Samsung Tablet Configurator
Description
The scope of this project was to research and develop a device configuration flow for potential Samsung tablet buyers. Sales for Samsung tablets has seen a consistent decline in recent years. The company currently has tablets at the entry, mass and premium price points, but lacked a clear vision on how to differentiate between the positioning and shoppers targeted at each tier. In addition, Samsung also provided the ability to browse through their surplus of older model tablets through these same experiences, but were only available for purchase through outside retailers. For these reasons, the ability to purchase a tablet became an incredibly fragmented experience.
UX/UI Designer
RESPONSIBILITIES
User Research, Comparative/Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Wireframing, Hi-fidelity Mockups
The problem
The existing purchasing experiences had a large number of inconsistencies throughout, including multiple points of entry, inability to purchase items on-site, as well as a lack of hierarchy and missing product information.
I was tasked with creating a purchasing experience 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.
I was also approached with the opportunity to improve upon the add-on experience, which was also experiencing its own decline in participation due to improper integration. Stakeholders felt this was a major missed opportunity inside the purchasing experience, and requested that we re-evaluate the existing designs to identify any potential issues.
requirements included
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
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 buyers. 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.
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. They also consistently kept a real-time current total visible at all times
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 navigability
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 large drop-off rates
3. Unlike their competitors, Samsung frequently had more than one version of a product available (stylus, attachable keyboard, etc.), whereas other companies typically displayed current flagship models
Moving forward into the visual design phase of the project, alternative configurators were observed to determine which key elements of their design would be utilized for the tablet configurator, in order to maintain consistency. The primary element selected was the adoption of a breadcrumb system that would provide segmentation for key areas. In addition, the utilization of a sub-navigation that would include real-time pricing, as well as access to the order summary was also selected.
Redistribution of add-ons to related areas was also hypothesized to potentially increase the users level of engagement and incentivize them to purchase, as they would feel these purchases were directly a part of the customization process. To avoid navigability issues, special attention would need to be paid to the nomenclature being used within this experience to provide guidance throughout the configuration process.
Hi-Fidelity Mockups
New Tablet Configurator User Flow
TOOLS & TECHNIQUES
Pen & paper, Sketch, Marvel, Zeplin
User Research, Scenarios, Personas, Comparative/Competitive Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Wireframing, Hi-fidelity Mockups