Digital Storytelling Analysis of Trendyol
Trendyol was founded in 2010 to provide its customers with the best shopping experience anytime, anywhere. More than 25 million members and with 2,000 employees Trendyol became one of the largest and fastest growing e-trade platform of Turkey and also Mena. Today, Trendyol can deliver more than 200 million products annually to its customers in many categories such as fashion, electronics, home & furniture, food, mother-child, cosmetics (trendyol.com/bizkimiz).
Let’s evaluate the digital storytelling analysis of the Trendyol site, where most of us have shopping experience:
1. Name of the story / e-trade website
Trendyol, as we all know, is a word derived from the combination of the words “trend” and “yol (road)”. The trend here is used in the meaning of “fashion”, it refers to “the road of fashion”. What comes to mind when s/he hears the word Trendyol, is a promise of a journey or experience where the latest fashion products can be found. Considering the products on the site, we can say that the name is very compatible with the content, and therefore, the right choice has been made.
2. Message, the story / e-trade website
The main message of the site is “The Most Trendy Products are at Turkey’s Online Shopping Site, Trendyol” which is compatible with the site’s name is chosen very successfully. As stated in the name, it shares the message that one can find the latest fashion products on the site once again.
3. Entrance of the story / Home page of the e-trade website
Trendyol’s homepage resembles an online shopping mall, the brand and the presentation of the products for each store take place in the order of an online shop window. The placement of the brands and products on the main page is designed very clearly and smooth. The site offers an alternative purchasing channel for consumers who like to spend time and shop in the mall.
4. Journey that the e-trade website promises to consumers
Trendyol offers you the convenience of finding a product with its alternative search options. Along with general categories such as supermarket, cosmetics and electronics, sub-categories such as brand and price are also included on the site. Products are supported with more than one image, similar product options are shared, and product descriptions are made. One of Trendyol’s development areas is that product descriptions are not supported by videos. Besides, it is a positive approach for consumer satisfaction to be able to purchase without being a member.
5. Conflicts / Contradictions / Analysis in the e-trade website
By not having specifically a contradiction on the site and therefore a resolution or an analysis, it still needs to be underlined that the message “The Most Trendy Products are at Turkey’s Online Shopping Site, Trendyol” is some kind of proving a solution by offering the most trendy products to the ones that have concerns about not being able to follow fashion.
6. Archetype of the character / e-trade website
Since archetypes are forms or images of collective nature that represent a typical human experience, define the personality of a brand and are voiced to tell the story to consumers, e-trade websites should benefit from the advantages of archetypes to influence consumers and make it easier for the main message, brand or company’s mission to pass to consumers.
In this respect, Trendyol is close to the archetype of “one of us / regular man” among archetypes. The main features of archetype; its use has a sense of belonging in people, its product function is: “It is used by everyone in daily life”, it has the customs, tradition and culture of the society, its price is middle or lower, it appeals to the general public, it does not categorize people, it is with the society, not against the society, and has a strong empathy aspect. Trendyol draws a strategy that overlaps the archetype with both its product range and the communication it has realized so far. This strategy enabled Trendyol to reach different types of audiences.
7. Place / Atmosphere of the e-trade website
Creating a “Place” in e-trade websites is actually to create an atmosphere that will evoke emotions in consumers’ minds. As mentioned earlier on the Trendyol site, an online shopping mall atmosphere has been created. The showcases of the brands are clear and smooth, although they do not establish an intense emotional bond with the consumer, they keep their commercial stance in the background compared to many e-trade sites that have been examined so far.
8. Narration / The narrative language of the e-trade website
As stated in previous analyzes, description, adjective, idiom, first person singular and plural use increases the intimacy in the language of communication and enables the consumer to connect with what is explained. Trendyol did not take the advantage of digital storytelling’s element. The site mostly includes the 3rd singular / plural person use and passive verbs. This use poses a challenge for the consumer to make an emotional connection with the site or product.
9. “Feature + Benefit + Meaning” analysis of the products in the e-trade website
When the product promotion pages of Trendyol site are examined, it is observed that the features and benefits are transferred to the site only in the detail shared by the seller. The meaning is not determined for almost any product. There is no standard set by Trendyol regarding feature and benefit. Establishing a valid standard for each product for feature and benefit, adding the meaning to the products or at least to the brands will enable the consumer to establish a bond beyond the visual they see on the site.
10. Persuasion capability of the e-trade website
One of the most important roles of digital storytelling is to assist the decision-making process by convincing the consumer when purchasing a product. As mentioned in the detailed analysis above, Trendyol takes advantage of some of the features of digital storytelling compared to the e-trade sites reviewed so far, and is therefore capable of persuading the consumer. This ratio will increase even more when all the elements of digital storytelling are used.
11. Recall level of the e-trade website
As brand awareness increases, the recall level of a brand in consumers’ mind also increases. Stories help to increase brand awareness by positively affecting the recall level of the e-trade site. As Trendyol has a high brand awareness, its recall level is therefore high.
12. Reality of the e-trade website
Having a true story is one of the most important elements in storytelling, stories should not be considered as fiction they should reflect the facts. Although Trendyol includes some elements of digital storytelling, the content and visuals it shares in general do not question its reality.
Summary of Trendyol Digital Storytelling Analysis:
The average score in Trendyol’s digital storytelling analysis is 7.08 out of 10. When Trendyol includes all the elements of digital storytelling on its site, the level of consumer connection will also increase, which will also enable the e-trade site to achieve better business results.
