A Consumer Friendly Approach to Financing
Solutions that increased AOV by 26.7%

Timeline: December 2021 - January 2022
The Team:
Lead UI/UX Designer - Krystal Flores
Dev - Sarah Yoffe
Marketing - Devorah Paltiel
E-commerce - Brookie Milecki
Website Assistant - Kyle Oden
Copy Writer - Brendan Mitchel

Overview

My Role
Focus Camera, a photography and imaging retailer with two physical stores and a robust e-commerce platform, needed to improve user experience for thousands of global customers. A seamless payment process was essential during a comprehensive website redesign.

Key Responsibilities:

User Research & Stakeholder Interviews
Gathered insights to inform design decisions.

Information Architecture
Organized site structure for optimal navigation.

Content & Design Strategy
Developed cohesive strategies for content presentation and visual design.

Benchmarks
Assessed industry benchmarks for design improvements.

UI Design
Created visually appealing interfaces.

Wireframing & Prototyping
Developed interactive prototypes for testing and feedback.

What Was Happening

Most
Visited Page

3%
Take Up Rate Landed
Below Industry Average

57%Were
Mobile Users

52%
Poor Bounce
Rate

The Challenge

Our team faced several key obstacles in redesigning the financing experience:

Integrating financing into our new website design system
Ensuring compliance with third-party finance module regulations
Addressing poor performance metrics of the existing financing page

.

Legacy Design & Messaging

Poor readability
Inconsistent design
Not mobile-responsive (57% mobile users)

Key focus: Mobile-first approach

Research & Discovery

Research Strategy:
To gain comprehensive insights on users, we employed a multi-faceted research approach:

Quantitative data analysis
User interviews (5 participants, ages 22-30)
Moderated testing
Stakeholder interviews

User Quotes

User Behavior

Journey map

Our user research and persona creation provided valuable insights into our target audience's needs, behaviors, and concerns. Key findings include:

Audience demographics:

Students
Creative professionals
Age range: 19-30

Key user insight: Photography gear is expensive, and financing could help make
it more affordable
Main issues to address in design:

Uncertainty about financing
Lack of transparency in payment options
Need for flexibility in payment plans

This information guided our journey mapping process, helping us identify pain points and opportunities for improvement throughout the user's financing experience.

User Flow
Auditing the old user flow was crucial to understand where our users were potentially encountering issues during their tasks.

User Flow I: Discovering Information About Financing
Identified Problems:

Users encountered difficulties in finding an entry point to the financing landing page.

Many resorted to using the search function to locate necessary information.

The absence of clear navigation hindered users' ability to explore financing options effectively.

User Flow II: Checking Out with Financing

Problems:

During the checkout process, users were prompted to prequalify for financing before adding items to their cart.

This requirement created friction in the purchasing journey.

Items priced under $300 did not display any financing information, leaving users unaware of potential financing options for these lower-priced items.

This lack of information potentially impacted users' purchasing decisions.

Additional Insights

During our audit, several key insights emerged regarding user behavior and perceptions surrounding the financing options:

Users often gave up searching for an entry point to the financing page and resorted to using the search function to seek more information. This indicates a significant gap in navigation clarity.

The landing page for financing lacked concise messaging on how the financing process worked, leading to confusion among users.

Users discovered that they could only finance purchases over $300, but the visibility of this minimum requirement was inadequate. Consequently, items priced at $299.99 did not display any financing options, leaving users unaware of their financing eligibility.

Designs & Ideating Solutions

I sketched various iterations and ideas and added elements to plps and pdps that could assist with users goals.

Throughout my design iterations I advocated for visibility to our financing program. I wanted to make sure our financing program would be accessible anywhere a user landed.

Solutions

Content Strategy
Our research indicated that financing jargon deterred users, prompting us to shift from the content strategy used on the previous website.

By repositioning all marketing materials around a more consumer-friendly message, we adopted ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ as the focal point.

This approach emphasizes the benefits of financing rather than framing it as a loan, which can drive user interest and engagement.

Our solutions included:

Repositioning the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ messaging

Clearly outlining benefits and features

Providing a straightforward 3-step breakdown of how it works

Developing a robust FAQ section

Prioritizing flexibility & visibility

Tooltip, IA and Third Party Integration

Integrated Affirm’s financing module across all Product Detail Pages (PDPs) at every price point to address the strict $300 minimum threshold.

Implemented tooltips with additional information and calls to action directing users to the dedicated financing landing page to enhance discoverability.

Added an entry point to the financing program in the global footer to provide easy access to payment method information from any page on the site.

Financing Banner

Results & afterthoughts

AOV increased 26.7% after launch & take up rate increased 6.8%

Reflecting on this experience, it's clear that user-centric design and thorough testing play crucial roles in driving engagement and conversions. The insights gained will be valuable for the team as they continue to optimize and enhance the user experience. As new hypotheses arise, ongoing research and user testing will remain essential to further validate and refine strategies moving forward.