Discover and buy from awesome specialty brands online.
Target Audience:
Foodies; early adopters; “green”, “sustainable,” and health-focused consumers.
Website URL: https://www.midtownrow.com
Feedback sought:
- Visit https://midtownrow.com. Spend no more than 5-10 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
- What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
- Are you encouraged to sign up for an account? If not, why?
- How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors like gilttaste.com and foodzie.com?
- Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
About Midtown Row:
Midtown Row makes it easy for you to discover and buy from truly great specialty brands online. We never offer products “because we can.” We only partner with brands that are acclaimed and beloved in their communities (e.g., 4-5 stars and 500+ Yelp reviews, attention from national press, lines out the door) ones who have a singular focus: create the best stuff you’ve ever had. To date, we’ve partnered with dozens of these brands (many of whom have never sold online before) and offer their best products on Midtown Row.
The site is inviting and user friendly. Could use a little more color. Â Nice picture of ice-cream sandwhich. Â Made me want to look more but the price of $32 turned me off. Â Who pays $32 for ice-cream sandwhiches? Â As a potential customer, I would have clicked on the picture to get more information and the price. Â I didn’t because I the price was already too high. Â I clicked on the other options and looked around. Â Might consider offering the quantity being purchased and then the price.
What do you think the site is about?
The site was inviting and easy to follow. Â Simple. Â Could use a little more color. The food pictured (ice-cream sandwich) was good. Â I wanted to see more.
What do you find bothersome?
The price of $32 jumped out at me. Â Who pays $32 for ice-cream sandwiches? Â I went no further.
What do you like?
The easy to read site.
Are you encouraged to sign up for an account? If not, why?
No, I would not sign up. Â At first glance the prices seemed too high.
How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors like gilttaste.com and foodzie.com?
These sites appear to be more professional and more colorful. Â The price of the item is present but does not jump out at you in red print.
Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
The time I spent at the Midtown Row site, it seems I only saw one picture. Â It would be nice to see more of the similar item to entice me click on it for more information and price. Â It’s good to have the price readily available but maybe not in red.
Visit https://midtownrow.com. Spend no more than 5-10 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
It appears to be a website for food aficionados that are interested in finding quality food that is not necessarily advertised.
What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
I like the initial impression I got. I felt like whoever is behind it knows what he or she is talking about. What I found bothersome is the feeling of cheap I had from the interface. I’ve grown accustomed to see very high quality websites for food related topics, specially niche markets. This website seems a bit generic. I would recommend some flash in order to give it a more legitimate look.
Are you encouraged to sign up for an account? If not, why?
Given my personal situation, I would look at the website but not necessarily sign up for it yet. I would definitely consider it as a useful resource in special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays and other celebrations.
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How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors like gilttaste.com and foodzie.com?
Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
I believe gilttaste.com is similar in structure, but gilttaste has the high quality that flash interfaces give you. Foodzie has also the flash interface, but in addition, it has a very user friendly “Category” section that makes it easy to the user from the start
Visit https://midtownrow.com. Spend no more than 5-10 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about? The site seems to be place where you can order specialty cookies, candy, tea, and coffee.
What do you find bothersome? That is obvious…the price. The prices immediately stood out as being very high.  What do you like? The pictures are very clear and display the products well. The site is easy to navigate.
Are you encouraged to sign up for an account? No. If not, why? The price. I am not sure what your target market is but, in today’s economy those prices seem very exorbitant.
How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors like gilttaste.com and foodzie.com? Gilttaste.com->Offers more variety and their presentation seems to be a bit more refined. High end gourmet foods. Foodzie.com-> Even though this site offers more, it seems to be more in tune with your site. Some of the prices on your site are a bit higher for similar items on the other two sites..
Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. Immediately when I started to browse the site and select and item, I was looking for the ingredients. General or in depth. Both of the other sites (gilttast.com and foodzie.com) give some type of general ingredients of each item. In this day and age, consumers want to know a little something more about the products besides their general ingredients on every product. I clicked on the “Mini Street Sampler” and there was not a list of ingredients like for the “Classic Cookie Sandwiches” that are the homepage. If you spoil the consumer on the homepage with details, then they are going to expect to see that same type of display throughout the website. Aside from that and the price point, I think that the site is well designed.
Visit https://midtownrow.com. Spend no more than 5-10 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
When i first opened the site (at this time i didn’t read the “About Midtown Row:” section) i first thought that it is about cake receipts, as the first image i have seen was a nice photo about a couple of cakes, not packaged as a product to be sold + in the slogan there is “… best-kept secrets …”, so in my brain the first think which was born was that this site is about receipts. A little bit later i have seen the “Learn & Shop” button and by clicking on it i was taken to a detail page where i have realized immediately that this is an e-shop.
Also, back to the homepage, if i would scroll down by start maybe i would have realized earlier that this is a shop, as there i have seen the “Top Selling Section” – only that many people, also me, are not scrolling down by start.
What do you find bothersome?
i don’t like that the slogan of the website is showed 2 times almost one near another, only in different sizes. i think this is too much. i understand the need to advertise the possibility to sign up, but in my opinion the banner should be more attractive. this text and image are not looking so nice, there would be better something more catchy, with vibrant colors.
What do you like?
– i like the big and perfect quality photos about the products and stores. are really professional and are “saying” me that this is something premium;
– i like the possibility to switch between the products and stores views. for me this was the first time to see something like this on an e-shop;
– i like that the sign up form is so simplyfied
– i like the concept and the premium feeling of the products
Are you encouraged to sign up for an account? If not, why?
– as i have described above, i like the premium feeling of the products, so if i would have enough money, probably i would be happy to sign up and purchase from here (so maybe the price would be a barrier to sign up, but this is not the website’s problem)
– i like very much the possibility to purchase as a guest, so it is possible that i will not make an account unless it is a must – maybe a checkbox would be nice during the fast checkout that “Please create me an account”
How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors like gilttaste.com and foodzie.com?
both sites seems to have a better design of the website – seem more professional, elegant, which i think is better when we are talking about premium feeling.
Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
– your photos are so nice that it comes automatically the need to taste your products. i think this is very important
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