UNIFIED
PDP
Streamlined online car purchase.
SHORTS
Client
heycar group
Duration
3 month
My Role
Project & Design Lead
INTRO 🚗
Heycar is an online platform for used cars with investors such as Volkswagen Bank and Daimler Bank. Customers can search and filter for cars – the major discovery and buying decision takes place on the Product Detail Page – the “PDP”. By the end of 2022 heycar has been expanding its business across five different markets, aiming for market coverage and fast product implementations. This expansion was only possible by aggressive MVP-launches and splitting up user journeys for different purchase options. Despite fast product growth this came at high usability cost on heycar’s most important site …
INITIAL SITUATION
5
different PDP frameworks
(one per market)
8
different types of PDPs in Germany
5
different types of PDPs in UK
THE OLD PDP
The PDP (Product Detail Page) is at the core of heycar’s product experience. In addition to featuring images and standard information such as price, car specifications and location, it provides a range of purchasing options and business-relevant opt-ins.
While each of these elements had its own merits, over time, their sheer quantity overwhelmed the customer experience, resulting in a cluttered page with numerous boxes and buttons, each vying for attention.
DO THE CHECK!
DOES YOU’R PAGE NEED A REWORK?
Too many styles & conditions
If-conditions take over and you are using too much different font styles.
Maintenance takes longer
Only experts can discern the differences among your page variations. Cleaning errors might lead to the creation of new ones.
New feature = New box
New features no longer seamlessly integrate into the page. Every feature fights for attention.
No conversion increase
Despite various efforts, your Conversion Rate just won’t improve. Your page might be overloaded with content and information.
All these symptoms come with a loss of user-centricity and make A/B testing more diffucilt.
So how to revert that trend?
DISCOVERY
To address the growing design issue of a fragmented PDP landscape, I was taking proactive steps towards Product Owners and Heads to create awareness of this challenge and lay the foundation for cohesive solutions.
We conducted an initial Product & Design Workshop in London, where we systematically dissected the issue and collaboratively strategized for a future MVP PDP structure. By doing so, we aimed to streamline our product experience, enhance user satisfaction, and move our PDP towards a more scalable future.
THE SETUP
6
Product Owners
UK & DE
3
Product Designers
UK & DE
3
Product & Design
Leadership heads
LEARNINGS
By collecting and comparing user and business needs we knew that only those features are needed, that are important for both stakeholder groups. Clustering those helped to achieve a first structure for upcoming layouts.
SECOND STEP – MARKET ANALYSIS
By analyzing close competitors as well as non-competitive E-Commerce PDPs we were aiming to explore patterns that improve and repeat on market-leading PDPs.
LEARNINGS
Competitors try to avoid customer confusion by limiting their CTAs number and placement. Additionally they often offer low-involvement contact options (message & call). Main focus however is just one main purchase funnel, all other opportunities are held short and supportive.
Non-automotive players have a heavier focus on the product presentation and lifestyle aspects. Images are placed bigger and more often to increase desirability. Most offers can be pre-customized on the PDP itself to prepare an easier entry into the purchase funnel.
DEFINE – DESIGN BRIEF
With the analysis and the workshop’s outcome in mind, it was clear that we need to reduce our features and consolidate our core products into a single funnel, making it easier to navigate through the purchase process. E-Commerce and Promotions should be integral parts of that funnel, rather than confusing the user with too many options to choose from. To enhance exploration, we must place greater emphasis on the car presentation itself. Utilizing our new global design system and adopting a mobile-first approach should help us concentrate the information for a scalable approach that can serve all markets.
LAYOUT – THE PROTOTYPE
REDUCED INTERFACE
Cutting features provided better focus on a much smaller site. Financing section got shortened and condensed for better mobile experience. Unnecessary navigational elements are getting removed. Main focus is on the page itself as on the CTA.
IMAGE GALLERY
Stronger focus was put on highlighting the car images to gain better attraction for the car. All images are presented in a gallery view after clicking. Users can switch between exterior, interior and video or decide for a full screen view.
NEW ENQUIRE FUNNEL
Lead creation, Promotions and E-Commerce are the core of heycar’s business. The new enquire page ties them closer together for a more connected experience. All different purchase options are now condensed into one screen, proving all opportunities in one place. A single CTA solution reduces the difficulty of choice for the user.
Promotions get directly placed to their belonging purchase options.
Additionally an easy accessible contact form at the end allows for quick questions and requests.
NEW MODULES
Car features are presented more mobile friendly within a sub-structured modal. Each category can be accessed from the PDP. This approach makes the component scalable for future placements.
RESEARCH
Prove that the new PDP presents the car in more accessible way and provides every information users need to make a proper buying decision. A remote user test where real people have to solve tasks that provide answers regarding our UX & UI improvements. The prototype was provided by us and user could explore it on their phone in an unmoderated online usability test. All questions were pre-written.
SETUP
6
Total participants
40
Years of average age
5
Days of testing and evaluating
POSITIVE
KEY INSIGHTS
„It works fast and it works well. The gallery does feel quite simple.“
„Getting to the car order was easy and understandable.“
The general design and structure of the PDP have garnered appreciation. Users favor the sliding version for the image gallery. The gallery view itself has received high praise. The placement and design of USPs and Promotions have been recognized, and the overlay showcasing the various purchase options has also been well-received.
Nearly all users expressed reservations about purchasing a car online without the opportunity to see or test-drive it beforehand. This indicates that we have to do better in communicating buy online to lower consumer boundaries. Additionally some smaller UX challenges could be identified but did not block further steps for a realization.
THINGS TO IMPROVE
“I don’t feel I’d ever buy a car and just be click. click, click and it’s done. I struggle with the whole concept not neccessarily this website.”
About me
I am a Designer at heart with over 12 years of experience. I am dedicated to creating well-crafted products that inspire users, customers, and brands.
Vita
Discover my journey from a passionate design enthusiast to becoming an expert in Design and Product.
Questions?
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Meet me
Click here to set a meeting.
Call me
+49 176 676 606 10
Write me
martin.thiel.berlin@gmail.com