EBAY

PROJECT: CLOSE5

eBay acquired Close5, a mobile (IOS and Android) marketplace for local buyers and sellers back in 2014. A whole new product team was assembled in 2016 in order to expand Close5 brand across major cities in the US.

THE CHALLENGE

To Increase app downloadings by 500% YoY during 2016.

For this we needed to create an engaging easy way for users to browse for nearby deals while also encouraging people to sell items they didn’t use anymore instead of throwing them out or selling them.

MY ROLE

Product Designer.

User Research, Storyboarding, User Journey, User Personas, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping and Testing.

THE METHODOLOGY

Agile, 2 week sprints.

MY RESEARCH

I conducted user research with current Close5 users to:

Uncover pain points
Gain a common understanding of needs and goals
Understand behaviour patterns.

We recruited 15 users and I conducted a focus group session to obtain new ideas and thoughts about our product. We also invited 30 active users to interview them and obtain more insights of how and why they used Close5 and other marketplace apps.

These were some of my findings:

Mothers were key users to keep in mind since they were constantly buying kids items in the app that would be used for a really short period of time and later on could be sold again.

Users valued safety more than anything since they didn’t want to buy products in bad conditions or have problems during the selling or buying transaction.

Most users only opened the app when browsing for a specific item. Only 15% of them enjoyed spending time in the app hoping they find a good deal.

Once I had a good understanding of our users, I created empathy maps, user journeys and buyers and sellers user personas.

I started working on information architecture and I simplified it into five main sections: discover, search, chat and my profile.

Once I had a clear navigation structure I started working on each section. Keeping in mind my research insights I included these following solutions:

An engaging navigation flow to keep users feeling relaxed and interested while browsing items.
User profiles that encouraged users to upload a profile image. Ratings, badges and transactions history were also part of this section with the main objective that buyers and sellers could connect with confidence.
Seamless and smooth “New Listing” flow so items could be posted as easily as taking a photo.
An interactive map to community meetup spots and access to user’s calendars to make transactions easier and safer.

USER TESTING

I tested prototypes with recruited participants. I created scripts with different tasks based on my testing goal. After testings I always presented key insights to the whole team with the main objective that all of us were aligned on what went well, what to improve and next design steps.

DESIGN EXPLORATION

Our design team included two UI designers. We chose bright colors, created fun icons, avatars, characters and animations. Also, I paid lots of attention to transitions and microinteractions design to create a delightful experience while browsing or posting items.

IMPROVEMENTS AND METRICS

I ideated two options of a friend referral promotion were users participated to win a $500 gift card in order to increase downloads.

I worked along with the marketing team creating an A/B Test to uncover which design had a better performed and higher conversion rates. At then, we selected the best one and applied it to all users.

Working with the marketing team allowed me to have not only qualitative findings but also quantitative metrics that helped in the complete design process.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Close5 downloads increased from 250K in 2015 to 7M in 2016 (AppStore & PlayStore)

Listings increased 28% after the first month

Selling conversions increased 15% after 3 months.

Go To Next Project

PROJECT: CLOSE5

eBay acquired Close5, a mobile (IOS and Android) marketplace for local buyers and sellers back in 2014. A whole new product team was assembled in 2016 in order to expand Close5 brand across major cities in the US.

​

THE CHALLENGE

To Increase app downloadings by 500% YoY during 2016.

​

For this we needed to create an engaging easy way for users to browse for nearby deals while also encouraging people to sell items they didn’t use anymore instead of throwing them out or selling them.

​

​

MY ROLE

Product Designer.

​

User Research, Storyboarding, User Journey, User Personas, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping and Testing.

​

THE METHODOLOGY

​

Agile, 2 week sprints.

MY RESEARCH

​

I conducted user research with current Close5 users to:

​

Uncover pain points​

Gain a common understanding of needs and goals​

Understand behaviour patterns.

​

We recruited 15 users and I conducted a focus group session to obtain new ideas and thoughts about our product. We also invited 30 active users to interview them and obtain more insights of how and why they used Close5 and other marketplace apps.

​

​​

These were some of my findings:

Mothers were key users to keep in mind since they were constantly buying kids items in the app that would be used for a really short period of time and later on could be sold again.

​

Users valued safety more than anything since they didn’t want to buy products in bad conditions or have problems during the selling or buying transaction.

​

Most users only opened the app when browsing for a specific item. Only 15% of them enjoyed spending time in the app hoping they find a good deal.

Once I had a good understanding of our users, I created empathy maps, user journeys and buyers and sellers user personas.

​

I started working on information architecture and I simplified it into five main sections: discover, search, chat and my profile.

​

Once I had a clear navigation structure I started working on each section. Keeping in mind my research insights I included these following solutions:

An engaging navigation flow to keep users feeling relaxed and interested while browsing items.

User profiles that encouraged users to upload a profile image. Ratings, badges and transactions history were also part of this section with the main objective that buyers and sellers could connect with confidence.

Seamless and smooth “New Listing” flow so items could be posted as easily as taking a photo.

An interactive map to community meetup spots and access to user’s calendars to make transactions easier and safer.

USER TESTING

I tested prototypes with recruited participants. I created scripts with different tasks based on my testing goal. After testings I always presented key insights to the whole team with the main objective that all of us were aligned on what went well, what to improve and next design steps.

DESIGN EXPLORATION

​

Our design team included two UI designers. We chose bright colors, created fun icons, avatars, characters and animations. Also, I paid lots of attention to transitions and microinteractions design to create a delightful experience while browsing or posting items.

IMPROVEMENTS AND METRICS

I ideated two options of a friend referral promotion were users participated to win a $500 gift card in order to increase downloads.

I worked along with the marketing team creating an A/B Test to uncover which design had a better performed and higher conversion rates. At then, we selected the best one and applied it to all users.

Working with the marketing team allowed me to have not only qualitative findings but also quantitative metrics that helped in the complete design process.

​

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Close5 downloads increased from 250K in 2015 to 7M in 2016 (AppStore & PlayStore)

​​

Listings increased 28% after the first month

​​

Selling conversions increased 15% after 3 months.

Uncover pain points

Gain a common understanding of needs and goals