Exploring better digital landscape for Optimal User Experience Sushmita Dutt

 

AppleWalmartNike

Competitive Bench-marking: Apple

● Industries ServedComputer hardwareComputer software (iOS, OS X, Safari, iLife, iWork, iMovie, iPhoto)Consumer electronics (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac products)Digital distribution (iTunes store, iCloud, App StoreSM, Mac App Store)

● Geographic areas served:Worldwide (retail stores in 16 countries and online stores in 39 countries)

● Revenue:$182.795 billion (2014) 6.95% increase over $170.910 billion (2013)

● Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ● International Business Machines ● Cisco Systems, Inc., ● Microsoft Corporation, ● Dell Inc., ● LG Electronics, ● Lenovo Group Limited, ● Hewlett-Packard Company, ● Sony Corporation, ● Google Inc.

● Main Competitors:● Key Points:

90% of iPhone users stick with the brand when purchasing another phone. Samsung, Apple's largest competitor, managed to improve its brand retention rate significantly over the past years, but still trails Apple by 13 percentage points.

● Strategic User ExperienceApple is staying competitive through strategic and innovative product UX.

Competitive Bench-marking: Nike

● Industries Served

A leading athletic footwear, apparel and equipment company, Nike, Inc.is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and sales of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment.

● Geographic areas served:Worldwide (750 retail stores, 110 sales offices and showrooms)

● Revenue:

$27, 799 billion (2014) 1.09 % increase over $25, 313 billion (2013)

● Adidas, ● Reebok, ● Crocs, ● Under Armour, ● Phat Farm, ● Li Ning, ● TaylorMade, ● PVH, ● Titleist, ● Fuel Clothing, ● Atac, ● Skechers, ● SportsOneSource, ● ASICS

● Main Competitors:● Key Points:

● Strategic User Experience: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete.Nike’s user-centric design strategy, ranked Nike 24th on Inter-brand’s 2013 list of the World’s most valuable brands. Nike was also ranked #7 most innovative company by Fast Company in 2014.

Competitive Bench-marking: Walmart

● Industries ServedRetail (Discount department stores and warehouse stores)Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices.

● Geographic areas served:Worldwide (11,453 stores in 27 countries)

● Revenue:$485.651 billion (2015) 2% increase over $476.294 billion (2014) 

● Costco, ● Dollar General. ● Dollar Tree,● Kohl's Corporation,● Macy's Inc, ● Sears Corporation,● Target Corporation● BestBuy● ToysRUs● GAP● Nordstrom● Staples

● Main Competitors:

● Strategic User Experience: Competitive analysis and benchmarking is an important part of social media measurement and reporting. Walmart has the largest Facebook footprint. Walmart UX Strategy is to bring together online, mobile, and social commerce with our 10,000 stores around the world, creating a seamless experience for customers to shop in the way that’s most convenient for them – anytime and anywhere.

Social Media Reach:● Key Points:

Good measures of the site: It’s all about good User Experience:

1. Responsive Web that creates seamless User Experience2. Products are well displayed like advertising banners and Apple has been consistent in “look and feel” of product positioning – visually strong.3. Products that sync well with user ecosystem to create a seamless user experience are shown at the very entry to the store page with a caption:

“They work together beautifully.” One approach to grab user’s attention to related products. Lovely.4. Focus on wearable product – Apple watch, as the top item on the list, positioning it before the top selling, popular iPhone, iPad and mac laptop

which shows Apple’s aggressive approach in promoting new technology. 5. Contact Apple has been highlighted like a full-blown banner- excellent approach. It invites users to contact Apple.. .

Design Evaluation: Store_Apple.com/us5 Good Measures

Design Evaluation: Store_Apple.com/us5 Bad Measures

Bad measures of the site: It’s all about bad Navigation in User Experience and Ambiguity in Content:

1. Navigation errors at sub-level: Example, click on a product, say iPhone, user gets to a new page navigation flow on different iPhone categories. Click on a category, say iPhone6, other categories of the iPhone range are lost. User has to click on iPhone top navigation again.

2. Inconsistency The store has two beautifully positioned navigation structures: Top Nav. 1: Store and the products. Top Nav. 2: Shop Product. But as user clicks on a product link, the product page does not display the “Shop Product” navigation anymore. User needs to re-start the journey.

