UI/UX Case Study For An E-commerce Platform

Two weeks back, I decided to take up a new challenge and work on a case study for an e-commerce platform for the sale of electronic gadgets. It involved a lot of research and time invested to not just understand the needs and problems of the potential users, but to solve it in a way that made sense.

Project Overview

Leading your life without the use of gadgets is next to impossible. Humans cannot work to their optimum best from morning to bedtime without a smartphone, music player, flat-screen television, cooling, cooking, and cleaning devices. In the modern-day setting, everything happens at the click of a button, helping you do your work promptly. This is the power of gadgets, a blessing for humans.

In this new age, it’s important to have a platform dedicated to the sale of quality electronic gadgets, a platform that the users can trust.

The Problem

Having a platform that is easy to use, with simple navigation and a clear interface that would enable the user to purchase exactly what is seen online to avoid the situation of ‘what i ordered and what i got’’.
A lot of mobile applications also have alot of ads which delay the user because they are they to perform an activity within the shortest time frame.

The Goal

• To create a easy-to-use mobile application with easy navigation.
• The user should be able to purchase exactly what is seen online.
• The user should be able to make in-store purchases as well after loading their online cart.
• To stop the sale of low-quality gadgets for extravagant prices.

This is a detailed map of the design process I used while working on this project.

User Research

Before proceeding to the design phase, it was importanat for me to understand the major pain points of the individuals during the process of purchasing a gadget and generally using a mobile platform.

So I asked a few questions:

• Would you like a mobile platform dedicated to just electronic gadgets
• What is your major problem when you use an e-commerce platform
• What are some examples of applications that you use and love? why do you love them?
• What are some examples of applications that you use but do not love? Why not?

The process

The interview was carried out using questionnaires. The painpoints I could identify included:

• Unclear product specifications which could lead to misleading order placements.
• Applications with difficult navigations which makes the overall experience frustrating.
• Applications with a lot of Ads with out the option to turn off the ads.
• Having to always buy in-app without the option of in-store purchase.

After understanding the needs and painpoints of the user, I developed the user persona to serve as a guide when designing.

Ideation

In this stage, I developed the information architecture of the mobile application, this can also be called the user flow. I developed this to understand better how a potential user would use the application and what problems they could stumble upon, as well as solve this problem.

Then I went on to work on my paper sketches, this could have been better, but I was trying to get out as much as I could on paper and also work around the arrangement of the components.

And finally the high fidelity sketches.

Experience, lessons and next steps

Takeaways

Working on the e-store application design was a really insightful process, at some points, user testing would be done and this would throw more light on how a potential user would interact with a screen and what their expectations might be when using the product.

To create a better design, I had to make some compromises, this involved using screens that the user would rather use and not necessarily the screens I would have liked to use, because this would contribute to the overall experience while using the product.

Through the prototyping stage, I had to see best ways to fit in certain features, like a price range filter and also a gadget filter into the product page. I did this to enhance the overall experience of the user, and make sure the goal of easy navigation is fully achieved.

I understood that though some problems cannot be totally solved by design, because they is also a need for compromises on the part of the store owner. For example, for the issue with ads (pop-up adverts), I could include a screen to turn on or turn off the ads, but the presence of ads in the application is also up to the owners since this might be an income stream for them.

And the process doesn’t end here.

Next Steps

The next step in the project would be rounds of usability testing and iteration across all stages in the UX process.

Finally

I would like to know what you think about this, and hear feedbacks on what I could have done better.

Also, if you have a project you’d like to discuss, simply send me a mail! abahfaith482@gmail.com

Thank you!