I interviewed participants in Kenya over Skype and Facetime as part of the user research. At moments there were some connectivity issues but overall the interviews went smoothly. The Nielsen Norman Group has an article titled Designing for 5 types of E-commerce Shoppers which was a great tool for categorizing users. I quickly realized that each of my participants represented at least one of the types of shoppers. This re-emphasized that despite location and cultural differences, human beings display common behavioral patterns, especially when shopping!
For the personas, I analyzed the participant’s responses through desires, behavior, needs, drivers, goals, pain points, and concerns.
Bianca represents the frequent shopper that wants to stay on top of new trends and spends time browsing on sites. For this type of user, it's important to provide a quick way to see new products and what's changed since the last browsing session.
Bryan represents the shopper that prefers to collect information prior to making a purchase. This type of shopper will often look at various sites and take their time before making a decision. They also like to see the product in person. They may start shopping online but complete the purchase in the store. Product details and reviews are an important part of their user experience.
Dana represents the user that enjoys finding deals and receiving rewards. This type of shopper is often motivated by the accomplishment of finding a great deal. The ability to view sales and compare prices plays an integral part in their user experience.
This was an interesting exercise because it was the first time during the design process where I had to step outside of my thoughts and assumptions and view the experience through the user’s eyes. I had to situate the user within different context of use to fully understand how they might experience the product. Where are they when they use the product? What's going on around them? What is their emotional state when using it? What is the social feedback, how are they perceived by others when using the app? How do they want to be perceived by others?