Improving the Findability of Apple’s Purchasing Process
Executive Summary
Introduction
This usability study aimed to analyze and identify pain points of Findability of the Apple Purchasing Process. The primary objective was to utilize these data-driven pain points to direct recommendations for enhancing the findability of Apple’s Purchasing Process, and in turn, improving sales and customer satisfaction.
Methodology
The talk-aloud consisted of three participants ages 18-24 with proficient experience with e-commerce sites. The first two tasks occurred on the Apple site, then repeated on a competitor site for a total of four tasks. The first task required participants to locate information on a product, then complete the purchasing process for it. The second task had users locate the order status page.
Key Findings
Site Errors: All Users ran into issues with delivery scheduling, 2/3 ran into false inactivity messages that prompted users to refresh their page.
Inconsistency & User Expectations: 2/3 users expressed inconsistencies with address auto-fill, All users had false expectations on where to navigate to in order to complete a task
Locating Order Status Page: All users struggled to locate the order status page on Apple, resulting in large discrepancies of click counts and time of task completions between Apple and the competitor site.
Recommendations
Improve clarity of delivery scheduling interface and modify activity detection.
Implement address auto-fill across the entire address input process.
Implement a direct link to the order status page and refine built-in search to prioritize page results, not forum posts.
Conclusion
By addressing these key findings, Apple can significantly mitigate user frustration and improve their purchasing process. This in turn can affect sales and customer satisfaction, which indirectly drives conversion rates while ultimately highlighting the benefits of prioritizing Findability.
