The Dalhousie University Bookstore has launched a new website to make shopping online for textbooks – as well as the wide variety of other supplies it offers – even easier for students.
“We really wanted to up our game in terms of an online shopping experience,” says Bookstore Manager Tina Shannon.
Shannon wanted to ensure the experience users have on the Bookstore’s website is in line with what they’d experience on other online shopping sites. She says it’s imperative for university bookstores to respond to students’ evolving needs and expectations in an industry experiencing a great deal of change.
“Our customers are savvy online shoppers,” says Shannon. “It’s a necessity for the Bookstore to keep up with the modern retail experience.”
Built from the ground up with the user in mind, the site includes a number of significant improvements. It’s mobile responsive, and includes a clean, uncluttered interface with updated colours, logo and imagery.
Shannon is most excited about the new MyBooklist feature. Now, rather than searching online for each textbook course by course, students can simply input their Dalhousie NetID and password, and the site will generate a list of books they need based on the courses they’re registered for. These textbooks can then be delivered anywhere on campus (free of charge), shipped off campus or picked up in store.
Shannon wants the online experience to reflect the in-store experience, which she hopes is welcoming and makes students feel connected.
“I want it you feel like your Bookstore,” she says.
She notes that the improved user experience also helps makes the Bookstore more accessible to those who can’t make it to campus in person, like alumni, incoming students, or friends and families of students.
Launched last month, the new e-commerce site took a great deal of work, planning and coordination, with Bookstore staff working closely with developers, a software provider and university IT staff. So far, feedback from students and staff about the new site has been very positive.
“I’m really pleased with it. It’s what we were shooting for,” Shannon says. But she plans to continue collecting feedback now that the site is live so she and her team can keep improving it. (There’s even a feedback mechanism built right into the new site.)
“We’d love to hear from you,” says Shannon.
Visit the new site at bookstore.dal.ca.
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