After 10 months, we observed a conversion rate surge from 4% to 5.93%, signaling an impressive 50% increase, poised to surpass our initial business success benchmarks.
Company X is a hygiene products company specializing in specific hygiene items. The consulting company, BBDO, is a client of Company X. They offer a "Where to Buy" page where users can locate specific products in their desired locations. However, after receiving user feedback, the company indicated that users said it was overly complex and lengthy. Company X seeks a redesign of the page and its user flow.
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The Team
Jonathan
Lead UX Designer
Dylan
UI Designer
Rebecca
Product Manager
Kylie
Product Coordinator
Matt
Digital Director
Company X faces difficulties with their user experience within the "Where to Buy" section of the website. They believe this is because of their poor mobile design, lack of directional clarity, and poor conversion rates.
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With 84% of traffic originating from mobile devices, emphasizing the importance of adopting a mobile-first design is evident. Furthermore, a mere 4% of users follow the 'Where to Buy' user flow by clicking the 'Buy Now' button and then leaving the company site to visit retailers.
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Business Goal: Company X wants to create a focal 'Where To Buy' user flow that helps users find and purchase the product online, while increasing their conversion rate.
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Additionally, the business success metric objective is to elevate this figure to 6% within a 6-9 month timeframe post-project completion.
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Customer goal: Company X wants to have users successfully complete the task of finding specific products that are available online or in-store in an efficient and easily navigable manner.
Currently, the 'Where to Buy' user flow starts with users 'Searching by Product.' Company X wanted us to design and change the user flow process from 'Search by Product' to 'Search by Location.' Based on the lack of evidence, I questioned the stakeholders' decision as to why this process would be more efficient for the user.
Below are the following questions to consider:
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Does changing the user flow actually provide a more efficient and seamless process?
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Does initial 'Search by Location' help create an output that aligns with steering users toward the business objective of finding products online?
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What starting method do users prefer when looking to buy a product?
We decided to conduct a survey to understand the actions, preferences, and requirements of users when searching for a product to buy.
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Participants:
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145
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Requirements:
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Customers who have purchased this type of hygiene product
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Customers who will be purchasing this type of product in the near future (within 12 months)
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Survey time:
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1 month
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Method:
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Google Forms
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Recruitment:
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We were able to obtain and conduct the survey from participants who had signed up for product information and promotion newsletters.
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Search Preferences: a majority of users, 73%, indicated that their initial approach involves searching for a product rather than seeking a location or employing any other method.
Stacy
Survey Participant
Stacy
Survey Participant
Matthew
Survey Participant
"If I search for a store first, how do I know that specific pack size will be at that store? I don't want to guess.
"It's all about efficiency. If I am looking for ANY specific product, I'm not searching in Google for the store first."
Product Trust and Reliability: Users mentioned that when looking for specific product details, 81% prefer to start by exploring the company website.
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"Understanding what ingredients are in the product is a top priority for me. I want to see that from the company website."
Drew
Survey Participant
"I can't tell you how many times I've had to return items on Amazon because the product descriptions were incorrect."
Hillary
Survey Participant
Our team aimed to enhance this by conducting user testing on the "Where to Buy" section of the website. However, there were limitations including time and budget.
I conducted secondary research to analyze the approaches of other hygiene competitors within the 'Where to Buy' section. Through this research, I noticed that many of the companies utilized shorter and more streamlined flows compared to the proposed user flow that Company X intends to redesign.
1. Search by Product
All competitors started the 'Where to Buy' process with 'Searching by Product'. The output resulted in users being able to select either online or in-store purchasing on one page.
2. Inventory Data Tracking
Another key feature was that competitors had plug-ins that tracked inventory data for the specific products selected. There was no guessing to see if products were available online or in-store.
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3. User Location Tracking
All competitors had auto-location tracking after the product selection was made, ultimately providing quick and immediate in-store location data.
Drawing inspiration from this discovery, I incorporated these insights into my initial wireframe and flow sketches.
I devised two proposals to present to our internal team at BDDO and the stakeholders.
