Summary
This case study outlines the redesign of the e-commerce experience for Morgenland Teppiche, focusing on enhancing the checkout process, improving mobile usability, and leveraging data-driven insights to resolve key user pain points. The redesign led to increased conversion rates, better mobile engagement, and enhanced customer satisfaction, particularly among older users. For a detailed overview of the process, challenges, and solutions, please continue reading.
Introduction
Morgenland Teppiche is a prominent German e-commerce company that specializes in high-quality carpets and serves primarily an older customer base. As a UX designer on this project, my role was to enhance the user experience by addressing key pain points that hindered customer satisfaction and conversion rates. The objective was to create an intuitive and accessible design tailored to the needs of Morgenland’s target audience. This case study details the redesign process, challenges encountered, and the impactful solutions that were implemented.
Problem Statement
Morgenland Teppiche faced a series of challenges that hindered their growth in the competitive e-commerce market:
- Complex Checkout Process: The existing checkout process was overly complicated, leading to high cart abandonment rates.
- Mobile Usability and Accessibility Issues: The website lacked mobile optimization, with significant accessibility and responsiveness problems, making it difficult for users to shop on mobile devices.
- Outdated Website Design: The website had an outdated appearance that did not meet modern usability standards, resulting in a lack of visual appeal.
- Error Management Issues: Key error states, such as 404 pages, were poorly managed, which created frustration for users.
- Branding and Design Gaps: The brand lacked a cohesive visual identity due to inconsistent branding, underdeveloped brand colors, and an incomplete design system.
- Ineffective Showroom Integration: The existing showroom feature was not effectively contributing to online sales, diminishing its overall value.
These challenges severely affected user satisfaction and conversion rates, particularly for the older demographic, who required a more straightforward and easy-to-use shopping experience. The lack of modern branding, poor mobile design, and an unoptimized checkout process were major barriers to generating higher online sales and improving the overall user experience.
Understanding the Client and Goals
Morgenland Teppiche operates in a highly competitive e-commerce market, with a primary focus on older customers. The goals of the project were:
- To streamline the checkout process and reduce cart abandonment.
- To enhance the browsing experience, particularly for mobile users.
- To use data-driven insights to better understand user behavior and make informed design decisions.
Discovery Phase: Insights and Research
The project began with a comprehensive discovery phase, which involved studying competitors, conducting user interviews, analyzing user behavior, and reviewing analytics data.
User Interviews
We conducted surveys with our user base to gather direct feedback. Additionally, we leveraged Hotjar to track user behavior patterns, and set up feedback forms to understand specific user frustrations. Many users also reached out via email, expressing their dissatisfaction, which provided us with valuable insights.
Key User Feedback
- The website was slow.
- Users couldn’t easily find return policies and contact forms.
- A lack of trust factors led to hesitation in making purchases.
- Errors were common during checkout.
- Issues with shipping and return policies were confusing.
- Mobile experience was subpar.
This direct feedback highlighted the need for significant improvements in both performance and usability.
Competitor Analysis
We analyzed competitors such as Benuta, Westwing, Amazon, Ikea, Teppichfibel, and CarpetVista. The goal was to understand the common patterns in the e-commerce industry that make the user experience feel familiar and seamless. These brands demonstrated the importance of a clean product page, a seamless checkout system, and high trust factors, which we aimed to replicate and improve upon in Morgenland’s redesign.
Data-Driven Insights
We used tools like Google Analytics, Clarity, and Hotjar to understand user interactions with the website.
Key Observations
- Users were often ignoring the main product section.
- The checkout process included too many distractions, causing many users to abandon their carts.
Heatmaps
- Heatmaps revealed underperforming areas on the homepage, product pages, and shopping cart.
- Users frequently skipped important calls to action, resulting in incomplete purchases.
These insights provided a solid foundation for planning targeted improvements.
Collaborating with Stakeholders
Armed with the research findings, I worked closely with the CEO, product owners, and development teams to align on project goals and strategy.
Presentation Highlights
- Competitor strategies, highlighting how brands like Benuta, Westwing, and CarpetVista differentiated themselves, and how Morgenland could establish a unique position in the market.
- Key user pain points and proposed solutions to address them.
- Solutions focused on simplicity and accessibility, specifically designed for the older demographic.
Designing the Solution
The solution involved a comprehensive redesign of the user experience, focusing primarily on simplifying the checkout process, enhancing mobile usability, and improving overall user satisfaction. The 3D showroom was developed as a supplemental feature to provide an immersive way for users to explore products, but it was not the main focus of the redesign. Instead, the core of our efforts was directed toward making the primary shopping experience seamless and intuitive, particularly for the older demographic. The virtual showroom has been well-received, but our primary impact came from optimizing key touchpoints in the user journey.
Proposed Solutions
I presented multiple potential solutions, ranging from incremental improvements to a complete redesign. The stakeholders opted for a clean and minimalistic approach, which aligned well with the target audience’s preferences.
Design Variations
Using Figma, I developed wireframes and prototypes that explored different layouts, focusing on product clarity and reducing visual clutter. The design variations were inspired by the familiarity of industry leaders like Amazon and Ikea to ensure the user experience was intuitive. Due to platform constraints, we conducted multiple internal evaluations, relying on Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity data to validate design choices rather than using live A/B testing.
Focused Checkout Experience
The final design aimed to tackle the issues with visual clutter and complexity in the checkout process:
- Collapsible sections were implemented to prevent overwhelming users with long forms, especially on mobile devices.
- Checkout buttons were highlighted using the primary brand color to improve visibility and guide users effectively.
- Essential elements such as the logo, contact information, and help options were retained, while unnecessary elements like navigation menus and secondary content were removed.
- Feedback states were added for discounts and applied changes, ensuring users received immediate and clear confirmation for their actions.
- A clean visual hierarchy was established to reduce cognitive load and help users focus on completing their purchase without distractions.
Overcoming Challenges
Technical Limitations
Certain features, such as multi-step checkouts, were not feasible due to system’s constraints. To address this:
- I adapted the designs to work within these technical limitations.
- Collaborated closely with developers to ensure a practical yet user-friendly solution.
Implementation and Results
Iterative Testing
We continuously refined the design through feedback, heatmap analysis, and usability reviews. Although live A/B testing was not possible, internal testing validated the effectiveness of the improvements.
Key Outcomes
- Sales Boost: The redesigned checkout process significantly increased conversion rates.
- Improved Mobile Experience: Mobile optimizations led to higher user engagement and reduced bounce rates.
- Customer Satisfaction: The simplified navigation and focused design resonated well with the audience, especially older users.
Conclusion
The Morgenland Teppiche redesign project demonstrated the value of a data-driven, user-centered approach to UX design. By addressing user pain points and aligning the design with user needs, we achieved significant business results and enhanced the overall shopping experience.
This project also reflects my commitment to creating thoughtful, impactful designs that balance user needs with technical and business requirements.