Imagine an ecommerce site which must know the user's location in order to check the availability of items. Unfortunately, it cannot have a first guess with IPs, because the availability can change even in different regions of the same city.
Another important detail is that users would add many different products on a single delivery (based on the type of products), and delivery times could also be on the same day.
So it must ask delivery address or postal code, before it display available products.
Which of the following scenarios could lead to better UX?
Scenario 1
- (User on homepage): Simple form with postal code and CTA to start buying. Also any ability to search or view categories is hidden
- (If user is landed on any other page): When user performs "add to cart" action, a modal dialog asks for address or postal code. Then the user is informed about the availability of his/her selected product, and reload products based on availability.
Scenario 2
- (User on homepage): Any ability to search or view categories is available. Also user can explore the whole site, and even add products on cart.Only on checkout, the user is informed about the availability of his/her selected products.
The scenario of a registered user is trivial, as we have already captured his/her physical address
Do you have any examples of a similar problem with solution? What do you believe could be better for users?