Content is important... even when the content is not

A recent online experience demonstrated to me that content is important even when the content isn't important.

Let me explain what I mean.

The research

I recently bought a camera. After much research, I decided that what I needed was a nice entry-level digital camera, and settled on the Sony DSC P32. Now all I needed to do was buy the thing. Off I went to my favourite shopping comparison sites: www.pricerunner.co.uk and www.kelkoo.co.uk.

Because it's a Sony, it's available in a whole range of different stores, with prices (including delivery) ranging from £138 all the way up to £199. The branch of Jessops on the high street is doing it for £160, so I'm keen to buy online.

I click to visit the site that has it for £138. There's the camera, but it's just the camera. No technical specs. So I click away.

Irrational?

As soon as I hit the "back" button, it struck me that something strange had just happened: I had clicked away because of the absence of something I didn't need.

I'm a great one for product research. By the time I'm ready to buy something, I typically know the specifications inside out. (And in any case, I could have opened another browser instance, typed "Sony DSP P32" into Google, and got a list of technical specifications up on the screen - all in about 15 seconds.)

The conclusion: content is important, even when the content isn't important

It wasn't the lack of information that was the problem, it was what the lack of information communicated to me about the company. I didn't need the information, but I did need reassurance that the presence of the information would have given me.

So I went to and spent my money on a different website. One that presented me with information. Information that I did not need.