Samsung Checkout Redesign
Description
The scope of this project was to research and redesign the shopping cart & checkout experience for Samsung Electronic’s US website. The company is currently experiencing a redevelopment of their previous business model, and wanted a more modern website to reflect those forthcoming changes. In addition, the company hoped to encourage future users to engage more directly with the site and create an account, rather than shop for their products through outside retailers.
UX/UI Designer
RESPONSIBILITIES
User Research, Comparative/Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Wireframing, Hi-fidelity Mockups
The problem
Although having a dominant foothold within the electronics market, Samsung’s web presence was largely lacking, both in strong design and number of users. For years, the company had relied on the relationships they held with outside retailers in order to sell their products.
They hoped to change this relationship by creating a stronger web presence and increasing the number of registered accounts. Some of the ways they hoped to do this was by creating new incentive programs and bundle/special offerings offered exclusively on the site, in addition to their first brick-and-mortar store.
Me and a team of designers were tasked with creating a more streamlined checkout experience for our intended user. The new design needed to be able to handle the potential for incredibly complex orders, while still being flexible to alterations.
Aside from the outdated feel, the overall experience completely buckled when handling multiple line items and add-ons. For example, if a user's cart held multiple parent items (such as Galaxy S8s) and multiple child items (such as Premium Care coverage or a bundle deal), there was no easy way to distinguish which child item belonged to which parent. As a business that is constantly pushing out BOGOs and special programs across all product families, Samsung needed a solution built to handle complex orders. This demand for flexibility and clarity laid the foundation for our redesign.
The solution
Create an iterative purchasing experience for our intended customers that could accommodate to all levels of interest, by providing a transparent experience that would allow the user to fully engage in the customization of their product
Redesign the existing tablet purchasing flow, while integrating the established visual /interaction design guidelines that Samsung.com had recently utilized to the configurators of other product families
Reconsider & introduce secondary purchasing experiences (add-ons, protections plans, etc.) seamlessly throughout the flow in key areas, in order to increase up-selling and identify missed opportunities
research
I worked closely with our data analyst and marketing team to uncover key metrics about our intended users. My goal was to assess the behavior of our users by separating them in regards to the type of tablet they wish to purchase, in order to cover the gamut of potential purchases. One model utilized was Samsung’s marquee model, the 2-in-1 Galaxy Book, meant to represent the highest level of commitment. The second model used was Samsung’s Tab S3, their most simplified tablet that came standard with no additional add-ons.
findings
1. Most users have already determined what level of tablet they are going to purchase (plain tablet vs. 2-in-1) due to understanding the needs of their own lives.
2. Both groups listed the tablets’ functional features (battery life, storage, durability, and RAM) as their main motivational factor for finalizing purchase.
3. Both groups stated that having a lack of transparency surrounding the tablets’ specs and pricing models would be a major pain-point.
Heuristic Evaluation
I referenced Jacob Nielsen's book Usability Engineering to identify key areas of opportunity throughout the existing design. Some of the key principle’s that I focused on were: Visibility of system status, consistency & standards, recognition rather than recall, and aesthetic & minimalist design:
1. The largest pain point was derived from there being multiple experiences in the purchasing flow: marquee tablets are given their own banner ads with direct accessibility to PDPs, while the other option was a more generic tiled view where the different SKUs could be accessed through filters.
2. The most important observation from these options was that additional product information on SKUs was not always provided, and not all items were directly purchasable on the site. In addition, up to date pricing was not reflected accurately during the configuration process, leading to a lack of transparency.
3. Another issue was that the purchasing experience for tablet accessories was difficult to access, lacked hierarchy and strong product descriptions. Also, the add-ons page operated autonomously from the purchasing experiences of other product families. This created a fragmented and tedious experience for our users and was the reason for our large drop-off rates in interest.
Existing Tablet Purchase Entry Points
comparative/competitive analysis
I conducted a comparative/competitive analysis on Samsung’s biggest competitors, in order to assess their approach to this problem.
Findings
1. All competitors utilized a simple configuration flow, where finalizing of the device specifications was determined through a subtractive selection process
2. Most competitors prominently featured the amount in which the total price would fluctuate when certain options were selected, as well as kept the current total visible apart from the main content
3. Key add-ons were generally presented underneath the main content of the product configurator as direct-to-purchase or would link out to SKU product pages that would provide more information
Takeaways
1. Having the tablet configurator occupying one page would break existing design standards set forth by previous product configurators on the site, which all utilized a breadcrumb system for easy returnability
2. The sheer number of product families represented on Samsung’s add-on page would create a tedious learning experience for our user, resulting in lack of interest and lower sales
3. Redistribution of select add-on product families to relevant areas could increase the users level of engagement and incentivize them to purchase, as they would feel more in control of the overall experience
4. To avoid navigability issues, special attention would need to be paid to the verbiage being used within the different CTAs to provide guidance throughout the experience
Hi-Fidelity Mockups
New Tablet Configurator User Flow
Tools & techniques
Pen & paper, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin
User Research, Scenarios, Comparative/Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Wireframing, Hi-fidelity Mockups