Purchasing a product online!

This Blog is originally posted on LinkedIn.

I was about to buy a phone. So I researched a lot about the latest phone that fits into my budget and due to lockdown online shops are the only option for me. I heard about 3 local e-commerce sites most.

So I went to the first one and search for that phone. Once I clicked to the “Buy Now” button, I was forced to Sign Up(Email, Name, Password) page rather than checkout page. I felt bad but still signup as I was very excited. Once I signed in I was surprised to see delivery will take 7-12 days! this was shown after filling up personal information, address form. Although the website home page said they are offering 24 hours express delivery. So I got frustrated and closed that Tab.

💡Findings: 

• Poor website information architecture
• miss-leading information

Then I visited the second one. I saw two “Buy Now” buttons in the same viewport and no option to choose phone color. So I clicked to live chat but it was offline…

💡Findings: 

• Lack of operational simplicity
• Lack of communication
• Problematic CTA’s

So I went to 3rd one and search that phone with deep frustration I had with the earlier site. But this time I found everything as expected. Their checkout page clearly saying “what” I am about to buy and “when” it will be delivered. So I made the card payment. Within 10mints a representative called and said my phone will be delivered by tomorrow.

💡 Findings: 

• Offer a hassle-free checkout option
• Clear data presentation. 
• Designed for the mental model.

Result: Two of the top sites just lose a customer, but 3rd one gain profit as well as get a better trust. I believe this happened because of better communication, better user experience, and better information architecture which support users, mental model.

My learnings are,

1. Two of these well-known sites spend a lot of time in marketing but very less in customer experience design.
2. Having good customer service is more important than a fancy design website. Yes! Banners need to grab user attention but we need to make sure smooth experience too.
3. During the journey to order that phone, I didn’t have any thought of what fancy color they used to their site rather, all I was wondering about the phone and how I can purchase it.

Here is a good example of how a customer feels every step.

I am not saying visual design or marketing is less important! But having a good customer journey is very important for an e-commerce site.

Do you have any thoughts on my journey? Leave your comment 🙂

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