WRS

Improve the e-commerce experience

For the WRS e-commerce platform, I led a comprehensive user research initiative to improve the online purchasing experience. The primary objective was to deeply understand the users, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities to enhance the site's usability and overall user satisfaction.

As a motorcycle enthusiast and regular user of the WRS e-commerce, I often found myself navigating challenges while searching for and purchasing parts. Recognizing these pain points firsthand, I decided to take a proactive approach to improving the site’s usability. Leveraging my UX design expertise, I embarked on a project to refine the platform, aiming to enhance the user experience not just for myself but for the entire WRS community.

The research

Interviews

I conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse group of motorcycle owners. Participants varied in technical knowledge, purchasing power, and their specific needs, whether buying for themselves or others. Ages ranged from 16 to 60, providing a broad spectrum of user insights.

These interviews were instrumental in uncovering the unique characteristics and needs of each participant, laying the foundation for accurate persona creation.

This interview guide is structured to build a comprehensive understanding of the user's journey, from their background with motorcycles to the specific pain points they experience while shopping for parts online. The questions are open-ended, encouraging detailed responses that will provide valuable insights for the project.

To organize the results of user interviews, I started by transcribing each interview verbatim to capture all the details of the participants' responses. Once transcribed, I summarize each interview, focusing on key aspects such as purchasing behaviors, motivations, challenges, and preferences.

Next, I analyzed the data to identify themes and patterns across the interviews. Group similar responses together using affinity mapping, either physically with sticky notes or digitally with tools like Miro or FigJam.

Personas

From the interview insights, I developed personas that represented the real needs of the user base. These personas guided the design decisions throughout the project, ensuring that the solutions were user-centered.

Experience mapping

To gain a deeper understanding of the user journey, I created experience maps for each persona. These maps detailed the touchpoints, emotions, gains, and pains experienced by users during their interactions with the site.

This comprehensive view of the user journey allowed us to pinpoint areas where the e-commerce experience could be significantly improved. In other experience maps, I included additional steps tailored to the needs of the various personas analyzed: the order confirmation and receipt process, component installation, product usage, and the phases of re-purchasing and building loyalty to the site.

Opportunity identification

Based on the experience maps, I identified key areas of opportunity. These were prioritized by assessing their potential value to both the business and the user.

• Source of Inspiration: Creating content that motivates users to consider making modifications.
• Homepage Content: The products featured on the homepage may not be relevant for all customers. They are highly specific and may appeal only to a select group of users.
• Product Organization and Search: The menu, product categories, and search functionalities can be difficult to navigate for both inexperienced users and those with more expertise.
• Product Information: Many of the details provided in the product descriptions are unclear and assume the user has prior knowledge that they might not possess.
• Supporting and Educating the User: The e-commerce site offers technical components that require specific knowledge and tools for installation, which many enthusiasts may lack. As a result, users often prefer to buy accessories that they know how to install themselves.

I formulated "How Might We" questions to facilitate ideation and drive the project forward with concrete solutions.

Idea development and benchmarking

Ideas were structured using an "Idea Canvas Toolcard," which detailed the origin of the idea, its value proposition for both the user and the business, and the requirements and potential obstacles.

Here is a brief portion of this phase.

A benchmarking process was also conducted to compare WRS with similar e-commerce platforms, identifying best practices and potential areas for differentiation.

Project output - pain points

The analysis and research phase led to the identification of critical touchpoints and key points that informed the redesign process. These key points acted as guiding principles to enhance the user experience and meet business objectives.

Project Output - user stories & opportunities

Based on the pain points, I developed some user stories that mapped out interesting opportunities. This was followed by the creation of wireframes, which provided the first visual representation of the redesigned e-commerce platform, focused on improving usability and addressing the identified pain points:

1 - Inspire Users

To inspire users, we've focused on making sponsored products in your collaborations instantly visible. By creating dedicated landing pages, WRS can maximize the value of its collaborations with ambassadors, showcasing the content they produce.

I'm always looking for new modifications to customize my motorcycle.

2 - Optimize search

From the homepage, we guide users in searching for their specific vehicle. To further assist users, we aim to highlight search options tailored to their needs, starting with the selection of their vehicle (or multiple vehicles).

Finding accessories on this site is not always straightforward.

3 - Educate users

The product page should utilize manufacturer content to help users find the most suitable product. It's crucial to offer guides that can teach users how to independently make modifications to their vehicles when necessary.

Choosing the right product is not easy given my technical skills.