PROBLEM STATEMENT
Reducing the returns rate
post purchase
PROJECT TIMELINE
December 2023 - January 2024
ROLE
Sr. Product Designer, Visual Design
PROJECT TIMELINE
December 2023 - January 2024
ROLE
Sr. Product Designer, Visual Design
PROJECT TIMELINE
June 2021 - Jul 2021
ROLE
UX, Visual Design
2x
Conversion increase
32%
Returns rate reduction
Flipkart Refurbished is a marketplace that is part of the Flipkart categories where one can discover used mobile phones and electronics that have been professionally inspected, repaired and restored to work just like new.
I led the design strategy and execution of this project. Being a senior designer, I also did planning, setting up workshops and presenting the design to the stakeholders at large. Also, I have ideated and created the visual designs for a few landing pages.
Sneak-peek
The problem
Post the product purchase there
was a returns rate of 55%
Description of the problem
After the launch of Flipkart Refurbished, the category had a 55% of return rate once the user has purchased the product.
Why is the problem significant?
The average returns rate of overall categories on Flipkart is 28%. The average return rate in the e-commerce industry in India is 30%. 55% returns rate was on the higher side and it was costing the company more for each return.
Understanding the problem
User interview
The research team conducted 15 interviews who have purchased and returned the products. I participated in the user research and we understood that the user who had returned their product after receiving it is not aware that the product is refurbished. Also, they do not have an understanding of a refurbished product.
Some of the user's feedback
“Didn’t know it is a used phone.”
“What is refurbished?”
“I thought it is a brand new phone with huge discount.”
“Is it safe to buy a refurbished?”
Why the existing experience didn't work?
Refurbished was a transition from a separate app called 2GUD to the Flipkart app. I had to adjust to the ecosystem of Flipkart, which had its own design system and structure. As a result, the design was created using the pre-existing components, and I was only able to construct a small number of new ones. This led to numerous design issues, such as inadequate product details, a dearth of information about refurbishment, and improper communication of the trust factor regarding returns and warranties. Refurbished products are being introduced on Flipkart's platform for the first time, and users are not accustomed to this.
Search
Product details page
Cart
Finding solutions
How might we?
I led the design sprints session and we started with a How Might We statement. We focused on the following questions to be addressed as part of our workshops.
🤔 HWM enable our users to showcase that the product is refurbished?
🤔 HWM educate the user about what is a refurbished product?
🤔 HMW build trust in the user when they purchase a refurbished product?
Hypothesis on shortcomings of current experience
🔎 Users should differentiate between new vs refurbished products on the search page
🪧 Users should notice “Refurbished” through their entire journey from search to check out
🎓 The product details page should educate the user about refurbished product and build trust
💯 Showcase the benefits of refurbished products vs new products
🛒 Users need to be notified that they are purchasing a refurbished product during check out
What our user needs?
I created user stories for this initiative and figured out what information can help our users to solve this problem.
User story
User information
It is a refurbished product
It is not a new product
User education
What is a refurbished product?
Refurbished is not a second hand product
Navigation
Educate what is refurbished without any interaction
Trust
Warranty and replacements for refurbished products
The designs
I collated all the research findings, gained insights, did some paper sketching and started to design for this initiative. I tried out many iterations and designed the solutions for this problem statement. There were four major solutions that helped to solve this problem:
Solution 1
Showcasing that the user is exploring a refurbished product
In the research I noticed that the user tends to click the product by seeing the low prices and misses out on the refurbished tag. To solve that the user is browsing a refurbished product, I introduced a “Refurbished” tag on the product image, text on the product title and the grade just below the title. The same layout has been applied to Flipkart’s main search result page to give clear differentiation between new and refurbished product.
Category search
App search
Refurbished Tag
Tag to give clear differentiation between a new and a refurbished product
Tag on
product image
Added a “Refurbished” tag on the product
Title
“Refurbished” call-out on the product title
Solution 2
Educate the user about a refurbished product
Users clearly need to know that they are looking at a refurbished product and they are going to buy a refurbished product. Also, some users do not understand a refurbished product. To solve this, other than introducing the “Refurbished” tag on the product image and text on the product title, I got a video produced for “What is a refurbished product?” by the marketing team that was added to the product image carousel.
Product details page
Explaining
refurbished
Introduced a section about Refurbished in the first scroll to educate the user
Autoplay video
An autoplay video demonstrating the
process of refurbished
More details
Features of a refurbished product clearing stating the condition of the product
Solution 3
Showcasing that the user is buying a refurbished product
Once the user has added the item to the cart, I wanted to make sure that they are purchasing a Refurbished product and not a new product. Since there are multiple items on the cart, I introduced a confirmation bottom sheet if there is a refurbished product added to it. More than an alert the sheet was ideated in a way that the user has made a smart choice by choosing a refurbished product.
Purchase confirmation
Introduced a bottom sheet for the user to be aware that he is buying a refurbished product
Reasons to believe
Benefits of buying a refurbished product and building trust factors
Cart
Solution 4
Build trust when a user purchases a refurbished product
I restructured the product details page by creating new sections that highlighted the details of warranty, quality and returns to build trust. Additionally, I created a separate education landing page for the user to understand how a product is refurbished and what is the process behind it. This will help the user to get the knowledge that how safe is a refurbished product.
Ensure Trust
Quality, Warranty and Return details to bring trust for a hassle-free purchase
Quality Check
Simple steps explaining on the process quality check
Price
Comparison
Differentiates the prices between Refurbished and New helps with pricing benefits
Education Page
Created a landing page that also included the process video for the user to know that refurbished is not exactly a used product
Product details page
Process landing page
Impact and learnings
We ran an A/B test on the platform for three weeks. The returns rate started to reduce. In the testing phase, we discovered that the process video and the bottom sheet on the checkout page played an instrumental role for the user. We found the users are now aware of a refurbished product and are very sure about purchasing it.
We shipped out the new flow after successful testing and in five weeks we reduced the returns rate to 32%. This initiative was very successful, and this project also helped me in my promotion.
Reduced return rate
32%
Conversion increase
2x
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