Amazon List
Winter 2023
Enhance the functionality of the Amazon List feature by transforming it into an independent application with expanded capabilities.
Timeline
January - March
My Role
UX Research
Mobile UI Design
Design System
My tool
Figma
Miro
FigJam
Context
Amazon, a leading e-commerce platform, offers a convenient shopping experience with a wide range of products like kitchen essentials, fashion, self-care, and many other items. Currently, the platform faces challenges with its underutilized list feature, which remains hidden and seldom used within the app interface.
Recognizing this issue, our team transferred the list feature into a standalone application to enhance its usability and functionality, making it more responsive to a wider variety of user needs.
Identify the Potential Challenge
We conducted a self-exploration of the current challenges
We began by experiencing the List process from the customer's perspective to identify the usability challenges they encounter. By adopting the customer's viewpoint, we thoroughly navigated through the entire process to uncover potential issues with functionality and ease of use.
Problem Scope
How might we make the Amazon list feature more accessible and intuitive, ensuring users can easily find, understand, and utilize its various types and collaboration capabilities?
Insights:
Insights reveal that the Amazon list feature's current design and placement lead to underutilization, as users struggle with its discoverability and lack clarity on its use, especially regarding different list types and sharing functions. Simplifying navigation and enhancing user guidance could significantly improve engagement and functionality.
User Discovery
To validate if our assumptions align with the customers’ challenges, we conducted the user research
Survey
We employed a survey to gain deeper insights and gather quantitative data on how users interact with and experience the list feature.
Major questions focus on:
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Familiarity with the List Feature
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Shopping List preferences and general Trends
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Platform selection
Data indicates the low discoverable rate of the Amazon List function while most of them prefer using the shopping list for their online shopping.
Mobile Devices Cover More Online Shopping Customer
Survey data shows more people shop online using mobile devices than desktops. A literature review confirms this trend, shifting our focus to mobile redesign.
Lit Review credit: Pew Research Center
Faverio, M. (2022, November 21). For shopping, phones are common and influencers have become a factor – especially for young adults. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/21/for-shopping-phones-are-common-and-influencers-have-become-a-factor-especially-for-young-adults/#:~:text=Roughly%20three%2Dquarters%20of%20U.S.,things%20online%20on%20a%20tablet.
Interview
By conducting user interviews, we capture qualitative insights into individual experiences with the Amazon list feature and their expectation.
Finding Visualization
Leveraging these insights, a user persona and journey maps were developed to encapsulate our findings, providing a detailed view of customer needs and challenges. This approach enabled the identification of critical improvement areas in the Amazon List app, guiding a user-centric redesign focused on addressing actual usage scenarios.
Persona
User Journey
The journey map shows the user's frustration in the later two stages.
How Might We
How might we enhance the "Amazon List" feature usability and make the share and collaborative functionalities easier to use and ensure a seamless and inclusive shopping experience that caters to the diverse preferences and needs of our users?
Design Ideation
Opportunities & User Preference Exploration
We conducted a competitive analysis to gather essential insights into the current market trends, customer preferences, and the design structure of competitive and similar products. By understanding the needs and behaviors of our target audience, as well as analyzing competitor strategies, we can ensure that the redesigned app not only meets but exceeds user expectations, positioning it effectively in the market.
GoWish
Pros
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Easy Sharing and Collaboration
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Browse and add gifts from partnered stores
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Gift Duplication Avoidance
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Inspiration and personalization gift options are provided
Cons
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Easy Sharing and Collaboration
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Browse and add gifts from partnered stores
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Gift Duplication Avoidance
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Inspiration and personalization gift options are provided
Giftful
Pros
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Add items by pasting URLs
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Anonymous wish claiming
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Users can follow others by searching for friends
Cons
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Can browse Items from the partnered store but cannot be added to the list
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Bad distinction between list types (Wishlist, Registry, Personal Goal) with the same appearance
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Cannot collaborate with others
Elfster
Pros
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Easily trace friends’ activities with notifications
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Fun and engaging online gift exchange feature
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Product searches are available
Cons
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Users will be redirected to the external website with the selected items, a bad navigation experience
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Add gifts steps seem to be complicated
While shopping list applications are mature in the current market, different downsides still exist and cause users to be reluctant to retain one application. The competitive analysis highlights the importance of easy-list collaboration.
Design Goal
Intuitive List Formats
Establish clear distinctions between various list types and event categories, ensuring users can easily navigate and manage their lists for different purposes.
Seamless Collaboration
Allow easy sharing and collaboration on lists with friends and other users, creating an easy cooperative planning environment.
Shopping List Recommendations
Deliver personalized product list recommendations by analyzing users' preferences and search history to cater to individual needs.
Event-Based Notifications
Implement event reminders to prompt users about upcoming events, facilitating timely shopping and preparation.
Standalone Application is Needed
Given Amazon's status as a leading e-commerce platform, user insights have highlighted the list function as a key enhancer of the shopping experience. Consequently, we opted to develop the list function as a separate application rather than redesigning it within the existing platform. This decision was driven by the potential to provide a more concentrated and effective list management experience, while also offering the flexibility to integrate additional functionalities tailored to diverse user needs. This strategic move aims to refine and elevate the overall utility of the list feature, aligning closely with user preferences and requirements.