3. Inconsistency in UI/UX design aspect: All products are single scrollable page but “Apple watch” has rotating banner like a home page by itself.4. Multiple clicks to watch a video: User clicks on Watch as product. User gets a sub-level nav. “Watch TV Ads”. Over a scrollable page all TV Ads

are displayed. User clicks on a TV Ad, the video is displayed over a new page where other TV ad list is lost. The experience could be made better with displaying one TV ad as a banner and others in thumbnails on the same page with video playing on the space for the banner ad.

5. Content error: On the Watch page, the button Explore has content ambiguity. IT would be User Friendly if captioned “Explore Apple Watch”.

Apple Store’s Strategic UX: Innovation driven by understanding users:An interesting note from Apple.

“Apple fueled its growth with good user experience. It was Steve Jobs’ ability to fast-forward to the future from a user’s perspective. He was able to “see” that with the contemporary lifestyle of being on the move all the time, needing to communicate as well be informed/entertained anytime, anywhere becoming the acceptable way to live, there would be a need for an entire ecosystem of device and content that allowed all of this to come together.

At a time when no one else visualized the future lifestyle of users and what the resulting needs and opportunities would be, Steve Jobs did exactly that; hence came the iPod and iTunes in 2001. This duo provided a completely new way to access and consume music, in small “bytes”.

Design Evaluation: Nike.com/us/en_us5 Good Measures

Good measures of the site: It’s all about Persona and Role driven User Experience:

1. Responsive Web that creates seamless User Experience2. Products are well displayed under Top Navigation dedicated to Persona driven, Segmented Users – Men, Women, Boys. Girls3. Products sync well with user ecosystem – the athlete’s world: “Just do it.” features real world successes of real people. Lovely.4. Product customization – “Customize with NikeID” – the online customization tool creates user engagement through “Do It Yourself” UX. 5. Data filtration – “What are you looking for” is a search box for free text entry positioned well along Top navigation links.

Design Evaluation: Nike.com/us/en_us5 Bad Measures

Bad measures of the site: It’s all about User Experience Inconsistency and Data Filtration Mechanisms:

1. Inconsistency in UX: At level 2 navigation,(Men>Shop All Men>Gender), Men, Women, Boys, Girls become Men. Woman, Kids 2. Redundant UX: At level 2 navigation, expansion (+) of Category displays Shoes, Clothing. Gear. Then again click + is needed for all categories. 3. Data Filtration Ambiguity: At level 2 navigation, data filtration labels have ambiguity – Women>Clearance>Clothing>Tops and Bottoms are

viewable only on expanding(+) Clothing again. 4. Redundant breadcrumbs – At level 2 navigation, breadcrumbs conflicts with data filtration navigation. Breadcrumbs are not needed here.. 5. Long scrollable text: How to place a Nike Online is an important page. It should have been interactive and user-friendly.

Shift to Digital UXAn interesting note

Nike is focusing on using the web to put consumers in control. Here is a note on Nike's broadening digital philosophy. "We don't do advertising any more. We just do cool stuff," says Simon Pestridge, UK Marketing Chief. "Advertising is all about achieving awareness, and we no longer need awareness. We need to become part of people's lives and digital allows us to do that.“ Nike's digital swing shift is not motivated by a superficial desire to be innovative or even cost-effective, but by a fundamental need to engage consumers rather than bombard them with ads.”

Walmart's shift in Customer Experience:

Walmart UX Strategy: By bringing together online, mobile, and social commerce with 10,000 stores around the world, Walmart is creating a seamless experience for customers to shop in the way that’s most convenient for them – anytime and anywhere.

Segment Two:

- Walmart Site Evaluation- Online Ordering User Flow with some innovative UX- Product Page Annotated Wireframe

 

Walmart

Walmart: SWOT

● Key Points:

With three business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam's Club, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has one strong customer approach: save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices.

Walmart earns the trust of customers every day by providing a broad assortment of merchandise at everyday low prices ("EDLP"), EDLP is the pricing philosophy under which Walmart offers low prices and customers trust that Walmart prices will not change under frequent promotional activities.

