Shortening the user buying journey to achieve higher sales

The problem

Lentiamo is an e-shop that offers vast selection, but the “dropouts” numbers are high.

The outcome

Although that projects was not tested, due to time constrains and tight budget I gained a lot of insights about our users.

My role

I was in charge of the Research and  UX/UI end-to-end design process.

Problem discovery

Waking up in an old T-shirt with few holes in it I realised that I need a  new set of summer PJs. That was in June. It’s almost the end of summer and I still haven’t purchased any. There’s simply too much choice that I can’t make a decision. That made me think of Lentiamo’s catalogue, that has over 1000 pairs of glasses/sunglasses at all times.

White paper research

Research shows that while customers are attracted to a wide choice range, they make fewer purchases, compared to situations with fewer choices available.

In her book “The Art Of Choosing”, Sheena Iyengar states that there are 4 ways we can make the decision process easier.
→ Cut – Introduce less options

→ Concretise – Make it vivid, realistic, visual

→ Categorise – Put items in well-organized and defined categories
→ Condition – Start by introducing people with less options to choose from, and then you can increase the number of options.

Competitive analysis

All 5 direct competitors provide Similar product categorisation and Category page filtering. Some use less categories to narrow down the choice, some use way more. What stood out to me was that every website had a “size” filter. I wear glasses since I was 2 years old and I didn’t know frames had sizes. Did regular consumers know that information?

Lentiamo's user persona

Isabella, 32, office manager, Prague

Motivations:

→ Appreciates shopping experiences that save her time

→ Looks for online deals

Goals:

→ Find eyewear that aligns with her style 

→ Buy eyewear that is high quality 

→ She wants assurance that the glasses will suit her face
→ She looks for trustworthy online shops

Pain Points:

→Busy Schedule: Her work and family responsibilities leave her with limited time, which makes convenience a significant factor.
→ Decision Overwhelm: The vast selection of eyewear options online can be overwhelming, and she struggles to narrow down her choices.
→ Fit and Comfort: Without trying on glasses in person, she worries about the fit.

Interviews

I interviewed 6 people, to find out how do they buy a new pair of sunglasses.

Interview questions:

  1. Have you bought glasses or sunglasses online?
  2. Would you take a quiz that will help you with filtering the options that really match your needs (like style, shape, colour, price range)?
  3. Do you have concerns about purchasing glasses online compared to buying them from a physical store?
  4. What helps you when you are choosing shoes, glasses, bras?
  5. Why have you (not) bought glasses online?
  6. Do you know that glasses have sizes – S, M, L like clothes for example?
  7. Do you care about trends or do you have a personal style that you stick to?
  8. What shape do you think your face is?

Findings

After conducting 6 interviews with people from 4 different European countries, few themes started to form.

→ Everyone thinks their face shape is particular and not many frames suit them.

→ People don’t know that there are parameters defying their glasses size.

→ People often don’t have criteria, they are looking for something that sparks interest.

→ There is a mistrust in quizzes, that they are not working well, if the UI is bad.

→ Women care about trends, but also personal style. Men care about personal style.

→ People mention mostly budget and quality.

Hypothesis

Some female participants mentioned that the cosmetics e-shops (such as Notino and Sephora) offer quizzes or virtual try ons that they found helpful. Another participant though said she mistrusts quizzes, especially if they have bad UI.  I wanted to test a hypothesis – A well-designed quiz can act as a virtual shop assistant, guiding customers through the selection process and helping them find the right sunglasses without needing to browse all 1000+ models.

Quiz script

  1. What glasses are you looking for?
  2. What size frames do you wear?
  3. How wide is your nose? (this is skipped if the user provides specific measurements)
  4. What material do you prefer?
  5. What is your budget?
  6. What colours are you after?
  7. What is frame shape do you prefer?

Low-fidelity