Navigation through the Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB) site was fairly intuitive. On the left side of the page there was a navigation bar that listed 33 main subject headings. As the user rolls the mouse over each one, subheadings appear. Some of the subheadings had a double arrow indicating that they too had their own subheadings that appear when the mouse rolls over that term, and so on. In this manner, the hierarchy of the vocabulary is made explicitly clear to the user, in addition to the preferred vocabulary used to describe the inventory. When a shopper actually clicks on a term, they are taken to a new page that lists items that fall match or are related to that term. Linens ‘N Things (LNT) has a similar set-up in that the hierarchy of the preferred vocabulary is made explicit to the user. On the LNT home page, there is also a navigation pane on the left side of the page. It lists the 11 departments, and clicking on the name of the department brings the user to a new page that lists subheadings within that department. If the shopper desires something closer to the BBB model, across the top of every page are 10 main subject headings that operate in the same manner as BBB. When the shopper rolls over a term with the mouse, a list of subheadings appears; if they roll over a subheading with its own subheadings, then those appear as well. Each site also had a catchall search bar at the top of every page in which the user can enter search terms of their choosing, key words, or item numbers. The main difference between navigating the two sites is that the LNT site always gives the user access to the controlled vocabulary, while the BBB site requires the user to return to the main page to access the list of terms if they enter their own search terms rather than navigate the hierarchy. When a user enters a search term of their own, both sites allow the user to refine that search on the left side navigation bar, by, for example, color or brand, in the style of facet searching.
To discuss controlled vocabulary (CV) issues in this post, two contextual examples will be used: bath items (specifically towels) and drapery. While both LNT and BBB both have a large and similar inventory, each uses a slightly different approach in their CV. While I have chosen examples that are slightly exaggerated in their difference to prove my points, these differences are trends across the sites, though there are of course, exceptions.
BBB has a far more extensive vocabulary, which is clear just by looking at the main subject headings of each site: BBB has 33 compared to LNT’s 10. However, just because there are more main subject headings does not mean that BBB’s CV has more depth or less interaction between broad terms (BT) and narrow terms (NT). To determine that, we are going to look more closely at a specific set of subheadings: towels. The BBB directory tree that leads to towels looks like this:
Bath-------Towels
--------------Solid Bath Towels
--------------Print Bath Towels
--------------Decorative Bath Towels
--------------Monogrammed Bath Towels
--------------Beach Towels
LNT, in contrast, leads the shopper to towels in this manner:
Bath
-------Bath Towels and Rugs
From the outset, BBB prefers the user to refine their search via the hierarchy as much as possible before viewing items for purchase. While this is an efficient method for guiding shoppers to their product, it might not allow for as much serendipitous discovery as with the LNT method. LNT guides the user via the CV hierarchy to a much broader category (bath towels and rugs). Once the shopper is redirected to the page with all the bath towel and rug products, they are given different options such as color by which to narrow the search. A drawback to this semi-faceted method is that more than one option cannot be chosen, so the user could not, for example, find blue Hotel Collection towels, only blue towels or Hotel Collection towels. BBB does not allow for users to narrow their search when they have arrived to a product page via the CV hierarchy. By this example, it becomes clear that BBB has a CV with a far more nuanced BT/NT relationship structure. BBB uses more terms and more categories across the board, allowing the shopper a surprising amount of product specificity by navigating the CV hierarchy. However, even though there are more terms to navigate in the BBB model, both vocabularies have a similar hierarchical depth. Each main heading usually has terms with at least one, and in some cases two subsequent levels. The main difference is that the BBB structure has more specificity.
The issue of term choice has been touched on briefly in the context of the number of terms used. To compare the actual vocabulary used, we will look at window treatments. BBB sets up their window treatment vocabulary as follows:
Window Treatments
-------Panels
--------------Contemporary
--------------Traditional
--------------Casual
--------------Formal
--------------See all window panels
-------Sheers
-------Extended Length
-------Energy Saving/Room Darkening
-------Kids + Teens
-------Kitchen Tiers
-------Valences
-------Specialties
-------Blinds/Shades
-------Hardware/Accessories
-------Tiebacks
-------Clearance
There is a great amount of specificity and to an extent, industry language included in these terms. Personally, I did not know what a kitchen tier was before I looked at the pictures. LNT uses this structure:
Window
-------Window Panels
-------Drapes
-------Window Blinds
-------Window Valences
-------Window Tiers
-------Blackout Liners
-------Clearance
-------Window Hardware
