A UX Research Case Study
Enhacing the online shopping experience on the Shopee App
Background
Founded in 2015, Shopee is the largest e-commerce marketplace in Southeast Asia.
With a presence in 7 countries and over 18m app downloads in Singapore, the mobile online marketplace allows users to browse and buy from multiple sellers and variety of products through the platform.
Interestingly, the 2023 Shopee consumer trend report has found a change in consumers’ behaviors. “Over 75% of users in Singapore choose to search, compare then eventually buy a product on Shopee.”
Why is this research important?
Consumer behaviour in e-commerce is seeing notable shifts amid inflation. There is a heightened focus on value-driven purchases and increased bargain hunting. Shopee needs to stay relevant and adapt to the changing needs in order to keep and grow its user base.
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"The current uncertain economy, coupled with rising inflation—while driving people to cut back on spending—is also driving Southeast Asian consumers to seek money-saving tactics, including discounts, cashback rewards, and deals."
Tech Node Global | Dec 2022
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"Consumers have become more cautious, but they continue to spend, just differently. As consumers seek low-cost brand alternatives, budget constraints are causing them to look for models or styles with fewer features and a lower average price point; deals and discounts are also on the rise."
Forbes | Dec 2022
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"“We Have All Become 'Value Shoppers'. With inflation putting a squeeze on household budgets, consumers across the globe have a renewed focus on cost savings...”Mirakl’s recent survey found that 89% of all respondents are now looking for better value when shopping as a result of inflation."
Total Retail | Mar 2023
Competitor Analysis
I ran a competitive analysis on local and international e-commerce marketplaces whose app ratings are neck to neck with Shopee. The analysis studied what were the key functions in the app and its navigations.
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Shopee
Local, E-commerce
Founded: 2015
Presence in countries: 11
App ratings: 4.7/5Strengths:
Strong brand personality with dominant orange in UI
Comprehensive suite of features and functions to meet different needs and target the large range of audiences
Gamified expeirience
Attractive first impression of lots of deals
Has the widest range of 9 different types of vouchers
Weaknesses:
Cluttered interface
Require experience to navigate platform
Disorganised presentation
No personalised touch
Need to collect voucher before use
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Lazada
Local, E-commerce
Founded: 2012
Presence in countries: 6
App ratings: 4.7/5Strengths:
Comprehensive suite of features and functions to meet different needs and target the large range of audiences
Gamified experience
Attractive first impression of lots of deals
Some personalisation (Eg. My fashion profile, my beauty profile)
Weaknesses:
Disorganised information
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Carousell
Local, Re-commerce
Founded: 2012
Presence in countries: 11
App ratings: 4.8/5Strengths:
Affordable option and alternative shopping destination.
Has a straightforward objective and easy to navigate
Weaknesses:
No added platform based discounts
Transactions are very manual
Anything beyond the 3rd slider banners never sees the light of day.
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Amazon
International, E-commerce
Founded: 1994
Presence in countries: 50+
App ratings: 4.7/5Strengths:
Organised UI, easy to navigate.
Easy to relate headers. (e.g. ways to save)
Personalised experience with algorithm with suggested products based on what was recently viewed.
Weaknesses:
Long list of unorganised random deals to explore
Full list of categories parked at the end of homepage
Key SWOT conclusion based on competitors research findings
Initial ProblemsReviews
A desktop research on the reviews of Shopee reveals a series of negative feedbacks that fall under these 3 key aspects:
Complicated User Interface
Voucher Related Issues
Bad Customer Service
Heuristics Evaluation
A heuristic evaluation conducted on the Shopee app revealed violations of the following:
Poor visibility of system status
Consistency and standards
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help and documentation
Initial Problems
Problem Statement
How might we improve the accessibility of Shopee's functions for mobile shoppers so that they can leverage on the features to add value to their online shopping experience?
Research Methodology
In order to enhance the credibility of this research study, the triangulation approach was taken using multiple research tools to overcome the limitations of each research method.
Recruitment Criteria
In this study, 78 participants, ranging from 18 to 54 years old, were engaged to explore the dynamics of e-commerce mobile app usage. Through three in-depth interviews and a contextual inquiry, we interacted with a diverse mix of Shopee users, varying in membership statuses and usage patterns.
Survey Findings
An online survey conducted with 78 local respondents found 3 key findings.
Interview Findings
Interviews with three Shopee users of different membership tiers – Classic, Silver and Gold, revealed 3 interesting findings.
Observation Findings
The Contextual Inquiry with a 22 year old local Shopee user observed 5 interesting findings.
Affinity Mapping
Through affinity mapping, interesting patterns across the 3 sets of research findings were discovered that informed 4 key insights.
Value Proposition Canvas
I adopted the Value Proposition Framework to map out what the Shopee customer wants to achieve and what their pains and gains were. This helped me to ideate for potential opportunities and solutions.
