HOME DEPOT
Overview: There are many problems with this app, starting with the fact that it doesn’t let you buy anything. That means it cannot be classified as a store – it is a catalog, and a limited one at that. There are also issues with the design. The Home page has only two links: “Energy Saving Products” and “Storage Solutions.” Okay, but why just these two? And it would be better to have a new promotion appear each time the app is opened. If a user opens the app four times and they never click on Storage, then it’s well past time to offer something else. There is an adequate amount to view off the Home page, but the page design forces more scrolling than necessary thanks to a big static image sitting at the top. The product detail pages are easy enough to get to, but clunky, and there’s no way to make a purchase. Clicking into the “Shop” icon, I found myself thinking, “Home Depot is huge and this is their most important section. Why is there so little inventory? And the area shouldn’t even be called Shop. It should be called Browse!” The “Shop” screen is a classic example of forcing the user to do extra work. The page has a mere three items and none of them are product categories. Instead there is a link to a “Wish List;” a “Shopping List” (not a shopping cart but a list that you can bring to the store like a piece of paper – very 90s); and a poorly titled “Weekly Ad.” Users must take the step of clicking “Weekly Ad” to finally get into the products. Unfortunately, there’s not much to see – 15 items total. (In the entire app, there were only 52 products.) Overall, this app was a disappointment. Home Depot should have created a working store with plenty of merchandise, but they missed it.
Nicest Touch: The “Know How” section is neighborly and consists mainly of installation tips in areas like installing dimmers, a ceiling fan, or a faucet (yet noting about how to fix a faucet!). Tips are served as videos through YouTube and loaded quickly with quality content. Home Depot should think about taking these videos a step further by turning a couple of their hosts into honest-to-goodness video personalities.
Biggest Problem: The shelves at Home Depot are bare and there’s no way to buy what little this brochure has to offer.
Overall Grade: C (Turn this into a store, add inventory and create a smooth purchasing experience and you’ll automatically rise to a B or better)
