REVIEWS ON AMAZON.COM
PROJECT: All Review Page Redesign ROLE: Project Lead, User Research, UX design, Testing
THE PROBLEM I TACKLED
On the All Reviews Page, all customer feedback about the product is showcased. Despite this, the page's traffic remains lower than anticipated, with less than 10% of Amazon customers visiting it. This indicates that a substantial amount of valuable information goes unnoticed. In this project, I identified the pain points preventing customers from engaging with the review page content and identified design opportunities to transform the reviewing experience. Consequently, I developed a set of features that significantly enhanced customer satisfaction with the reviewing process, encouraging them to explore the wealth of content on the review page and ultimately boosting the page's traffic.
Main goals:
1) Surface useful information for customers
2) Ensure a smooth and cohesive reviewing experience
3) Enable personalized and tailored user experiences.
Please find the latest launch:https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/amazon-ai/amazon-improves-customer-reviews-with-generative-ai
HOW DID I APPROACH THE PROBLEM?
MY ROLE& ENVISION
I assumed complete responsibility for the project, fostering collaboration with various stakeholders. Employing a user-centered design approach, I initiated the project by addressing several crucial questions:
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"What are the most significant frustrations our customers are experiencing?"
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"Who are our primary competitors in the market?"
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"How can we implement changes that yield the most substantial impact?"
These pivotal questions formed the foundation for structuring my subsequent work.
LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS
I initiated a usability and accessibility audit to identify challenges encountered by our customers. Employing thematic synthesis, I analyzed the data, revealing key customer frustrations related to efficiency, accessibility, consistency, credibility, and inclusivity. A notable discovery was that customers often invest significant time navigating numerous reviews to find relevant information. Considering user feedback, I concentrated on addressing the most pressing issue to align with the project goals.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
To comprehend and bolster Amazon's position of prominence within the industry, I delved into research on potential competitors. While not all directly competing with Amazon, some offered valuable insights, allowing us to benchmark the market and stay attuned to the latest industry trends. This analysis aimed to identify gaps that could be addressed, leverage positive aspects from existing products, and ultimately position Amazon as a market leader with an enhanced review experience.
I am of the belief that, to surpass the competition, Amazon can focus on the following areas of improvement:
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Surfacing Useful Information for Customers: Enhancing the visibility and accessibility of pertinent information for customers is crucial. This involves refining the presentation of reviews to make valuable insights more readily available.
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Promoting the Review Section as a Social Platform: Transforming the review section into a more interactive and social platform can foster greater engagement among users. Encouraging discussions, user interactions, and shared experiences can elevate the review section's value.
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Enhancing Information Integration and Impact: Improving the integration of information within the review section and amplifying its impact can contribute to a more comprehensive and influential resource. This may involve optimizing the user interface, leveraging multimedia elements, and refining the overall user experience to maximize the effectiveness of the reviews.
BUILD UP CONSENSUS WITH STAKEHOLDERS
Having identified avenues for enhancing the review experience on Amazon.com, I initiated a design workshop to propel these improvements. The objectives were to establish a consensus on customers' primary needs, foster idea generation from diverse perspectives, and gain a nuanced understanding of concerns from various angles. To organize the insights obtained, I employed an affinity diagram.
Simultaneously, mindful of customers' frustrations and industry trends, I began shaping preliminary design concepts. These include:
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Enhancing Visibility of the Review Page: Making the review page more prominent on the product page to facilitate easier access for users seeking valuable information.
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Integrating Dimensional Information: Bringing together diverse types of information, including celebrity columns and shopping guides, to provide users with a more comprehensive and enriching review experience.
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Augmenting Social Features: Introducing or enhancing social elements such as the ability to add friends, 'likes,' chat functionality, posting ideas, and other interactive features to create a more engaging and community-driven review platform.
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Facilitating Information Surfacing: Implementing strategies to help users efficiently surface useful information, addressing the frustration of having to sift through numerous reviews.
These design concepts aim to address identified pain points and align with industry trends, ultimately fostering a more user-friendly, interactive, and impactful review experience on Amazon.com.
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WIREFRAMES
Simultaneously, I translated my design ideas into low-fidelity prototypes and effectively communicated them to stakeholders. This iterative step served a dual purpose—it allowed for a tangible demonstration of the proposed concepts at an early stage, facilitating a more accurate measurement of their effectiveness and value. Additionally, the presentation of these low-fidelity designs provided inspiration for the team, aiding in the strategic planning of future milestones and project development.
