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Jenny Wang

Designed an easy and trusting online camera shopping experience

CamerOlogy is a brand name I created for an online camera e-commerce website to address camera shoppers' pain points and designed an online shopping experience from scratch .

Overview

Project summary

I discovered that most people prefer to buy cameras in store because they prefer to talk to someone and learn which camera suits their needs. On top of that, some people also do own their own research either by reading reviews or watching other people test products. It can be a difficult decision to pick the camera to purchase. I created a camera e-commerce website that educates and empowers camera buyers in their shopping experience.

My role and duration

Solo researcher and UX designer

Duration: 5 weeks

Context

CamerOlogy is a brand I created to aim to provide everything customers might need and want to know when they shop for a camera. We source cameras and lenses and other accessories from different brands, and we provide services and educational materials that make customers feel safe and confident about their purchases.

So, where do people buy cameras and why? Before starting this project, I wanted to know if there’s a need to innovate the camera buying experience. So, I started desk researching to see what people are saying. I randomly selected 15 people from an open forum from the Digital Photography Review on where people prefer to buy their cameras.

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57% of the people prefer to buy cameras in-store. The main reasons are access to customer support, support local business, and test out cameras.

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Here are some of the things they said:

“Buying locally helps keep the store in business, allows you to actually handle the item and return it if there’s a problem.”

“I love being able to go in and hold and compare various camera bags.”

“You can speak to a human and ask questions - a huge plus if you are uncertain about your pricey purchase.”

The Challenge

So, why do camera shoppers don’t like to buy online?

I also interviewed 10 people who bought or plan on buying cameras. 8 out of 10 people prefer stores than online. One participant (John) bought a camera online a while ago, and he didn't have a great experience. He said he would buy cameras in-store in the future instead of online. I asked him to walk me through his online buying experience, and then I mapped out the journey to see where the pain points are and if there’re any opportunities we can explore to with CamerOlogy.

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Too much research: John researched a lot when he was buying the camera. There were a lot of terminologies he didn't know, and he wasn't sure what features he needed.

Insecure about the purchase: It's an expensive purchase. Because it's John's first time buying a camera and he didn't know much about the camera, he was anxious about the purchase and didn't know if he made the right decision.

Customer service: He contacted customer service, but he wasn't able to get any help on the type of camera he should get.

The Goal

My goal for creating CamerOlogy is simple, and it’s to make online camera shopping experience easy, comfortable and as friendly as in-store.

Borrow what’s already working.

There are a lot of big players in the digital camera market, such as Best Buy and B&H. Competitive analysis can collect and compare data about products (companies) in the marketplace. This method highlights the strengths and weakness of products, which can help me to make more informed decisions about CamerOlogy's website I.A. and contents.

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Also, I was inspired by comparative websites, like Patagonia and Red Bull. A great e-commerce website is not just about selling their products, but also it’s about showing the experience of owning the products, which drives people to want to buy them.

Time to Ideate!

Site I.A.

Cameras have a whole lifecycle from research before purchasing, browsing cameras, and service after the purchase. The e-commerce site needs to fulfill all the things customers look for during the cycle. Based on the customer's journey map, I crafted this navigation system that helps customers to find a perfect camera through many routes. The navigation system's goal is to minimize the time customers spend on browsing and researching outside of the site.

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User Flow For a Key User Case: Purchase a Camera For Travel

A flow presents an overall picture and gives an opportunity to create a more seamless user experience. In order to focus on the experience of finding a perfect camera, I created a user flow of purchasing a camera for travel to detect any interactions I missed and help me to validate if the path will be correct or if there is a still chance to make it better before I work on wireframes and visual design.

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Sketches are the fastest way to get my ideas out on the paper and test them right away. So, I know what works and what doesn’t. Also, it helps to show how elements are laid out on the page and how the site navigation would work.

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Design, Test, and Iterate

Here are some highlights from the design and iteration phase. I created laptop wireframes for the landing page, product details page, category page, and product support page. Also, I made a demo of the mobile CamerOlogy prototype.

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1st landing page design

1st landing page design

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I tested the prototype with 5 people. They said they would like to browse more on the home page instead of just reading through the featured cameras. They wouldn't take the quiz right away on the home page. So, based on the feedback I got, I made some changes. ➡️

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After 1st iteration

After 1st iteration

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Users were confused about the differences between "contact us" and "schedule". Both features allow them to talk to customer service. ➡️

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Final mobile low-fi prototype

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What’s Next?

Overall it appears CamerOlogy has positive feedback from users. They have an appetite for the "take a quiz" feature and love creative ways to browse cameras. By introducing pictures that are taken with the product and expert reviews, users are able to know the camera features better.

Look at the constraints

Big e-commerce sites like Amazon are pushing the local camera stores out of business. Having a perfect website might not increase online revenue for cameras. Many people support local business, so I want to explore the option of partnering up with the local camera stores. CamerOlogy's inventories can come from the local camera stores, so users who support local businesses won't be guilty to shop online on Amazon.

Usability testing with a more representative sample of users.

I randomly selected 5 people to conduct usability testing. They have never bought a camera or plan on getting a camera anytime soon. I want to test the prototype on users who have bought a camera online, so they can compare and see if CamerOlogy is more accessible and user-friendly.

Add a visual design to showcase the experience of owning cameras.

It's difficult to show case the experience of owning cameras with grayscale wireframes. I want to add more visual designs to the prototype next step.