Nissan
The problem
In today's rather saturated, but extremely competitive, automobile industry, there is an increased focus on providing high level personalisation and customer satisfaction when buying a car, particularly as a car purchase is one which is not often, and is associated with luxury.
The former configurator was confusing to move through, and it wasn't providing the ultimate experience that Nissan wanted to achieve for users.
The problem was that the underwhelming, and sometimes frustrating, experience of the configurator was leading to a low conversion rate of sales from it. Nissan asked for our help in changing this.
The former configurator was confusing to move through, and it wasn't providing the ultimate experience that Nissan wanted to achieve for users.
The problem was that the underwhelming, and sometimes frustrating, experience of the configurator was leading to a low conversion rate of sales from it. Nissan asked for our help in changing this.
Brief
Re-design the Nissan car configurator in order to enhance customer experience as part of their Global Brand Identity redesign.
The former desktop and mobile experiences can be found in the slideshows below, and the new configurator can be found here
The former desktop and mobile experiences can be found in the slideshows below, and the new configurator can be found here
My role
- User Research
- User Interviews
- User Journey Mapping
- Sketching
- UX Audit
Process
Former configurator
Competitor landscape
We took inspiration from competitor configurators in order to understand the experiences they were providing.
The best configurators were Ferrari and BMW because they provide clean graphics, clear pricing, and they are easy to move through.
The best configurators were Ferrari and BMW because they provide clean graphics, clear pricing, and they are easy to move through.
UX audit
In order to understand what components already existed in the car configurator, I decided to carry out a UX Audit which focused on Nissan's 5 main markets; Germany, Australia, Japan, Poland, and the U.K.
By clearly outlining what was in each tray, it not only helped the Design team, but also the Product and Technical teams, which made the redesign process faster. Decisions were more straightforward.
As shown in the UX Audit example below, each country had a varied number of trays and components, demonstrating how challenging it would be to build one configurator for all markets.
By clearly outlining what was in each tray, it not only helped the Design team, but also the Product and Technical teams, which made the redesign process faster. Decisions were more straightforward.
As shown in the UX Audit example below, each country had a varied number of trays and components, demonstrating how challenging it would be to build one configurator for all markets.
Remote interviewing & observational research
Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the scheduled ethnographic interviews were somewhat more tricky as all interviews had to be done on Zoom so social distancing could be maintained. Interviewees of different demographics were recruited, for example, car fanatics who were familiar with car configurators, and those who were the polar opposite.
Interviewees were asked a number of open-ended questions about their journey moving through the configurator as a user, and were asked to commentate their thoughts and feelings throughout.
Due to the technical set-up, it wasn't possible to heat map how users were moving through the mobile format of the configurator, only desktop, so we had to rely on the interviewees' commentary. This was not ideal as the research teams at Nissan made us aware that a large portion of their customers are mobile first.
Interviewees were asked a number of open-ended questions about their journey moving through the configurator as a user, and were asked to commentate their thoughts and feelings throughout.
Due to the technical set-up, it wasn't possible to heat map how users were moving through the mobile format of the configurator, only desktop, so we had to rely on the interviewees' commentary. This was not ideal as the research teams at Nissan made us aware that a large portion of their customers are mobile first.
User journey mapping
A User Journey for each of the 5 principle markets were created in order to visualise how users were moving through the configurator, and for us to identify faster, and better, ways for them to move through the new one.
The persona used in these journeys is a first time car buyer, who is 25 years old, and is unfamiliar with car configurators.
The persona used in these journeys is a first time car buyer, who is 25 years old, and is unfamiliar with car configurators.
Outcome
Thought process, experience enjoyability, and proposed changes were focused on.
From dissecting the journey, these issues stood out the most:
Brief
Re-design the Nissan car configurator in order to enhance customer experience as part of their Global Brand Identity redesign.
The former desktop and mobile experiences can be found in the slideshows below, and the new configurator can be found here:
https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/car-configurator.html
The former desktop and mobile experiences can be found in the slideshows below, and the new configurator can be found here:
https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/car-configurator.html
Personal Contributions
User Research
User Interviews
User Journey Mapping
Sketching
UX Audit
User Interviews
User Journey Mapping
Sketching
UX Audit
Process
Original Configurator on Desktop and Mobile
Competitor Landscape
We took inspiration from competitor configurators in order to understand the experiences they were providing.
The best configurators were Ferrari and BMW because they provide clean graphics, clear pricing, and they are easy to move through.
The best configurators were Ferrari and BMW because they provide clean graphics, clear pricing, and they are easy to move through.
UX Audit
In order to understand what components already existed in the car configurator, I decided to carry out a UX Audit which focused on Nissan's 5 main markets; Germany, Australia, Japan, Poland, and the U.K.
By clearly outlining what was in each tray, it not only helped the Design team, but also the Product and Technical teams, which made the redesign process faster. Decisions were more straightforward.
As shown in the UX Audit example below, each country had a varied number of trays and components, demonstrating how challenging it would be to build one configurator for all markets.
You can see the UX Audit in more detail here
By clearly outlining what was in each tray, it not only helped the Design team, but also the Product and Technical teams, which made the redesign process faster. Decisions were more straightforward.
As shown in the UX Audit example below, each country had a varied number of trays and components, demonstrating how challenging it would be to build one configurator for all markets.
You can see the UX Audit in more detail here
Remote Interviewing & Observational Research
Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the scheduled ethnographic interviews were somewhat more tricky as all interviews had to be done on Zoom so social distancing could be maintained. Interviewees of different demographics were recruited, for example, car fanatics who were familiar with car configurators, and those who were the polar opposite.
Interviewees were asked a number of open-ended questions about their journey moving through the configurator as a user, and were asked to commentate their thoughts and feelings throughout.
Due to the technical set-up, it wasn't possible to heat map how users were moving through the mobile format of the configurator, only desktop, so we had to rely on the interviewees' commentary. This was not ideal as the research teams at Nissan made us aware that a large portion of their customers are mobile first.
Interviewees were asked a number of open-ended questions about their journey moving through the configurator as a user, and were asked to commentate their thoughts and feelings throughout.
Due to the technical set-up, it wasn't possible to heat map how users were moving through the mobile format of the configurator, only desktop, so we had to rely on the interviewees' commentary. This was not ideal as the research teams at Nissan made us aware that a large portion of their customers are mobile first.
User Journeys
A User Journey for each of the 5 principle markets were created in order to visualise how users were moving through the configurator, and for us to identify faster, and better, ways for them to move through the new one.
The persona used in these journeys is a first time car buyer, who is 25 years old, and is unfamiliar with car configurators.
You can see the User Journey in more detail here
The persona used in these journeys is a first time car buyer, who is 25 years old, and is unfamiliar with car configurators.
You can see the User Journey in more detail here
Findings
Thought process, experience enjoyability, and proposed changes were focused on.
From dissecting the journey, these issues stood out the most: