Giving the online marketplace more functionality & granting peace of mind
Introduction
When I moved from South Korea to the US, there were tons of items that I couldn’t even take with me. As an eco-friendly individual, I donated some of them instead of throwing away. However, there were some items that still had value, so I tried some resale marketplace apps to sell the items. They were quite helpful, but at the same time, the process of selling items was too complicated and I was worried about scams while using those apps…sadly.
Timeline
June to Oct 2022 (12 Weeks)
User research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability testing + IterationRole
Figma
Tools
Problem
Individuals who buy or sell used items online often have concerns about scams and inaccurate item descriptions, as well as difficulty in finding potential buyers or setting appropriate prices.
Solution
An online resale platform that has improved item description as well as price guidance and negotiation, and implements verification/rating procedures for users to prevent scams.
Research
Quantitative Research
In preparation for conducting user interviews, I conducted a survey among individuals with experience in secondhand trading. The survey aimed to gather information on how people typically dispose of unused items, their experiences with online secondhand trading, and to identify potential candidates for future interviews. The survey was distributed through Facebook and Slack.
People hesitate to sell items online!
Pretty interesting, isn’t it? As you can see on the left graph, over 60 percent of participants said that they have sold or purchased used items online in the past 12 months. However, only 17.9 percent of participants said that they would sell them online.
Qualitative Research
During the five interviews, I found out a few factors why users hesitate to use online market platforms. The common pain points that I found during the interviews were mostly about communication and trust issues.
1. Improper Item description
“Sometimes, the item that I am looking for is not described well enough. There are not enough pictures to show the item. In my experience, I feel as if item descriptions were limited. The allowed characters or picture upload limitations made it difficult to see the item’s real value.I feel as if there is a lot of room for improvement for both the buyers and the sellers.”
- Ryan
2. Scams
In many situations, I’ve found myself contemplating on whether or not I should purchase things based on the possibility of being scammed. Electronics specifically, I’ve found prices “too good to be true” or misleading posts that made me question the authenticity of the posts. I’ve been scammed in the past, and hesitate to pursue transactions unless there is a form of authentication.
- Andrew
3. Price Setting
When I have an item that I would like to sell, I may not have an accurate expectation for price range. Items in specific conditions hold a different value. I’ve attempted to sell items at both too high and too low of a price which resulted in loss of potential profit, or no sale at all. Having a recommended price tool could help save sellers a lot of time and potentially help them make a decent profit margin.
- Wayne
4. Scheduling
Scheduling can be the most challenging aspect of finalizing a transaction, especially when meeting in person. People may forget about their appointments and fail to show up. Using a reminder system for both the buyer and seller can help prevent this problem.
- Phoebe
Define & ideation
Persona
From the key insights above, I created this persona named “Luke”, focusing on the pain points and common needs when buying or selling used items online and conducting transactions.
HMW Questions
Based on the key insights from the user interviews, and for Luke to accomplish his goal of selling his used items successfully, I made these goals below to make a better user experience while using a resale market platform.
How might we..
ensure that both parties are satisfied with the item description and willing to proceed with the transaction?
implement of a reliable rating system that allows users to see transparent ratings and prevent scams?
help users set the schedule and find ways to remind them in order to prevent no shows?
assist users in posting their used items with appropriate prices to improve the chances of selling?
Design
Sketch
For Luke to accomplish his goals to sell his items online successfully, I decided to design three routes based on his pain points and goals:
1) Sign up and create a profile. 2) Post an item to sell. 3) Go to Inbox, communicate with others and complete the transactions.
1) Since Luke is worried about scams, signing up and creating a profile is simple but important to prevent scams. By identifying and verifying their number and email, users can see who the other users are, and if others are legitimate people to make transactions.
2) One of the concerns that Luke has is poor item description and the complicated procedure of posting an item. Posting an item should be simple and easy but users should give essential information of their items. Also, I added the “Price recommendation” feature, as most of the interviewees said that they had difficulty in choosing the right and reasonable price.
3) The third route is for Luke to find a potential buyer, communicate with them, and finally complete the transaction. While doing so, he can provide more details such as more pictures and other visuals, as well as further explanations. Since he is worried about no shows and struggles with setting schedules with the buyer, he can share the location and add the schedule to his calendar.
User tests & Iteration
With the wireframes and high fidelity mockups, I conducted the interviews with five people. During the interviews, I gained some common feedback from them and I iterated my designs based on them.
Confusing Texts
Two of my interviewees asked me what the “Local” and “Nationwide” mean and what the differences between them are. Instead, I changed them to “Pickup” and “Shipping” for better understanding.
Unnecessary dropdown menu
During the interview, I got a lot of feedback that the users don’t understand why the button to switch the delivery option is in the chat box. It wasn’t natural for that menu to be there based on other existing resale apps. Therefore, I deleted the dropdown menu to reduce the confusion, and added the number of views and likes, which one of the interviewees suggested.
More details for reference
For the price recommendation feature in the previous version, users could only see the name and price of the similar item for the price reference. However, three of the interviewees said that it would be much better if they could see the item detail so that they can compare the condition of the item with theirs and see when it was sold.
More intuitive user rating
So as to see if someone is reliable, I added the rating system. However, a few interviewees said that it would be much better if there was a simple question to rate the other user. Star rating and giving keywords didn’t seem direct enough of feedback. Simply asking whether or not the user would work with the same individual gives a simple and direct answer.
Final Design
With the precious feedbacks from interviewees and my mentor, I synthesized the insights into my design. Here are the key features to handle Luke’s pain points and concerns, and help him to accomplish his goals.
Takeaways
First end-to-end project
Since this solo project was my first project as a UX designer, I had to handle all of the UX design process myself, from research and design. This project allowed me to understand the duties involved to see the process from cradle to grave. I’ve gained valuable insights during this project:
It is not likely possible to satisfy all users’ expectations. After the usability tests, I tried to apply all the insights to my design, but in doing so, I learned that not all users expect or want the same things.
Try to tackle one thing at a time instead of trying to solve everyone’s need all at once.
Iteration is the key.
From applying solutions to the problems provided, it is always practical to make those changes and see how the results play out versus what was expected. This can be related to the first takeaway. If there is a lot of feedback, apply the necessary changes and see if they work properly, and keep iterating on your design and try it through another usability test with additional participants to see if the changes yield possible results.
This is where I TRULY found out why usability tests are critical for developing a user friendly design. While there were features that I thought would be helpful, they might not be to others. Through usability tests, I’ve found that other users have different opinions on the features that I had intended to apply.
What I think is convenient may not always be the case.
Prototype
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