating Value through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams” for further guidance. Please see the Module Handbook for a full reference relating to this publication.

Your CJM should be visually presented on one page only.