I redesigned an e-commerce mobile app with the goal of increasing conversion rates.
In 2020, I redesigned an e-commerce mobile application for Select Cycle, a boutique cycling shop, with the goal of improving conversion rates by increasing user confidence.
I managed and executed each step of this project as an independent UX/UI Consultant.
The primary constraints of this project were a limited time frame and the technological constraints of designing for a mobile application exclusively. Working as a lone designer with only 90 billable design hours at my disposal, I had to make strategic and intentional decisions about which methodologies and tools were feasible.
The high rate of users abandoning carts at account registration suggested user frustrations with having to create an account in order to check out. A simple, yet effective solution would be to allow the user to checkout as a guest.
The high rate of users failing to add items to cart, even after viewing multiple products, suggested that users were interested but ultimately lack of confidence in determining which products to buy.
But what would be the BEST way to give users confidence?
Initially, I planned on designing an interactive quiz to help users determine what bike was best for them. However, I realized that this idea wasn’t appropriate for my target user, as it was really designed with casual consumers in mind. In contrast, my target user was very serious about biking, picky about products, did their own research, and saw their bike as an investment.
Suddenly a “Which Bike is Best For Me” questionnaire didn’t seem appropriate, especially considering my project constraints. I ultimately decided that a side-by-side comparison tool featuring bikes at similar price points would provide more value to the user. I also chose to provide ranked category lists (“Best Bikes Under $1,000” for example) as well as a clean display of customer reviews.
The following target user demographic information was provided by Select Cycle.
Target Demographics *
To gain a better idea of potential solutions, I evaluated designs from leading mobile e-commerce platforms (both in and outside the bike industry) to understand how they gave users confidence in their purchase and to gain insight into providing a “Checkout as Guest” experience.
I evaluated mobile-web and app designs from:
With a general idea of necessary improvements, I mapped out a user flow to get an idea of the user’s journey and the screens required for the minimal viable product (MVP)
To begin my screen designs, I quickly used Figma to produce low fidelity wireframes that could be used for my first round of User Testing.
Findings from my first round Usability Testing included:
In light of my usability test findings, I used Figma to refine my wireframes into a high fidelity interactive prototype.
With an interactive detailed product in hand, I decided to perform another round of usability tests and discover more opportunities to improve usability.
Usability test recommendations included:
This project was a reminder of how it's important to think specifically in the shoes of the target user and not necessarily move forward with the first solution that seems promising.
If given more time, I would continue to perform user testing (A/B Testing) on the featured solutions with users and continue to refine the product in a way that is most useful for them.
