Volkswagen.com Re-Design
Project Role: UX Field Research, Interaction Design, Prototype Testing
OVERVIEW
Deutsch redefined the automobile OEM website by designing an online car shopping experience that led consumers from browsing to purchase and moving beyond the traditional “bait and switch” process.
User Research
The goal was to identify the common pain points of the car buying experience (online and dealership). Close attention was given to how consumers were using or not using technology during the process. In addition to competitive research, I conducted field research alongside my strategy partner in 3 different cities (San Jose, Chicago, D.C./Virginia) across the U.S. involving 32 consumers (users) and 17 VW sales employees. The field research team consisted of myself and the Strategy Planner.
Typical Session for Consumer:
Meet and greet user interview. (Video recorded, approx. 30min)
Dealership shop-alongs. (1 VW dealership, 2-3 competitor dealerships. Audio recorded.)
Return to meet and greet location for debrief (Video recorded, approx. 30min)
Typical Session for Sales Employee:
Reveal purpose of research and interview sales associates users had contact with.
Interview Sales Managers, Internet Sales Managers, and Owner.
BeLOW: user & Dealer insightS I CREATED FROM THE FIELD RESEARCH.
Research Synthesis
Upon synthesis, the findings were delivered presented to the VW team at Deutsch and Volkswagen leadership for project approval and kick-off. The research acted as a guideline for product goals and design decisions for the team moving forward.
Below: DIAGRAMS DETAILING CONSUMER JOURNEY AND IDEAS
MOST COMMON USER NEEDS
Provide the user with an easy way to understand technical copy regarding features and financial offerings.
Provide an end-to-end solution for users, from casual research to inventory match-up.
Give the users a "build and price" experience that will accurately set expectations at the dealership.
Adapt to changing user behaviors enabled by emerging internet technology.
A Concept TO DRIVE DESIGN DECISIONS
After rounds of brainstorming, our team arrived at a concept that addressed the core user needs and in doing so, created the first online car shopping experience that connected users directly to local inventory. This experience, anchored by a "Match Maker" dating concept set the stage for an interactive and user-centric online car shopping experience. I was tasked with creating ideas around assuring that the consumer arrives at an inventory match as well as designing how to relay technical features of the car in a visual way within the product detail page.
Below: My sketch for understanding how to guide user configurations.
FROM BROWSE TO PURCHASE
By providing the user with a the ability to browse a car, configure and submit a lead, our team was able to achieve a unique pain point in the once disconnected car shopping process without the hassle of dealership hopping and haggling. The redesign also enabled an ability for VW to remagine the way car features and technical details were relayed to the consumer.
INSURING INVENTORY MATCH
In the event that a user selects a feature that indicates no nearby matches within the configurator the user is asked to let go of a feature for results. This honestly addresses the pain point of consumers receiving a false expectation of finding their dream car.
Above: WIREFRAME SET FOR WHEN CREATES A CAR THAT DOESN’T EXIST NEARBY.
PRODUCT DETAIL PAGE
One of the common hurdles consumers faced during car shopping is the immense amount of automobile information and technical copy that is hard to understand. I proposed an idea to reimagine the way features and technical details were relayed to the consumer by eliminating the archaic text-heavy copy and bulleted list of features of traditional spec sheets and opting for a more visual display of features and data points in a way that is relatable and simple for the user.
User Testing
Upon successful launch, our team later delivered usage data and indicators of user drop offs. Using this insight and internal design reviews the User Testing team (2 UX designers, including myself) developed a set of hypothesis, flows and scripts to run first time users through the experience. UX improvements followed each cycle of user testing.
Areas of focus
Does user understand configuration flow and navigational cues?
Does user immediately understand that the user flow leads to the ability to purchase?
Does the user find the display of technical features simple and easy to understand?
Metrics & ACCOLADES
+250% increase in dealership lead submission, +231% increase in inventory search , +114% increase in dealership sales actions, +39% Lift in lead submissions, 34% decrease in bounce rate, +33% interaction w/ special offers
10+ UX and Design Awards including: 2 One Show Pencils, Communication Arts 2015 Interactive Annual Feature, FWA Site of the Day June 2014, UX Awards - Gold Award for Best Brand Experience