PDP Quick Hits
Big impacts don’t always come from big efforts.
Working Team
Kim Knapp, Sr UXD
Ray Alexander, Manager UX
Shop Group Product Manager
Raouf Solaiman, Director of Product
Developers
Martin Davis, Front-end
Data + Analytics
Troy Appracio, Analytics
Timeline
2020, Fall — Design
2020, Fall — Test
2022, Summer — Iteration
Before our fall code freeze, there was a general call for ideas on how to improve the site for Holiday.
The Challenge
I approached the designer focused on the product page and asked them to come up with a few ideas that were as small as possible but still impactful.
The Prompt
I told her that every purchase decision can be influenced in 2 different ways: either by increasing confidence or decreasing risk.
The Scope
I had a strong relationship with one of the Front End managers, had told him about my plan, and he told me that any solution that could be created in under a day was totally doable. We wanted to have an impact on Holiday 2020.
Above all, deliver value.
While it is difficult to identify, design, and build large bodies of work — there is an unique type of difficulty in identifying a small opportunity that, through a small effort, can have an outsized impact.
Our initial questions.
What can we change to increase customer confidence in purchasing the displayed product?
What can we change to decrease the risk of purchasing the displayed product?
Increasing Confidence.
Past customer research told us that user confidence is linked closely with product information
The Mobile product description was closed by default, and only 5% of visitors opened it.
Small Test: Increase Confidence by defaulting the product description to an open state.
Decreasing Risk
Baymard speaks to the importance of a clear returns policy as critical to de-risking an online purchase
We already had a free returns policy, but the PDP language was underwhelming
Small Test: Decrease risk by explicitly showing “Free Returns” on the PDP.
So, what was the impact?
0.1%
Increased conversion by opening Product Description by default
1.5%
Increased conversion by updating Free Returns language.
But that wasn’t the end…
In 2022, we are again focused on the Product Page and how we can improve this critical moment in the customer journey. Based on what we learned in our quick 1-day builds in 2020, we are currently working on 2 separate tests for increasing confidence and decreasing risk.
Decrease Risk
Our initial test highlighting Free Returns was so successful that we have a curiosity about whether further highlighting that information, and contextualizing it with language specifically designed to connect customers to de-risking a purchase, could lead to an even greater impact.
Increase Confidence
While our initial test around product information was not as successful, the structure of the information within the existing description leaves something to be desired. We are curious about whether adding more visual informational cues to the Product Page will allow users to quickly understand key attributes of the product that may not be apparent in the existing product images.
What did I learn?
You don’t need a 6 week project to provide value. Even small changes can have big impacts. Starting with customer data and psychology can uncover simple changes that can improve the experience.