Boots is, of course, known for its pharmaceuticals. But over the years It’s branched out into household supplies and you can now buy on the Internet at their kitchen appliances website. Like the Sainsbury’s site it’s operated by DRL and so the layout is basically the same. It offers high end of the market products, mainly espresso machines and bean to cup ones from a variety of well-known manufacturers.
Finding the website
You can visit the Boots Kitchen Appliances home page at www.bootskitchenappliances.com.
Finding the section on coffee makers
When you’ve logged on to the Boots Kitchen Appliances home page look for the ‘Coffee Machines’ illustrated box in the selection on the page. Click on ‘View All’ to bring up the opening ‘Coffee Machines’ page.
The selection available
The Boots website offers a limited range of items from the top end of the price spectrum. Most items are espresso machines. Some are free standing and some of the ‘built in’ variety. Brands offered include AEG, Baumatic, Bosch, Electrolux, Hotpoint, Neff, Siemens, Stoves, Whirlpool and Zanussi.
Information provided on this site
Items are arranged in columns with a price box underneath. Each item shows an image on a white background for clarity. The full name and model number is given above the image. A short list of features appears below the image and a ‘Delivery from’ date.
To the left is a ‘Show me…’ menu from which you can choose to view according to ‘Delivery’, ‘Fitting’, ‘Manufacturer’, ‘Colour’, ‘Price’, ‘Height’, ‘Width’, ‘Depth’ or ‘In built grinder’ option. Machines with this capability are usually referred to as bean to cup coffee makers. The number of items on offer is given in brackets beside each option under its heading.
Click on the image to go to the item page. This features a bigger image but you can use the magnifying glass icon to enlarge further and scan around it to look at detail. There are thumbnail image options above the main one. In some cases the item is shown in situ so you can see what it looks like on your table or worktop.
Below the price box are tabs for ‘Reviews’ and ‘technical Details. Click on the ‘technical Details’ tab to bring up a list. This basically tells you what features the item has without going into detail about them. It includes whether the coffee maker has a built in grinder, what type of coffee it uses and whether it has a strength selector or removable water tank.
Click on the ‘Reviews’ link to read reviews written by customers. This includes a customer rating and gives a list of ‘Pros’ and ‘Cons’.
There is another customer rating box under the main image giving a rating range of between one and five and saying whether a customer would recommend the product to a friend
At the bottom of the page is a ‘Delivery’ link. Click on this for information regarding delivery. Boots’s standard delivery time is between 3 and 7 days and the charge is reasonable. But there is a Next Day Delivery service that can be used at an additional fee. There is a ‘Rapid Delivery’ option that shortens delivery time to 2 working days, again for an extra small fee. There is an extra charge for delivery on a Saturday.
The dispatcher will call you on the evening before your delivery between 5:30pm and 9:30pm to reconfirm your delivery slot. Delivery slots are 4 hours. They’ll also call you the morning of delivery so you can plan your day…
Buying from the website
Hen you’ve chosen the item you wish to buy click on the ‘Add to basket’ button in the price box. This will take you to the ‘Shopping Basket’ page. It will confirm your choice under Description, Item Price, Quantity and Total. Below is a Delivery bar giving the price under Item Price and Total. There’s a Promotional code bar where you can add your code if you have one. The total price is given at the bottom right hand side of the page. Click on the ‘Checkout’ button to give your Contact Details and Delivery Address then ‘Payment’ arrange payment. Boots accepts most popular credit cards.
Finally
This is an easy to use website with little clutter. You can navigate to the product you want without difficulty. The products on offer are of a good quality and at the higher end of the price spectrum. They include ‘built in’ items for those who are fitting their own kitchen as well as the usual free standing ones.