2024
E-Commerce Mobile App
Crafting a Search Experience that Speaks the User's Language
The client has a large customer base of engineers that completes trade orders through their website or via telephone. They reached out to the company to transform the user experience by creating a mobile app.
The vision was to mimic the functionality users were familiar with when using the website, with added benefits to make their buying experience smoother and more efficient while on the road.
The Problem
The push for this application was due to the nature of how the clients user base like to search for the products they need. Within the trades industry, items and tools often get given ‘slang’ names that are typically adopted by everyone over the standard product names.
When reviewing their search data, the client found that their users tend to search for these common colloquial terms. Users would then call into the customer service team to complete the order as they could not find the items they were looking for.
This was taking up a lot of valuable time from the customer service team, as not only would they provide solutions via the telephone call, but would also place the orders for the customers while they were on the line. Our client wanted to streamline the search process for their users to improve their experience, and save time of their in-house team.
My Solution
I began by deep diving into the clients customer base and target audience to understand their daily processes and plan what features would best fill any gaps.
Alongside the development team, I then researched the API search options available for a great user experience on the application, while also enhancing search on the clients existing website. Being able to connect the search across the two platforms would create more consistency for users and stop any frustration when switching between platforms. The tool we settled on was Algolia Advanced Search.
The next step was to wireframe the key functionality required for the clients MVP, with the search flow as the highest priority.
I collaborated with the key stakeholders to refine the user journey. Some key areas that we focused on were the search, basket and rewards process and the product quantity selection, as we recognised these were the most important features for the current audience.
Using the company’s existing branding, I converted the agreed upon wireframes into high-fidelity graphics. After a handover with the in-house development team, the application is currently being built to the set design and specification.
My involvement in the project continues by providing continued UX support, making adjustments based on user feedback and scoping new features for phase three. You will see the updated homepage and navigation bar in the 6th image below.