NARROWING DOWN THE SCOPE
Recognizing the time constraints, I initiated discussions with stakeholders to assess the feasibility and impact of the proposed design concepts. Through collaborative efforts, we prioritized these concepts using a feasibility and impact matrix, considering factors such as resources, time requirements, and dependencies on other teams.
In light of these considerations, we strategically narrowed the scope of the design implementation to focus on three core functions of the review page: filtering, sorting, and the presentation of single review bodies. The overarching objective was to optimize these functionalities, enabling users to swiftly extract the pertinent information they need from extensive reviews. This narrowed focus ensures a streamlined development process with a specific emphasis on enhancing the core features that contribute significantly to the user experience.
SHAPING THE FEATURES
I created a customer journey map to empathize with every action a customer takes from landing on this page to gathering enough information to make an informed purchase decision. This helped me understand the way users interact with the product and the pain points they encounter along the way. Based on this, I brainstormed some detailed design ideas and used information architecture to structure the content on the page.
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
In the final stages, I refined the filter function and introduced a set of new features:
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Unified Filter and Sort Functions: I transformed the filter and sort functions into a unified bottom sheet, streamlining the user experience. This consolidation enhances usability by eliminating interruptions in the purchasing experience, providing a more cohesive and efficient platform for users.
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Expanded Filtering Terms: To offer users a more comprehensive filtering experience, I added new terms such as product attributes and parameters. This expanded set of filtering options provides users with greater flexibility in tailoring their search criteria.
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Chips Carousel for Product Attributes: Product attributes are now presented in a visually engaging chips carousel right next to the filter icon. This design enhancement enables customers to quickly identify and select relevant reviews, contributing to a more intuitive and efficient navigation process.
These modifications aim to not only optimize the filtering and sorting functionalities but also to enhance the overall user experience by minimizing disruptions and providing a more feature-rich and visually intuitive interface.
I condensed the essence of each individual review based on product attributes and showcased them as chips at the top of the review body. These chips serve a dual purpose, providing a quick overview of key review elements and serving as interactive filters to refine and access reviews related to specific attributes. This feature enhances the accessibility and utility of reviews, allowing users to efficiently navigate and engage with content that aligns with their preferences.
I introduced a search bar at the top of the page to accommodate users whose specific needs might not be fully addressed by our filtering and summarization system. This addition ensures a comprehensive and user-centric approach, allowing individuals to directly search for specific information and further enhancing the flexibility and accessibility of the review platform.
TESTING & ITERATION
To assess the impact of my design, I conducted an A/B test involving 10 volunteers on UserTesting.com, specifically focusing on the keyword feature. Given that this feature is relatively novel in the market, I anticipated potential usability issues.
The test results revealed the following insights:
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High Acknowledgment of Keyword Feature's Value:
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Most participants recognized the value of the keyword feature, expressing that it facilitated a quick identification of content relevant to their interests. Some participants mentioned using keywords as a time-saving method to extract information efficiently.
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Confusion Regarding Keyword Definition and Generation Scale:
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Participants expressed confusion about how keywords were generated, with concerns that they appeared irregular and possibly randomly filled in by review authors. Acknowledging this feedback, I adjusted the rules for keyword generation.
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In the original version, keywords were randomly generated based on the content of reviews. In response to user concerns, the updated version generalized keyword generation based on product attributes. This modification aimed to enhance the comprehensibility and credibility of the generated keywords.
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These insights from the A/B test not only validated the perceived value of the keyword feature but also prompted adjustments to ensure a clearer understanding of how keywords are generated, thereby addressing user concerns and optimizing the feature's usability.
Despite the adjustments made, additional research into the scalability of keywords is warranted. Future considerations should include allowing customers to contribute their own keywords and exploring the possibility of displaying only the keyword column in the review list, potentially minimizing descriptive text. Additionally, efforts should be directed toward unifying the keyword reading and filtering experience across various platforms. These steps aim to further enhance the flexibility, user engagement, and consistency of the keyword feature, ensuring its effectiveness and scalability in diverse contexts.
OUTCOME
In this project, I delved into cutting-edge review experiences, incorporating features like adding friends, conversations, and an influencer section. The introduction of the new keywords feature resulted in a noteworthy 18.4% improvement in customer satisfaction. Looking ahead, I envision the evolution of e-commerce review sections into integrated communities with a blend of social and information aggregation features. This transformation goes beyond providing information; it aims to position the platform as a community hub, attracting new customers and fostering enhanced user engagement and loyalty.