Other frustrations:
- Gauging availability
- Having easy access to shipping cost info
- Offers or product names that aren't links. If something says "T-shirt sale, $10 each" I want to be able to click on that to see that sale!
- Lack of a categorized view. I want to easily see OTHER products that are very similar to the current one. If I'm looking at a blue shirt, I want to easily find a yellow one (say).
- High shipping costs. I gotta admit, "free shipping" gives me an instant shopping boner, even if it makes no sense. It just makes me more likely to buy.
- Lack of details. If electronics equipment, I want access to the full specs, including dimensions, etc. If clothes, I want to know the sizes and what scale was used (e.g. US size, UK size, or what?)
- Ridiculous registration requirements. I don't want to fill out a 30 field form to become a "member" of your shop. Ask for the absolute minimum to start and then get the other info over time as I become faithful to your brand.
- Lack of any review functionality. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but on many items it does. Even if you're just getting reviews from elsewhere, I wanna see them.
- Sites that don't fully use HTTPS through the whole checkout process.
Things I would like:
- Better search.
- Support for tagging. I like browsing by tag.
- "Random" product link. Not for every store but on some it would be awesome. I like browsing!
- Make it easier for me to browse when I don't know what I want. (I think I've made the point now, lol)
- Offer a clean but powerful advanced search. If I want to buy something for $5-$10, I should be able to limit searches to that.
- "Similar items" when looking at an item. Even if it's just a few with similar names, it helps.
- Easy access to high resolution imagery of the product. Let me click on the thumbnail / smaller image to get more awesome shots. It's a big deal when you're looking at the positioning of ports on a notebook, for example.
- Cheaper and more expensive alternatives to the current product. This is a touchy area for the actual store providers but as a customer I want to quickly work with my budget. Sometimes I want to spend more on something better, or sometimes less.
- Products on the front page of the site. I don't want to have to dig just to reach a single product.
Things I don't care about:
- Comparison tools. Most are useless. If I really want to compare something, I'll load them up in separate tabs and just figure it out after looking at them both. Very few products come down to a spec by spec comparison.
- Splash pages.
- Overuse of "theme" imagery. A common problem with clothing sites. I understand building a brand, etc, but in the store section, give me product.