Designing the Application Layout
Once the design direction is decided, we use the sitemap to lay out the hierarchy and content information for each page to ensure the information architecture is rational and meets users' needs.
Wireframe
Design Explorations
Navigation Optimization
Initially, the app opened to a “Home” inspiration page, which misaligned with our goal of enhancing the list experience. To address this, we shifted the list to the first page and changed "Home" to "Explore," directly aligning the entry point with users' intentions and making the purpose of the page clearer.
Streamlining Checkout Process
Users were confused with the initial design that lacked a check out feature. To address the original design's ambiguous checkout process, a shopping cart icon was added to each page. This provided a clear, consistent path to checkout, reducing confusion and simplifying the shopping experience.
1. Simplifying List Features
The list page originally featured "my list," "liked list," and "shared list." Observing that "liked lists" had lower engagement and were typically populated after users interacted with other features, we removed this function to declutter the interface and focus on higher-usage features.
2. List Display Redesign
The initial list session design crowded the product details information, hampering the user experience. A redesign introduced a simplified list display, making information easier to digest and interact with.
3. Emphasizing Important Events
Recognizing users' value for event reminders, we prominently placed upcoming events at the top of the list page. This adjustment not only made these reminders more visible but also highlighted their importance within the app's functionality.
Redesigning the Event Page for Engagement and Clarity
User feedback on the original event page's resemblance to a traditional calendar prompted a redesign. The new layout utilizes a progress view with color coding, making it easier for users to track events and their types, thus alleviating the pressure associated with event creation.
Enhancing Profile Page Engagement with Strategic Feature Placement
Low engagement with features such as "favorite list," "order history," and "view history" led to relocating these to the top left menu bar. This allowed for prioritizing more frequently used features like the shopping cart and favorite lists, improving the profile page's usability and user engagement.
Clearer Visual Layout in List Design
We followed the original list type from the Amazon website and designed the list into different design formats based on each type function to provide a clearer visual distinction for each category.
Final Design
Streamlined List Viewing and Event Tracking
The Lists page allows users to view all lists, including their own and those shared by others, with upcoming events highlighted for easy reminders. Its design promotes effortless navigation, ensuring users can efficiently manage and overview all list-related activities.
Effortless List Creation and Sharing
The "Create List" feature enables users to quickly generate new lists, choose their desired type, and invite collaborators via name, email, or sharing links. Activity updates and invitations are conveniently centralized in the notification area, fostering collaboration and engagement.
Tailored Recommendations on the Explore Page
Explore page delivers daily personalized list recommendations based on user preference. It allows users to uncover new lists by browsing or searching, organized into specific categories for focused discovery. Users can easily favorite lists or add them to their collection for a customized browsing experience.
Color-Coded Events for Efficient Planning
Events are differentiated by color codes for quick recognition, with lists organized chronologically for optimal planning. The platform enables users to set custom reminders, import lists to events easily, and streamline the event organization process, enhancing the user experience with practical functionality
Personalized Shopping and Favorites Management
Users' shopping carts and favorite lists are placed within their personal space, allowing for direct product checkout or detailed viewing. This feature simplifies the shopping process and personal list management, offering a seamless and convenient user interface.
Visual
We have incorporated Amazon's signature color and typography as the primary design elements for the Amazon List app. This choice ensures brand consistency and recognition. Additionally, in designing the logo for Amazon List, we drew inspiration from the broader Amazon ecosystem, crafting a symbol that resonates with Amazon's identity. This strategic alignment in design helps reinforce the app's integration and belonging within the Amazon family, fostering a sense of familiarity and trust among users.
Looking Back to The Journey...
Constraints
Limited access to user data
We face significant constraints in accessing real user data related to Amazon's list function. Without this insight, understanding the true frustrations and requirements becomes a challenge. Access to such data would enable us to pinpoint usability issues and limitations within the existing system, thereby allowing for the creation of solutions that truly resonate with and meet the needs of the target audience.
Strategic and cost considerations
The project was designed under uncertainties regarding the significance and future direction of the list function within Amazon's ecosystem. Understanding how much time and resources they are willing to invest is crucial for making informed decisions about the redesign. This knowledge would significantly influence our approach, helping to ensure that our efforts are both strategic and aligned with potential future developments.
Future Improvement
Timely Notifications and Delivery Updates
Users value notifications not just for event reminders but also for timely delivery updates. Incorporating alerts about whether products can be delivered on time addresses a crucial need, ensuring users can plan their purchases more effectively.
Gift Claim Function in Collaboration
Adding a gift claim function is vital for collaborative list use. It allows users to see if a product has been claimed, preventing duplicates and streamlining the gift-giving process. This feature is key to enhancing collaboration and clarity among users.
What I learn
Understanding The Actual Needs Are Important
Grasping client needs is key to developing designs that satisfy user expectations and drive business success. This alignment not only boosts user engagement but also supports client goals, marrying user-centric design with strategic business outcomes.
User Experience and Business Goals Are Equal Important
​​ Striking a balance between crafting exceptional user experiences and fulfilling business objectives is essential. Our design decisions aim to optimize user satisfaction while promoting business growth and sustainability, ensuring mutual benefits for users and the business alike.
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