Prioritisation Matrix
I pulled out all the post-it notes with ideas that are positioned around what the customer values and needs and had 10 people to place their votes on which solutions they thought were of highest value and lower effort. After that, I plotted the ideas into a Prioritisation Matrix to inform my decision on which solutions to prioritise and experiment.
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Voucher Combo Price Comparison Preview
Allow users to efficiently compare products’ final prices by automatically scanning for the best voucher combo and showing a final cost preview.
Hypothesis:
We believe that an increased efficiency in price comparison will be achieved if value-driven mobile shoppers can have easy access to the best possible deal including shipping after stacking all applicable vouchers with a Voucher Combo Preview feature.
Design Experiment:
We intend to validate that value-driven mobile shoppers want a Voucher Combo Preview feature by building an automatic applicable “Voucher Combo Calculator” and “Price Preview Strip” on the product screen that give users with a quick peek of the price after applicable vouchers so they can compare prices to get maximum value from their purchase efficiently.
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Custom Wish List Categories
Allow users to easily consolidate and find their saved items by equipping them with a feature to create their own wish list categories.
Hypothesis:
We believe that the increased accessibility to potential buys will be achieved if research-driven mobile shoppers can save and consolidate products into its relevant categories for comparison with a Custom Wish List category feature.
Design Experiment:
We intend to validate that research-driven mobile shoppers want a Custom Wish List category feature by building a pop up screen with a “Create New Wish List Collection” and “Save to” option that allows users to create and name their own wish list categories then save products to their relevant categories so they can find and access their saved items easily.
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Preview number of reviews
Allows users to efficiently assess and compare products by showing a preview of data that informs the quality and reliability of the product.
Hypothesis:
We believe that an increased efficiency in product comparison will be achieved if value and research-driven mobile shoppers can effectively compare products prices against relevant reviews with a review preview feature.
Design Experiment:
We intend to validate that value and research-driven mobile shoppers want a Review Preview feature by adding the number of customer reviews to the product thumbnails that provides users an idea of the quality and reliability of the store and product so they can assess and compare efficiently to get maximum value out of their buy.
Recommendation #1
Voucher Combo Price Comparison Preview
The feature automatically calculates the best voucher combos and displays a “Price after vouchers combo Preview Strip” on the product screen that give users with a quick peek so they can compare prices to get maximum value from their purchase efficiently.
User Test Results
“Prices on listing reflects total discounts from various vouchers. Provides both convenience and transparency.”
“Shows the final price with everything you can minus off, unlike the current where you check out and suddenly you see the + shipping fee and all and get a shock from the price!”
“Makes me feel like i’m saving a lot of money.”
“Save time because i don't have to manually calculate and can compare price more easily. I think option B is more transparent, rather than suddenly got hidden cost or the voucher doesn't work because of some T&Cs.”
Recommendation #2
Custom Wish List Collections
This recommendation replaces the heart “Like” icon to a bookmark “Save” icon for clarity of the function. It also introduces a pop up at the bottom upon tapping the “Save” function and allows users to “Create New Wish List Collection” and save it to any collection the user has created before.
User Test Results
“I use my cart as my wishlist but because there’s no categorization, it’s very messy when i check it. there’s more than 40 items in my cart”
“It makes searching later on an easier task with categorisation of products”
“It's organised, easier to find things cause i know where i parked it.”
“I like that its so concise! the current shopee app, the only way you can find your old saves is by scrolling... which frankly... i have 1000+ favourites.... so.... not intuitive! i think this would make my life a lot easier”
“Collections will help organize items that I will purchase in the future for different purposes/occasions and provide better overall clarity for my purchases.”
Recommendation #3
Preview number
of reviews
This recommendation includes the number of reviews the product listing has on item card beside the ratings and total number of products sold, to aid users by providing sufficient information to inform them on the quality and reliability of the product without tapping into the listing, providing a more seamless and informed shopping experience.
User Test Results
“Number of reviews is an indication of how well a product has sold and reinforces the listing as a quality product.”
“I dont usually buy if theres 0 reviews cause might not be authentic etc”
“Helps me to see at a glance whether others have bought it so i know whether the product is trustworthy and worth buying”
“For me, I like being able to see the amount of reviews so that I can discern whether the product sold is really legit and backed by others. I often use reviews as the final criteria before making my purchase decision rather than looking at the amount of product sold.”
“I can see at a glance the number of buyers who have bothered to give a review, and reference the overall rating to see whether a product is popular and worth considering”
With the change of consumer behaviors to be more value-driven, there is a great need for Shopee to continue to improve the experience to meet the needs of today’s users.
In conclusion, today’s mobile shoppers prioritise maximising value by balancing monetary savings and quality validated by reviews of the items they purchase.
Based on the research, I discovered 2 key themes:
Comparison is the evident behaviour in online shoppers today
Vouchers are the highlight in a Shopee user’s experience but also the main cause of frustration
With these insights, Shopee can work on these aspects to enhance and add value the shopping experience on Shopee to maintain and grow its user base in the competitive e-commerce landscape today.