Let me paint you a picture. It’s the “middle” of winter after a couple weeks of a strange, spring-like warm front and because of said warm front, you are now sick, unable to leave your bed and you are wishing you had the money to justify purchasing a $11.95 one-time-use bath bomb that you keep seeing all over the internet. But, wait! You remember that more money is coming soon via loan refunds and your birthday! Let us spend this money now while you are in a fever-induced haze before you can realize it is a bad idea. Perfect.
Welcome to lushusa.com! The home page appears relatively straightforward and aesthetically pleasing. We see two, black and white header menus at the top of the screen with a multitude of links to be traversed. The topmost bar includes LUSH’s icon and homepage link and nodules to the LUSH blog, their Charity Pot, “Our Story” that explains how they differ from other bath-and-body-esque franchises, the search bar, an aptly named nodule called “Shops” with the location icon, log-in, and what appears to be a handbag icon that I would assume to be the equivalent of the shopping cart without further investigation. On the second menu bar there is a list of all of the categories of products, including “new”, bath, shower, hair, face, body, gifts, makeup, perfume, space, videos, sale and Valentine’s Day. Below the menus are a couple of thick, colorful banners that showcase new products and holiday specials. Since we are looking for the magnificent, peppermint “Intergalactic” bath bomb, for the sniffles, I hovered my cursor over the “bath” nodule from which a panel fell, giving us the options of clicking on “bath bombs”, “bubble bars”, “luxury bath melts”, and “fun”. Simple enough. I clicked on “bath bombs” and was greeted to a similar set up as the homepage, with a large banner beneath the menus, stating that we are in the right place. Scrolling down the page, we are greeted by a fairly minimalistic layout, though anything more than the pictures of the bright and colorful bath bombs would simply be busy and hard to look at. There it is! Without even clicking on the “Intergalactic” bath bomb, we are given the option to “buy now” right below the image and quantity/price information. Since we know what we want, let’s click it! Now remember that little handbag icon mentioned earlier? Well, after deciding we want to buy it immediately, we are sent back to the top of our page where a small window has opened below the icon stating that the “Intergalactic” bath bomb is now in our cart and that we can view the cart or check out. By clicking on “checkout” we are taken to a new page that allows you to sign in, sign up or guest checkout without the use of an account. From here you just enter your information, quick and easy!
I have to say, that based on “Don’t Make Me Think”, that lushusa.com recognizes the “Facts of Life” and answers to them all. In no way are you required to read more than a short message throughout the entirety of the website unless you are very interested in LUSH’s background, charitable deeds, or you like to read the descriptions of the products you are purchasing and when they want to get a message across, it’s in big, bold letters that will catch your eye even if you choose not to click “read the article”. On this site, the reasonable options are the typically the best options as most people who find themselves on LUSH’s specialty cosmetics have a vague idea of what they are searching for and easily be accessed when being able to narrow down your searches by use and then specific products.
All in all, I believe that LUSH has a strong and easy to use website. It gives you a simple path to follow that does not allow you to get completely lost on it with defined pages and menus.
Chelsea Hepfl