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Usability Study

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There were two parts to this usability study.

1. Participants filled out an online survey via Google Forms.

2. In person interviews were conducted where the participant was given three task to perform within a 60 minute period. Each task focused on different scenarios.

The Study

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The environments varied. The task stayed the same.

1. In the wild studies; where participants were randomly selected.– Bookstores– Coffee shops– Eateries

2. Controlled Environment; participants answered a Craig's list ad. The study was conducted in a office

3. Compensation was a $25 Visa Gift Certificate for all participants.

Lab Environment

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The Participants

Total number of Participants= 12

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The Participants

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To view more online survey results. Please visit:

Study Stats

Online survey

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The Task / Takeaways

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Task 1- Product search

Task:• Search and buy the

Audio Technica ATH-M50S

Headphones.

• Participants were told to use

any search engine and

purchase from any online

retailer.

Takeaways:• Users gravitated toward Amazon. Then priced

checked other online retailers.

• Main focus was on “Reviews” and “5-Star Reviews.”

• Users look for “gotcha” phrases as a reason not to

buy. In some cases a 3-star review pushed them to

buy.

• 2-users used C-Net for product reviews.

• 25% of the users clicked on “see price in cart” on

Amazon.com

• What users look for? Price and free shipping.

• Google was the preferred search engine.

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Task 2- Product search for vehicle

Task:• Searching for new car

speakers and subwoofers

for THEIR vehicle.

• Tabbed experiment across 5

online retailers

Tabbed site:

• Sonicelectronix.com

• Crutchfield

• Best Buy

• Amazon

• Ebay

Takeaways• Hated Sonic logo-looks juvenile and hard to read.

• Users type vehicle in the search bar. Example:

Replacement speakers 2009 Audi S8.

• Users confused on how the compare tool works.

Not intuitive.

• Current vehicle fitment and AmpFinder look like

banner ads

• Site doesn’t look trustworthy.

• Red on blue error message hard to read (category

page).

• Suggested sale tile on category page where there

is an empty spot.

• Add “Pair” next to price on category page

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Task 3- Vehicle specific search

Task:• Participants were told to

purchase a new stereo for a

2001 Honda Accord with a

$300 budget

• Participants were told to

search for this stereo on

Sonicelectronix.com and

Bestbuy.com

Takeaways:• Users typed 2001 Honda Accord into the

search field.

• Looking for vehicle compatibility in guided

browsing, mega menu and specs.

• Wants a cleaner category page. Tiles look to

similar.

• Reviews and 5-star reviews were a leading

buying trigger next to price.

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Participant quotes

• “My price pain point is $300.” (incomes over 100k)

• “I noticed Amazon is starting to raise prices”

• “I’m concerned about sellers and returning items on Ebay—That’s why I don’t shop there”

• “I don’t associate Ebay with experts”

• “Amazon doesn’t have install”

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Suggested improvements

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Study showed that users gravitate

toward the NUMBER of reviews and stars.

• Guided browsing is outdated. Users liked Crutchfield and Best Buy narrow search by checkboxes with real time screen re-fresh.

• Users get confused if these are single products or pairs. Especially at the lower price tier.

Suggestion• Suggest adding “Pair” to the price.

Especially at the lower price tier.• Partner with third party to generate

reviews. Increase Sonic bux for reviews• Change out guided browsing for

checkboxes with real time results. Like search as you type.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• “View All Car Stereos” should match the

vehicle listing. • Current functionality resets the vehicle

and the products listed don’t match the customers vehicle. The user enters a problem space. They get all the way to the accessories page only to be told the product doesn’t fit they’re vehicle.

• Users don’t notice the word (change). Its to small.

Suggestion• Increase the pixel size and color of

(change.)• Change verbiage on “View All Car

Stereos.”• Fix business logic on results page after

the customer feedback for the OnClick event for “View All Car Stereos”

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Red error message is hard to read

against the blue (We currently have no stereos that fit your vehicle).

Suggestion:• Needs color change and larger font.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Users thought the Amplifinder banner

looked like a banner ad.

• Users were also confused on the language. Didn’t know if they had to find an AMP first.

Suggestion:• Change banner look to represent more

of a tool to help the consumer and look less like an advertisement.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Users thought the vehicle look-up

banner looked like a banner ad.

• To many messages on this artifact. Free installation and find what fits your car.

Suggestion:• Change banner look to represent more

of a tool to help the consumer and look less like an advertisement.

• Change messaging (we currently have an issue in Jira to fix this problem)

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Tool tips hard to read.

• Compare feature is a disconnect with the user. Not intuitive enough

Suggestion:• On tool tip shorten the line length.

Change font color and graphic elements.

• Display the compare elements together on the same page. Stick it to the bottom of the browser window with an absolute position attribute.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Users have a hard time finding the

vehicle look up.

Suggestion:• We need to capture the vehicle type

when they get to the category or product page. Forcing the vehicle look-up removes any errors and provides a solid user experience that’s consistent with web usability standards.

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Suggested Improvements

• Auto Anything has the vehicle look up in the navigation as well as the modal on the the category page.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• The SEO text has no value to the user and

projects a negative perception.

• Improve category tiles to differentiate the various segments.

Solution:• Improve tile layout using different shape

tiles with larger images and titles. Could add sale verbiage along with image.

• Replace SEO text with a more condensed version or a impactful headline.

• Empty tiles are an excellent place for cross promotion or sale announcements.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• Checkout page looks like a foreign site.

Doesn’t lend itself to being trustworthy.

• Update and remove functions are removed from the “Quantity” checkbox for easy cart updates.

• Shipping code and coupon code are to close and similar.

• Vehicle specific info looks like product text.

• Price is placed away from the product.

Solution:• Total redesign of this page.

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Suggested Improvements

Comments:• User commented that the current

homepage looks like Sonic Electronix didn’t spend much money on its site.

• Looks like a template

Solution using (Optimizely):• For a quick win I deleted a lot of external

lines.

• Removed the shop now button so the user selects the image or product name.

• Changed the font weight color and size of the product name, descriptor and free shipping.

• Added the years in business banner to help increase trust with the end user.

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Thank you