Sony Music Direct Offers Flawless Logistics
Sony Music Direct
Michael Dell earned approximately eighty-seven kajillion dollars using several basic business models. Chief among them was selling personal computers direct to the public to achieve a lower price point by eliminating retail markup. Sony, which includes a top tier music label among its software ventures, has copied that model in the hopes of luring consumers directly to the factory and bypassing retail channels.
Using e-commerce software from Pennsylvania outfit Web-Ideals, the SonyMusicDirect web site is sparse and designed for fast surfing on even slow connections. There are few animations and no ads to distract buyers. The shopping cart functionality is basic, but complete. There is also a basic search feature, as well as product listings for Sony artists, but the site only sells music by Sony or Epic artists so searching random artists is not going to result in hits. The site is designed for shoppers who know what they want and want to save a dollar or two off retail. Perhaps the site's best feature is the very reasonable shipping and handling, which is $2.98 for a single CD or cassette and free when ordering more than two items.
Integrating Email To Drive Business
Sony emailed members of the Ben Folds mailing list on September 26 to pre-order the musician's upcoming live CD. Although the CD was not discounted, the email promised home delivery October 8, the day the CD was due in stores.
I placed my order several days later and immediately received an email receipt with all of my order information, as well as links to the site's customer service department and FAQs. No sales tax was charged on the order although the site does list 27 states where sales tax is charged. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the CD arrived on October 4, a full four days before the retail release and only five business days after ordering.
The CD was well packaged and protected, and there was no damage to the jewel case. A paper copy of the invoice accompanied the package. In all, the order and fulfillment process was perfect.
Shopping Here
Shoppers can search for music by category or by an artist's name. The category listings seem sparse and appear even more so because titles are broken down into two to three letter clusters. Thus, searching for Broadway yields a framed window with all Broadway titles beginning with the letters A, B or C. In this case, that's a grand total of nine titles. Clicking the next group, D through F, yields another six. One wonders if a more user-friendly experience would list more than a handful titles on each screen. This is a minor complaint, though, and easily overcome by the absence of advertising or pushing of related-titles.
There is no way to track your shipment on the site, but there is a customer service telephone number — something pretty unique for a commodity-based site. The site also does a good job proactively communicating by email, which serves to reduce incoming customer inquiries. Orders of under six units are mailed via the U.S. Postal Service, and the site claims an arrival date within ten business days. Larger orders are shipped via UPS.
The Bottom Line, Clicks and All
After being directed here by email and enjoying a trouble-free and easy transaction, I will be happy to return if I know the release is distributed by Sony or Epic. That is a big reach, but so far I've received no either email or indications that the site will notify me when an release from a favorite artist is available. That may be the site's biggest overall failing — the ability for shoppers to self-select email campaigns.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. Browsing inventory is a chunky process with many screens.
2. Prices appear to be a dollar or two lower than retail.
3. Shipping is $2.98 for a single CD and free for larger orders.
4. Customer service is available by telephone.
5. Orders are sent via USPS or UPS based on size.
