Elia Alberti

The problem identified

User were growing increasingly frustrated about not being able to record and upload a video in their listing. On the majority of the other online-marketplace apps it was one of the most popular feature and they felt left behind, not being able to fully express their creative self.

The goal of the project

The goal of the project was to empower sellers providing them with a feature which would help them sell their items whilst engaging with their followers and potential buyers.

At the same time buyers would benefit from a new way to vision an item before purchasing it.

KPIs

• Global revenue increase in Q4 compared to the same time the previous year

• To increase number of listed items p/w

• To reduce time spent selling an item to ideally no longer than one week

• To increase marketplace rating by 0.2 on both iOS and Android platforms

• To increase the number of listings globally by 3% to 5%

Style Guide

How we planned to solve it

Working in Agile we set up a team of five including PD, PM, Q&A, Android and iOS developers.

The process put in place to develop the feature is as follow:

• • DISCOVER – Background Research / User interview / Competitive analysis

  • DEFINE – Feature prioritisation / User persona / Costumer journey

  • DESIGN – Wireframe / Visual mock-up / Prototype

  • TESTING – Usability testing / User testing sessions / A-B testing

  • DELIVER – Pixel perfect visuals / Interactive prototype / Assets ready for devs

Wireframes & Sketches

Listing Flow

Proposal with new listing screen layout, image gallery upload, new camera ui and navigational footer.

How I measured success data analysis

Working closely with back-end and PMs we could witness the following areas of improvement upon having launched the new feature, validating our work but more importantly exceeding expectations:

5.6% increase

of revenue generated upon having launched the feature (Q4) compared to the same period the previous year

14.8% increase

of successful listing where the item Has been sold within the first week of it being published compared to any period prior the release of the feature

0.2 rating points increase

of the rating on both iOS and Android market due to positive feedback related to the newly released video recording feature

ABOUT DEPOP

Depop is the new way to shop where you can buy, sell and share millions of unique items, vintage & luxury fashion, art, illustration, books, records and trainers and where you can build your own community of sellers and buyers.

Start selling by taking a video or a picture and open your own personal shop. Buy an item with just one tap.

More importantly, stay connected. Depop is a community – it’s a fun place to hang out. Keep up-to-date with your friends’ activity – like, share and comment on items that catch your eye.

Originally a social network, the app became a global marketplace — a mobile space where you can see what your friends and the people you’re inspired by are liking, buying and selling.

In turn, your friends and creative influencers all over the world can see the things you like, buy, and sell, and are inspired by you. This ecosystem has supported Depop becoming a global conduit of connection, not only in m-commerce, but culture, design, and creative communities around the world.

With 10 millions users worldwide, today 80% of Depop users are under 25-years-old, they’ve sold $230 million of clothing last year, and are on track to double that to $460 million in 2018-19.

Video Feature

With this engaging new feature users can now shoot short videos of their items to help them show off what they’re selling. The aim is to empower them to explore their creativity through a different media format as well as to give creatives an additional tool for self expression.

Moreover it has been proven to be of great help to buyers too as it will give them better insight into the items they are purchasing. The better users can present their items, the more revenue they can generate.

talking about UX

I’ve research, analysed and compared the best cases of similar UX Design solutions to the project’s final brief. I’ve generated personas and validated my concepts and approaches via data and user research sessions to understand the motivations of users and to use that insight to design better experiences, working closely with the back-end and engineering team. I’ve then helped develop a road-map in partnership with the PM whilst considering both internal and users’ requirements in order to help me identify risk assumptions early and swiftly.

Talking about UI

The user interface had to the reflect and adhere with Depop’s core values such as authenticity, self-expression, entrepreneurialism and uniqueness, whilst offering a cutting edge solution to satisfy buyers and sellers needs.

The aim of my work is not only to create a colourful whilst minimal and catchy user interface which is also fresh and connected to the users but I also wanted it to be engaging enough to appeal to anybody, top sellers as well as new users at a global scale.

It takes in consideration users’ needs by offering a seamless experience regardless of the device or the os and it wants to stand out in the same way that our unique community does with their goods on sale, focusing on translating, implementing and enhancing the Depop visual and brand identity.

The importance of Prototypes

Many ideas fail, not because they are flawed, but because people didn’t ‘get it’. It can be hard to imagine new products, services or features. That is where traditional specification documents and business plans fail. They do not excite people about the potential. They do not show them what could be.

Which is why working in Agile, I felt the need to prototype pretty much every design task for every sprint so to shows stakeholders, developer, PM and back-end, what I was going to build. That means everybody had the same picture of the end goal. It significantly reduces the need for people to ‘fill in the gaps’ with their imagination.

It’s also a great tool for user testing session, to gauge the level of engagement of a specific feature and further iterate if and when needed. Occasionally and particularly in the early days of a project, I had to make few assumptions about what users want. Some companies do market research, but just like stakeholders users often struggle to picture what it is you are proposing building.

Testing a prototype allows you to validate the assumptions you make and be confident you are building the right thing.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Both male and female audience, between 16-45 yrs old.

CLIENT

Depop

TECHNOLOGY

• Sketch
• Illustrator CC
• Zeplin
• Abstract