UI: Give the App a Personality
Brand Name
Color Palette
Typography
Logo
20 min read
•
Native eComm
OfferUp, re-imagined.
Added features: product verification, response time limit and delivery service.
OfferUp is the largest mobile marketplace that focuses on the resale of items for local buyers and sellers in the United States. To complement it’s existing features, I explored possible features to increase OfferUp's user conversion and satisfaction.
To assess the potential of adding a feature to OfferUp, I started my research with a market analysis of re-commerce trends . I learned that 85% of shoppers in 2023 participated in buying and/or selling secondhand items, and that the re-commerce market is projected to reach $276 billion by 2028, outpacing the overall retail market. This surge in interest highlights the growing consumer preference for sustainable shopping practices, and offers a design opportunity to add value to OfferUp.
I proceeded with a SWOT analysis comparing OfferUp to it's direct competitors Facebook Marketplace and Ebay.
OfferUp prioritizes community building and trust, setting it apart from larger competitors who leverage global social networks. This focus on local connections and user empowerment shows in OfferUp's user-friendly interface and services that facilitate community interaction.
All three companies share vulnerabilities in protecting user data including personal and financial information, and requiring strong safeguards against scams.
According to OfferUp's 2023 recommerce report, the recommerce market is projected to reach $276B by 2028 and is expected to outpace the overall retail market. This indicates that services provided by OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace and Ebay will increase in engagement and conversion in the foreseeable future.
Aside from having a long list of competitors, the three companies also face threats produced by scamming activities, identity theft, bad customer services, non-compliance with government regulations and logistics.
I then proceeded to user interviews with the intent to:
There were 6 interviewees who have experience with OfferUp and similar services. Here are some note-worthy comments from them:
“When I was first starting out, I didn’t really know how to make items sell.”
“Im biased towards nicer photos. More effort = more credibility.”
“Picking up certain items becomes a hassle because I don’t have a car.”
After synthesizing the results via an Affinity Map, several actionable points arose:
With these insights, I identified the underlying factors and emotions that influence user behavior on reselling platforms.
Users feel uniformed and guarded when they engage in transactions over online reselling platforms because they find a lot of uncertainty interacting with strangers.
Reselling platforms depend on a two-sided marketplace dynamic: buyers and sellers. These user groups are inherently interdependent; a successful buyer experience relies on an engaged seller, and vice versa.
Having determined two user groups, I created personas for each to help me come up with well rounded features for OfferUp.
Bella and Bobby helped me formulate problems that OfferUp buyers and sellers may have.
My research identified trust, reliability and inconvenience as key user pain points on reselling platforms. For each pain point, I developed a problem statement using the POV and HMW frameworks to gain deeper insight and explore potential solutions.
Problem 1: Building trust
POV: Bella, an artist furnishing her new apartment, finds it appropriate to purchase second-hand furniture, but feels suspicious of reselling online platforms because of the possibility of being scammed.
HMW: How might we help Bella, who feels suspicious of online transactions, build trust with online reselling platforms so that she can find quality second-hand furniture?
Problem 2: Reliable communication
POV: Bobby, a car salesman, utilizes OfferUp to sell vehicles but is frustrated by unresponsive leads wasting his time.
HMW: How might we help Bobby, who feels frustrated, feel more confident about connecting with serious buyers?
Problem 3: Pick up/delivery inconvenience
POV: Bella, a city-girl who relies on public transportation, is interested in buying a couch on OfferUp, but is uncertain of the purchase because she does not own a vehicle to be able to pick it up.
HMW: How might we help Bella, who does not own a vehicle, feel more confident in purchasing large items so that she is not limited when browsing for items she’d like to buy?
After pinning down my research-backed problem statements, I came up with 9 features as potential solutions. Given the project's time constraints, I prioritized features most achievable within the timeframe.
I chose 3 features to design:
If I had more time on this project, I would have added these features to complement my design choices:
I integrated the selected features into 3 flows:
With the features having clear pathways, I started to translate visually.
These low fidelity sketches represented each flow. Given OfferUp's strong UI, I found building onto it exciting and easier compared to creating wireframes from scratch.
Since OfferUp had a solid UI and is widely familiar, I thought that testing low fidelity frames might create a disconnect between the test participants and the solutions. So I decided to draft high fidelity prototypes and took those through two rounds of usability testing instead.
I conducted two rounds of unmoderated usability testing via Maze. My main goal for these usability tests were to determine:
My main success metric was qualitative feedback from users.
Product verification flow
Response time limit flow
Delivery service flow
Product verification flow
Response time limit flow
Delivery service flow
If I had more time, I would update my project to:
I admit that the test could have been conducted better by:
This project highlighted the importance of understanding products with multiple user groups. For reselling platforms, buyers and sellers are interdependent; their experiences are linked, and a positive outcome for one relies on a positive experience for the other. As a result, I learned how to visualize user journeys from each group's perspective.
If I had a re-do, I would focus on complementing each feature with a buyer and seller perspective. For example, creating another flow and a new set of screens for the product verification from a buyers perspective. By integrating both user perspectives, I believe it would strengthen the overall UX and value proposition of the each proposed features.
