Mercedes Benz: Car Comparison Feature
Final Results
Website Engagement: Between January 1st, 2019, and June 30th, 2019, the car comparison feature accounted for 2.5% of all page visits, totaling 962,396 visits.
User Pathways: 30.76% of users proceeded to a car campaign page, 23.3% exited the site, 6.77% visited the special offers page, and importantly, 1.8% went on to the purchase order page. In June alone, 2.5% of users progressed to the purchase order page.
Usability Feedback: A 2018 website assessment revealed the car comparison tool as intuitive and highly relevant, ranking 8th in relevance among features. 31% of mobile and 39% of desktop users rated it of high relevance.
Introduction
At Publicis Sapient, a digital consultancy specializing in digital transformation, I was part of the team that helped Mercedes Benz consolidate their fragmented Chinese website into a unified platform. We integrated existing owner-focused sites into the main consumer website and aimed for reusable design components via Adobe Experience Management.
Phase Overview
I joined at the start of phase two, which focused on the purchase process and owner section, right after completing phase one - the public-facing parts of the website.
Car Comparison Feature
Total Time: 2 Weeks
Background: The Mercedes Benz China website lacked a car comparison feature, a gap identified through user feedback and usability tests.
Goals:
Business Goal: Drive purchasing decisions by enabling comprehensive car comparisons.
User Goal: Provide users with informative tools to make well-informed purchasing decisions.
Problem Being Solved: Determining the most user-friendly method for comparing different car models.
User Data
User segmentation showed four main segments: private car purchasers, company car purchasers, owners, and enthusiasts. 25% planned a purchase within 6 months, and 50% had no immediate buying intention. This feature targeted private car purchasers.
Research
Competitive analysis of car websites like BMW, VW, Audi, and Jaguar, and item comparison from Apple's website led to several insights about car comparison features and user preferences.
Design Constraints & Challenges
Utilizing existing components due to design and development constraints.
Addressing the challenge of comparing cars at the engine level, despite some entry points being at the model level.
Achieving multiple pixel-perfect UI iterations within tight timelines.
Design Process
Ideation: Sketched multiple flow options, aiming for simplicity and reduced cognitive load.
Wireframing: Created wireframes for various car model selection options, ultimately choosing a design that combined selection and results on one page.
All Vehicles Component
Download Vehicle Brochure Component
Engine Selection Interaction: Decided on a popup for engine selection to maintain context and simplify the user journey.
UI Design and Client Approval
After finalizing wireframes, collaborated with a UI designer to complete the design. Minor UI adjustments were made before receiving client approval.
Concluding Thoughts
Potential Improvements: In retrospect, more user research to understand detailed comparison needs and an A/B test for new engine selection designs could have further optimized user experience.
Visibility and Information: Increasing entry point visibility and adding more explanatory information in engine selection pop-ups were identified as areas for future enhancement.
The car comparison page can be viewed here.