On Market Mobile App
Overview
Out-in-Tech Mentorship Project.
A C2C mobile online marketplace space that provides a solution to “ghosting” when it comes to selling and buying.
Role:
Product Designer
Timeline:
May 2024 - June 2024
Situation
Problem:
One of the largest issues Buyers and Sellers on online marketplaces struggle with is when users “ghost” them in any stage of the communication. This may mean they never reply after a string of texts or they never show up for a meetup they arranged.
Solution:
My solution for this problem is creating a more personalized user connection when messaging on the marketplace. The users are prompted to converse before jumping the gun and asking to buy the item. They are funneled through a flow where the time of the buyer and the seller are equally prioritized and valued. By creating a scheduler for purchasing an item the outcome will allow for less overall time wasted when purchasing or selling an item.
Task
In this project, I assumed the role of the Product Designer. My key responsibility was to develop the concept and oversee the overall design.
Action
User Research -
Design by Asking, Iterate by Listening
User Personas
I began my user research by creating the User Personas. I chose to do two personas, one representing the buyer and one the seller.
Pain Points from User Interviews and User Research
Ghosting
User Quotes:
“The final buyer didn’t communicate his available pickup time until 20 minutes before he arrived at my home.”
“Customers who click on your listing, make an appointment and then totally forget about the sale.”
“You got people who decided to flake due to reasons and sometimes they don’t even tell you until it’s too late on your end…… or at all. You also got those who ask you to hold but letting it drag on and on, and most of the time they may not even want the item anymore… and neglect to tell you.”
Findings:
Based on my findings I learned the most prevalent user issue was either the buyer or the seller were ghosting the other. This led to users giving up on using online marketplaces.
Product was Incorrectly Displayed or Misunderstood
User Quotes:
“Interestingly, the person who eventually bought the TV didn’t read the listing carefully and thought the screen was only 32” when it was actually 65”. This resulted in a comical situation where he had to disassemble parts of his car door to fit the TV in his small sedan.”
“Lastly, you also got those who can’t even be bothered to read description and asks you a million questions that the description could’ve answered them.”
Findings:
Finally, another issue that came up when conducting User Research was that buyers sometimes misunderstood the dimensions of an item, or the seller did a poor job of describing/showing the product.
Lowballing Offers
User quotes:
“You also got people who decides to low ball you or try to push a discount because they felt entitled to one. They may even ask you nicely but not really asking, they’re actually telling you.”
“Dealing with people that will quibble over a very small amount of money as a percentage of the the actual sale.”
Findings:
My research also revealed that sellers hated dealing with people trying to lowball them, as in try to purchase the item at lower price than originally intended.
Ideate Design Solutions
Focusing on the painpoints I began ideating solutions remembering to keep the user as the focus for the entire project.
Paper Wireframes
Next, I took a pencil and paper and began wireframing the user flow.
Wireframes & Results
The paper wireframes I created provided me with a visual representation of the essential functionality and user flows of On Market.
They also enabled me to gain a broader perspective of the application's operation by seeing it in its simplest stages.
Digital Wireframes & Lo-Fi Prototype
After ideating multiple flows with paper wireframing I began creating the basic digital wireframes. This is where I began really digitally putting together design solutions
First is the main flow I decided to work on, addressing the Ghosting issue and the lowballing offers issue.
Below are all the other flows I created for the base of On Market. Due to the time constraint I did not fully design out the UI.
Result - Usability Study Findings - The Solutions to the User
Problem: Ghosting
My solution to the ghosting was to create a schedule system in the messaging part of the app. The only way to purchase the item was to schedule a meetup. By implementing this I predict it would create a more personal connection between buyer and seller — therefore creating a deeper negative feeling if ghosting were to happen. I also predict that when meetings are scheduled people are more likely to add to their calendar and show up.
Problem: Lowball Offers
My solution to lowball offers would be to indicate on each item whether or not the seller is open to negotiation or not. Although, this part is not fully built out the idea would be to have AI sense if a buyer was trying to lowball the seller and remove them from the messaging pool.
Problem: Misunderstood Product
My solution to the product being inaccurately detailed or shown is where I designed a way for users to take short-form videos of their items. This offers an accurate depiction of how the item may fit in a space or the size of the item. This design choice also stemmed from the research of quick consumption media — If we create short-form videos of items and then streamline the process of buying an item online it has the potential to increase seller sales.
Digital UI and Mockups
Below are the first screens with designed UI.
Digital UI/UX Iterations
As mentioned, the main flow I worked on was creating the scheduling part of the app. I began designing this flow and overtime and with continued user feedback I changed the way the UI looked as well as how the UX was designed.
Iteration 1 - Scheduler
From my user feedback I learned that the scheduler was too confusing. From my first digital wireframes I had two seperate screens, one to choose the date and one to choose the time. I learned I could design this into one screen for a more simplified User Journey. One of the reasons it was so hard to understand the first design UI for the calendar (3rd screen) was because I had the first selected time break up the calendar and the “add another time/date” button. To fix this I moved the “add” button to below the saved date and time.
I also decided to create a better hierarchy by adding an additional secondary color. This allowed space for the eye.
Iteration 2 - Confirming
From my user feedback I learned that the slide to confirm felt too “official/urgent, as it’s just confirming your selected times.” To fix this I simplified the confirmation, making a button instead of a sliding action. I also added the secondary color to help the eyes.
Iteration 3 - Home Navigation Bar
One issue I found during my user feedback was the home screen navigation. The large purple “Add” button created “urgency” that the user upload or post something, but I was not primarily designing for the seller but rather the buyer. To combat this I decided to still keep the “post” button but make it match the rest of the menu items.
I also created a higher contrast of colors so the eye has an easier time navigating the options.
Results
Overall, this project helped me fully focus on the user journey and always put the user first.
I had such a fun time creating and designing the app and working to solve real user problems when online shopping.
Furthermore, I hope to continue problem solving issues for users and working to make sustainable tech solutions!
Thank You for Viewing!
