Redesigned the way users return back to
build car configurations on volvocars.com.
build car configurations on volvocars.com.
Outcome
- Designed a flow that includes three different depths through which configurations can be saved.
- Presented solutions to the Design team in Sunnyvale, Sweden, San Francisco and to the Head of UX and the Head of Consumer Digital
- The design solutions may be included in their new website design.
- Presented solutions to the Design team in Sunnyvale, Sweden, San Francisco and to the Head of UX and the Head of Consumer Digital
- The design solutions may be included in their new website design.
Responsibility
- Responsible for an ownership project that focused on finding a solution to saving car configurations on volvocars.com.
- Responsible for the whole design process including research, design, testing and iteration.
- Responsible for the whole design process including research, design, testing and iteration.
Volvo is currently redesigning Volvocars.com. My project focuses on the car configurator. Right now, there is not an easy way to “save” or “keep” a configured car on volvocars.com. This means the exploration and personalization a customer makes when configuring their car is easily lost. My task was to come up with a solution for this problem.
During the car shopping process, it takes an extended period of time to move from research to purchase. Customers may tweak one or several models to see what options are available and how much those options would cost. During this process customers may research across different devices and in different dealerships.
The hypothesis is that being able to view/return to a previously configured car will not only be a more enjoyable experience and set Volvo apart from competition, it will also potentially increase conversion.
Process
I started off conducting a lot of secondary and primary research. I looked at Volvos direct and indirect competitors across the digital landscape, spoke with customers and salesman and observed different dealerships. Further, I conducted usability tests on the current saving and sharing of configurations on Volvocars.com. I spoke with different engineers about possible options to save customer data and collaborated with the analytics team to understand the current customer journeys on Volvocars.com. In addition, I met with the Legal Department to understand the GDPR regulations that would influence my designs.
Competitors
In order to understand how different eCommerce sites currently show configurations and store user data I analyzed over 20 different configuration tools. I learned what kind of strategies are used not only in the automotive industry but also on other eCommerce sites.
While going through the websites I especially focused on understanding how the user data was being stored. Some interesting insights were for instance, that many automotive companies did not give the user any option to save the configurations they had built. When they did, they most often gave them a configuration code or URL to hold on to until revisiting the website. Some however allowed the user to save and compare different vehicles. One company even gave the user the option to not only compare their own builds and models with each other, but also to competitor brands. Another interesting finding was that one automotive company tricked the user into signing up through dark patterns.
In addition to learning from direct competitors I also analyzed indirect competitors. I identified different mental models that represent the stored location of previously built configurations and compared the different use of language.
In addition to learning from direct competitors I also analyzed indirect competitors. I identified different mental models that represent the stored location of previously built configurations and compared the different use of language.
How to Store Data
Configured models are currently only stored through a URL link which has a generated configuration code attached to it. This does not allow the user to easily save or return back to previously built configurations. The ideal solution should include:
- Permanence across devices/ multi device support
- The ability to store user data for an extended period of time
- Possibility to share configurations
- Require as little user investment as possible
- Allow users to compare configurations
- Be easy to access
- The ability to store user data for an extended period of time
- Possibility to share configurations
- Require as little user investment as possible
- Allow users to compare configurations
- Be easy to access
Usability Testing Current Website
It was important for me to understand how the current website was being used. I wanted to know which mental models existed and which pain points I should be aware of. For that, I usability tested the current website with 8 individuals. The participants were asked to complete several specific tasks, while thinking out loud. I filmed, voice recorded, and screen recorded their interactions on both desktop and mobile.
Dealership Observation and Salesmen Interviews
I visited competitor dealerships as well as Volvo dealerships to get more insights. In addition to that I interviewed two Volvo salesmen and learned that they are using the configurator as well. This was completely new information for me, so I based the interviews around it and asked them to walk me through their usual interactions with it and explain their usual use cases.
