Flipkart Gifting Experience
A gift can have lasting effects on a relationship, making gift selection a stressful ordeal. I designed a Flipkart Gifting Experience that helps gifters find and order the ideal gift that will produce the outcome they yearn for.
π Duration - 2 months (Feb to Apr 2022)
π¨βπ» Role - Sole designer and researcher in a self initiated project.
Context
After being let down by the absence of gifting services on Flipkart, I fancied the idea of a Flipkart gifting experience and started looking for gifting related problems it could solve that are unaddressed by competitors.
Secondary Research
Secondary research revealed that exchanging gifts is stressful for both gifters and gift receivers.
Gifters are burdened by their recipient's, and more so, their own expectations when looking for a gift. The effects that the gift would have on their relationship and their image only add to that anxiety.
I decided not to pursue this problem solving opportunity due to the excess of use cases and subjectivity involved for a potential scalable gifting solution to cater to.
Gift receivers, on the other hand, are placed in a position of indebtedness, and their obligation to repay their gifter is a significant cause of anxiety.
With ample evidence suggesting that their "receiver's anxiety" can be alleviated through return-gifting, I was set up perfectly to make my first hypothesis.
Hypothesis
Primary Research (round-1)
The hypothesis stated that the target outcome will be achieved once users perform the action of return gifting. So, I started creating a research plan to find out what's stopping gift receivers from return gifting and why.
I broke down the target action into a 6-step proto-journey map, and planned to investigate each step to find specific difficulties that gift receivers face while return gifting.
I surveyed 25 participants about their recent gift receiving experiences, out of which 18 participants joined me for a focus group / one-on-one interview.
I collected insights about a total of 14 incidents where a participant failed to return gift, and noted down their reasons for dropping off; and collected insights about 18 incidents where a participant was able to return gift, and noted down their difficulties / pain points.
β However, the research insights made it clear that my hypothesis was unsound.
Insights & New Hypothesis
100% of the participants were found to have experienced "receiver's anxiety."
Yet, none of them even considered the option of return-gifting unless there was an occasion involved.
Participants started gift searching in 53% of all recorded incidents.
Out of which, bar 2, all incidents involved an occasion. Which is also why they refrained from referring to the gifts they planned to give as "return gifts."
Although these insights disproved my hypothesis, they gave me the info I needed to revise it and solve the right problem. I.e. Helping people give gifts to the ones they feel obliged towards once a giftable occasion arrives.
Insights & Personas
In 25% of all recorded incidents, participants dropped off before STEP 3. In 53% of all incidents, participants dropped off before STEP 4. Making the journey from STEP 2 to STEP 4 the prime problem area stopping participants from gifting.
A closer look at the insights between steps 2 and 4 revealed a key difference between participants who started gift searching and ones who didn't.
Participants under Persona 2 had a pending obligation, and an upcoming occasion, but didn't have any outcome in mind which they wished to achieve through their gift. As a result, the never started gift searching.
Participants under Persona 1 also had a pending obligation and an upcoming occasion, as well as an intended outcome that pushed them to start gift searching, but were unable to find a gift which could achieve that outcome.
Solving for Persona 2
The lack of an intended outcome stopped participants under Persona 2 from starting a gift search.
Their recipient was either too close or too unacquainted with them, and the participant deemed it not worth the effort to start a gift search, with the belief that even if they didn't gift, their relationship would remain unaffected.
Since Persona 2 drops off before interacting with any online store, solutions for them needed to be implemented through external touchpoints.
My suggested solutions focus on giving target users a reason to gift (through storytelling in ads) and utilizing physical and digital artifacts (door hangers, newspaper ads, emailers, notifications) that make it effortless for them to start gift searching.
Persona 1 -
Primary Research (round-2)
Participants under Persona 1 had an important outcome in mind, which they wished to achieve through their gift. But after starting their gift search, were unable to find a gift which could achieve that outcome.
They searched for gifts online, in stores, asked mutual friends, second guessing what their recipient's actual needs and desires were. Whatβs more, the ideal gift needed to also be within their budget, deliver on time, and be packaged in gift wrap.
Carrying out trial and error with numerous gift items over multiple gift searching sessions led to drop-offs from sheer exhaustion.
I conducted a usability study with 9 participants
and observed how they used Flipkart and other online means to search for their ideal gift in order to find out where to implement solutions for their pain points within the product.
Design Requirements
& Implementation
Insight 1
Participants used vague search terms or kept getting distracted by the excess of cues and categories on the homepage - resulting in unfavorable gift search results and quick drop-offs.
I designed a focused gift search page with a search bar that takes 3 separate inputs - the recipient, the budget, and the gift item.
Insight 2
Participants evaluated each search result on whether or not it would achieve their intended outcome, fit their budget, have gift wrapping, and get delivered on time. The more items they evaluated, the greater the mental load, and a quick drop off.
I designed a search results page where each item's gift wrap availability is displayed, and all items can be filtered by the required delivery date.
Insight 3
Participants were trying to compare their options solely through mental notes, while discovering new options and evaluating several other options at the same time. The more items they compared, the greater the mental load, and a quick drop off.
With the "Save to Shortlist" option, users can add / remove items from the pinned shortlist at the bottom of the search results page.
On the shortlist page, users can easily compare shortlisted items, send their final selection to the cart, and head to checkout.
At checkout, users can select their desired gift wrap option.
User Flow
Sit back, as I go over the entire user flow and edge flows in the following video.
Usability Testing
I carried out the first round of continuous usability tests with 6 friends/family while wireframing and creating early prototypes. The design improvements I made their feedback can be found in the following video.
I conducted the final round of usability tests with 7 random participants on the following mobile prototype. They were tasked to find and order a gift - the test saw a 100% success rate.
Test the prototype yourself! π Toggle full-screen for optimal experience.
Conclusion
My solutions will help people cross the effort barrier and start gift searching on Flipkart; and the Flipkart Gifting Experience will help them find and order the ideal gift that will produce the outcome they yearn for.
Some of the mistakes I made during the project were- 1. Not conducting the 2nd round of research in the presence of an occasion 2. Building around an unmeasurable user outcome.
I learned the importance of keeping in touch with target users while ideating / designing. It helped my revise my hypotheses at every stage of my process. Recruiting and facilitating participants across 3 research / testing sessions, as well as building on top of Flipkart's existing design system were also some of my key learning experiences during this project.
Up next
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El fin. Designed by Aayush Sinha, 2024.