 

Strengths- A established and popular brand name- Attractive pricing- Extensive range of products- Excellent brand mix- Strong market base in the US

Weaknesses

- Restricted geographical expansion- Selling Chinese products- Employee issues

Opportunities

- Increase Online Sales- Tapping more International locations- Reaping from the economic turmoil- Adding more brands

Threats

- Emerging of other big retail chains- Barriers of entry into newer markets

SWOT Analysis Walmart

Design Evaluation: Walmart.com5 Good Measures

Good measures of the site: It’s all about Products and Low Price Incentives driven User Experience:

1. Responsive Web that creates seamless User Experience.2. Products are well displayed over scrolling banners showing (1) Time-bound Promotion (4th of July) (2) Top of the line product – iPhone.3. Customer Tracking: “Because you viewed…” “You might also like these…” and user gets to evaluate a known range of products. Lovely.4. Top Brands – A user perception that Walmart sells Chinese products (see Walmart SWOT on previous page), a conscious effort is made in

associating Walmart with top brands like Samsung, Coleman etc. under the segment: “Top Brands. New Arrivals. Low Prices.” 5. More ways to Shop and Save addressing user ecosystem – This is a good user experience inviting users to many different ways to shop online.

And, the experience is tied to user ecosystem – example, a hard copy receipt scanned and entered into the system is compared for claimed higher price and customer gets the difference back. Such features definitely add to Walmart’s customer loyalty.

Design Evaluation: Walmart.com5 Bad Measures

Bad measures of the site: It’s all about metadata search and unconventional User Experience:

1. Metadata search error: Right on top of Walmart home page, there is a free text search box. Search word “Dutt” displays “Duty” related products. The logic could be to display something that is in the store. But, that is not conventional in metadata search.

2. Location reading error: Link to “My Local Store” displays a location store which is not in the same geographic location where the user is. The logic could be to display stores nearest to the location search but that is not conventional and should ideally say “Stores found near you…”

3. Borrowed data from Google search: “Your recently viewed item” shows data picked from Google search and then displays products related to the search user went through for a different purpose under different search process. This could be considered unethical UX.

4. Random products on display –Walmart on home page displays – Patio Garden, Clothing, Mattress, Gear, all unrelated products on the same space. There could a filtration of data for product search by categories – a catalog concept.

5. Ambiguity in product UX – Shop Now from home page links to a product page for 4th of July sale, same product - Nerf N-Strike Elite Rhino-Fire for same price is shown in two different slots on the same page - Rollback clearance and Sponsored products.

WalmartUser Flow Shop Online

Steps: 1. User selects Shop Now2. User selects product3. User sees product with accessories4. User adds to cart5. User gets to see related products on list6. User Checks out7. User gets a Sign in/Create Account option8. User goes through “Pay Online”

WalmartUser Flow Shop Online

A different User Flow for same shopping experience:

Registered User Signs-in

System offers Persona-driven values

User selects Shop Now

User sees Product List

User selects a product

User needs to use incentives

Non-registered User is asked to register

User is registered, and prompted to proceed

Registered?

Yes

No

User selects the product to buy

User adds additional items

User views Shopping Cart

User Checks out

Customer Profile and Purchase history are saved

Product ApplicationFor CustomizationProduct PerformanceProduct Interactions

One unified User Experience for all devices – Mobile/Web

Web and Mobile traffic to Walmart Shopping has 2 types of Users

ExternalSystems: Banking / Credit Card and Shipping

Registered Users Non-Registered Users

Logic behind the User Flow:

Walmart’s UX Strategy is to bring together online, mobile, and social commerce with 10,000 stores around the world. Product viewing should be universally consistent and hence an all platform compatible application for product demo, customization and interaction with product performance is justified.

An all platform compatible ApplicationSpecial notifications on incentives are send to registered users from Walmart CRM

WalmartProduct Page WireframeWith a new approach to give maximum control to user.

Welcome Steve Rogers

Original Image Custom Image Custom Control

Control Demo

Related Products

Product Demo

View

View Your purchasehistory

Categories

Category 4

Category 5

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Category 6

Category 7

Remarks:

Wireframe Technicalities

1. Persona recognition2. User gets to type-in

free text in the box under “What are you doing?

3. User comments get stored for user activities

4. Thumbnail product images are seen enlarged in the Original Image box

5. Using Custom Control tools original product image can be customized

6. A slider tool between te two images can be used to change degrees of customization

7. Control demo tool displays customized product in action

8. Product demos display product video,

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