Summary
Google UX Certification Project: Amazon
Duration: 2 months
Role: Product Designer
Deliverables
User Research
Competitive Analysis
User Persona
Wireframe
Prototype
Usability Testing
Project Summary
Amazon is an existing e-commerce app. It is online retailer, manufacturer of e-book readers, and Web services provider. I redesigned their department and shopping experience to provide users with personalized features. This was a personal project for the Google UX Design Certification course.
User Research
To begin my research, I began to look for critical user reviews about the Amazon app on the App Store (iOS). The purpose was to observe user’s behavior in regards to their shopping experience. From the reviews, I filtered out potential biases versus reviews that describes specific features in detail. This is to ensure that the users are providing genuine feedback instead of biases against the brand in general.
A Competitive Analysis was performed to:
1. Synthesizing the information before acting on the findings.
2. Create features that’s non-existent on the app
3. Enhance a feature by taking solutions from another product
4. Identify common pain points.
I’ve compared different apps from Amazon’s main competitors Ebay, Walmart, and Best buy to identify possible existing solutions. After researching through variety of articles, user reviews, and assessing the app in-person, I’ve defined some of the pain points and solutions to enhance the app.
Ebay
Pros:
• Comprehensive Bidding Feature
• Organized Category
• Identifiable Interest Category
• Unit Amounts(s) Sold
• Live viewer watchers/buyers
Cons:
• Repetitive items shown in preview
• Review section is underdeveloped
• Poor seller protection
• High scam sellers
Amazon
Pros:
• Seller protection
• Excellent Customer Service
• Robust Review Section
• Competitive Prices
• Trustful Sellers
Cons:
• Underdeveloped filtering option
• Confusing Navigation
• Improvements needed in Categories
• Exploration page needs work
• Algorithms often do not display relevant products
Walmart
Pros:
• Robust Category Section
• Reordering feature
• Physical Store Pickup
• In store item locator
• Saving Catcher
Cons:
• Poor Customer Service
• Receipt upload is no longer available
• Online prices are not as competitive
Best Buy
Pros:
• Reduced Ads
• Easy Navigation
• Robust filter options
• Organized Category feature
• Fast Shopping Experience
Cons:
• Credit Card of the app does not work well
• Does not disclose in-store price and availability (Broken feature)
• Do not have item locator for in-store
Challenge
Outdated UI. A number of people said that the interface does not match the branding style of the website version. The navigation was also confusing because users were not able to go back to the intended page on their search journey.
Irrelevant Product Results. It is clearly mentioned several times that Amazon app doesn’t display relevant products that anticipates the next user’s behavior.
Underdeveloped filtering options. Many users feel frustrated that once they select a filter feature, they must re-do the entire search process to go back to the filter options. Another pain point is that the filter isn’t well-defined. It will not allow users to make the appropriate filter to accurately find the item.
Display of Ads. Numerous people expressed annoyance with the ads display.
Solution
Engaging Exploration Feature. The goal is to match the branding of the website version to the mobile app. Along with this, the UI will display an exploration feed of organized departments.
Algorithm Product Results. We want to display products from past user searches and data from website history or cookies. This will show the users new items and deals they’ll most likely purchase.
Enhance Filtering option. The filter option will be primarily used to prevent repetition of unwanted items on the feed. Users can go back to the filter option and make changes to their selections without re-doing their search.
Make the ads more attractive. The ads will not be taken out since many of the vendors conduct business with Amazon. The solution is to make the ads look less like ads and more of a recommendation preview.
Jasmine is a highly motivated and skilled makeup artist who has carved out a niche for herself in the competitive world of beauty services. She is passionate about her craft and has successfully established her own business, specializing in providing makeup services to popular Instagram Influencers.
Jasmine's Goals
Jasmine is driven by a strong desire for career growth and recognition in the beauty and influencer industry. She constantly seeks opportunities to enhance her skills and stay updated on the latest makeup trends.
Delivering top-notch service and ensuring her clients, who are influential figures on Instagram, are satisfied is of utmost importance to Jasmine. Positive feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations are crucial for her business success.
Pain Points
Juggling multiple clients and projects, Jasmine faces time constraints. Efficient and prompt product delivery is crucial for her to meet tight schedules. While committed to using high-quality products, Jasmine is mindful of her budget. She seeks cost-effective solutions without compromising on the quality of her makeup kit.
High Fidelity Wireframe
Rational. The initial landing page of the Amazon app lacked engagement, particularly for users uninterested in Alexa. To enhance user motivation beyond the first page, I revamped the design by incorporating a display of users' past item views. This adjustment ensures that even those disinterested in Alexa can connect with the products showcased below. Additionally, I restructured the bottom navigation to include Home, Favorites, Departments, and Account, optimizing app navigation for a more seamless user experience.
Rational. I've streamlined the filter options by removing irrelevant choices and introducing essential categories such as price, customer rating, brand, beauty product attributes, condition, and gender. To further improve user convenience, I've incorporated a "Done" button that seamlessly redirects users to the same page, eliminating the need to redo their entire search.
Rational: Recognizing user frustration with ads, I have introduced an option for users to hide them. Positioned discreetly at the bottom of the advertisement, a subtle "Hide Ad" feature provides an opt-out choice, seamlessly diminishing the intrusive feel of the ads.
Rational. While the previous design solely relied on a drop-down list for department selection, the new app retains this functionality while introducing a visually appealing representation of department categories. This enhancement aims to inspire users, offering a more engaging and motivating exploration experience.
I orchestrated user tests involving five participants and meticulously synthesized their valuable feedback into an insightful affinity map. The findings illuminated an overwhelmingly positive sentiment towards the overall user experience, with users expressing satisfaction in navigating the search effortlessly, yielding relevant results, and noting a diminished visibility of ads. The well-organized interface received acclaim, and the seamless exit from filters without redoing the entire search addressed a common pain point uncovered in prior user research.
Noteworthy feedback highlighted the ease of navigation through item options and the immediate visibility of item previews. Users particularly appreciated the visually appealing department visuals that facilitated exploration across various categories in the Amazon e-commerce realm.
In the pursuit of continuous improvement, suggestions were gleaned to organize search results by categories and to refine and condense the filter options. Responding to user desires, considerations were made for the incorporation of a wishlist and a buy one-click button on the item page to enrich the shopping experience. Additionally, a proposed toggle feature for organizing departments emerged as a key feature for consideration in future iterations. These insights not only affirm the positive aspects of the design but also provide a clear roadmap for refining and elevating the user experience.
Prototype
Overall, the project was fun to work on. I’ve worked on an e-commerce product in the past, but I thought it would be interesting to improve an existing product.
The most challenging part of the project was creating solutions to solve the existing user problem. Instead of second guessing possible solutions, the market research helped with narrowing down key features that improves the overall user experience.
