13 November 2000



Crufts Trading Post, Ambitious But Clunky

In an ambitious move to incorporate e-trading into Crufts, The Kennel Club have launched a new web site Crufts Trading Post

Using proprietry software from Mall It, the new site design seeks to graphically display traders' stalls as you would recognise them at the Crufts Dog Show.

Supported by Pedigree Masterfoods and IAMS UK Ltd, the Kennel Club currently have around 40 advertisers with their 'shop windows' already on-site, including the likes of Friskies Petcare (UK) Limited, Royal Canin UK, Catac Products Ltd and James Wellbeloved & Co Ltd.

Clicking on a shop window takes the user into the manufacturer's shop which disconcertingly takes over the user's screen in order to provide a rather basic database display of products.

At this point Mall It hands over to Netshop which provides the e-commerce function.

Crufts Trading Post provides extensive information on how to use the site, so much information infact, that some users may be daunted by the complicated prodedure.

The idea of running a visual 'mall' in conjunction with a trades fair is a good one and may be something that PetIndex ought to consider. Well done to the Kennel Club for giving it a go. But the Mall It and Netshop solutions do not work well together, turning what could be an exciting experience into something of a chore.


Copyright 2000 Steve O'Malley (UKPets).
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