Proposals
1. Search by Product
2. Search by Location
The "Search by Product" proposal is to emphasize the user's ability to locate their desired product before considering the store's location and online availability.
User decision goals:
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Enable users to choose their desired product from available options.
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Offer a selection of package types for the chosen product.
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Facilitate the search process by allowing users to narrow down their options using a zip code on the map.
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Provide the flexibility to shop either in-store or online.
Stacy
Survey Participant
"I need a fast and efficient method to locate any product, similar to grocery shopping. It's like looking for a particular ingredient in a food recipe. I search for the product and then find the product location."
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Hypothesis: Users prefer to find a specific product type before narrowing it down to a store location.
Results: Validated through a customer survey and competitive analysis.
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The “Search by Location” proposal prioritizes the user's ability to search for nearby stores first, with the online option as secondary.
User decision goals:
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Initiate the search by allowing users to input their zip code, current location, or specific address.
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Present a comprehensive list of nearby stores to choose from.
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Select the desired store location
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Select a package type based on the products presented.
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Offer a convenient list of products available both in-store and online for each selected store.
Hypothesis: Users prefer to find a location where the desired brand is available before narrowing it down to a specific product.
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Results: Rejected through customer surveys and competitive analysis.
"Your customer research on product trust/reliability and product search gives us the confidence that Proposal 1 is the best option for both our business and our customers."
Bryant
Stakeholder
"Which navigation approach is the most efficient?", "Which approach is validated through customer research?" and "Which option balances user goals and business aims?"
These were important questions we had to consider in the design decision process.
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Design Decision
Proposal 1, the "Search by Product" feature
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To effectively demonstrate this decision, we meticulously constructed an elaborate "product-based search" user flow, which we subsequently presented to the client.
Following the presentation and discussions with the client, they expressed their preference for the "search by product" user flow proposal over the 'search by location' option. However, after further discussions, they requested some changes because of limitations within channel advisors. It was noted that the decision to make some changes within the user flow would not be considered until 2024. The following plug-in limitations were noted:
1. No live map integration
2. No cross-company inventory management tools
3. No auto-location tracking
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Following the presentation and discussions with the client, they expressed their preference for the "search by product" user flow proposal over the 'search by location' option. However, after further discussions, they requested some changes because of limitations within channel advisors. It was noted that the decision to make some changes within the user flow would not be considered until 2024. The following plug-in limitations were noted:
1. No live map integration
2. No cross-company inventory management tools
3. No auto-location tracking
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"How can we balance the overall user experience and visual design while ensuring alignment with business objectives through iterations?"
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Before proceeding with visual design adjustments as per stakeholder feedback and limitations, we proposed an alternative solution to address the 'Where To Buy' user flow issue. Our suggestion involved incorporating third-party plug-ins, like PriceSpider, into the site. This would easily allow them to optimize touchpoints for conversions and reduce project costs by eliminating software development.
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Regrettably, the stakeholders declined this approach, opting instead for design work within the existing plug-in constraints. More significant changes will be considered in 2024.
Collaborating closely with the internal team, we made the necessary adjustments to the design deliverables to accommodate the client's feedback and ensure a more efficient user experience, while maintaining business objectives.
We retained the "Search by Product" user flow while adding a secondary "Find a store near you" button on each of the pages. This created a focal point to have users find available online products first, but give the user the ability to find a product by location at any given time in the process.
Company X was pleased with our deliverable, and the upcoming changes will be implemented by Q1 of 2023.
After 10 months, we were able to gain analytical access. We were pleased to discover that conversion rates had improved from 4% to 5.93%, indicating a nearly 50% increase and on an upward trajectory to beat initial business success metrics.
Usability Testing
Due to budget constraints, we conducted a brief customer survey focusing on their actions, preferences, and requirements when searching for a product to buy. Incorporating usability testing could have significantly enhanced the qualitative data used in making design decisions.
Technical Limitations
It is essential to always ask stakeholders up front, what are the technical limitations of the project? We realized after the first round of designs, that many of the design changes were not feasible based on the existing plug-ins.
Monitor data points
I would check in with the stakeholders to analyze alarming data points including conversion rates to see if our design decisions were validated.