Overview of Design Changes
By removing ads on the right hand side, increasing image sizes, standardizing item cards and filter designs, modernizing checkboxes and rectangles with softer rounded edges, and taking advantage of the full layout of the page, the Search Experience is both more visually appealing and easier to use for customers. Overall, the quality view rate* increased in multiple shopping categories as a result of these changes, and due to the Left Hand Navigation updates, there was an increase in $144 million GMV (gross market value).
Background
At eBay, helping buyers find exactly what they desire requires a seamless and efficient process that aligns with their needs. The ability to swiftly scan critical information is crucial for users to make efficient decisions.
The eBay search experience was falling short in addressing these buyer needs.
Information on the search page was 1) overwhelming and navigating through the page was 2) inefficient, hindering the seamless exploration and retrieval of relevant data.
Over the past year and a half, the team conducted various user research and 20+ AB tests to arrive at an enhanced user experience. The redesign project included multiple enhancements that were launched over the past year, incrementally creating a more modernized search page experience.
Research Phases
As the UX Researcher, I conducted a series of studies relating to the Search Results Page Redesign Initiative. I’ll focus on the 2 bolded projects mainly for the sake of brevity and summarizing key findings across the track of work.
UX Audit
Concept Evaluation of Redesigned Search Results Page- Prototype
Right Rail Study
Item Card Layouts Study
SRP Control Bar Study
1. UX Audit
The UX Audit was completed by analyzing features of our Search Results Page and determining if they followed design principles or not. We discovered many design flaws with eBay’s search results page including 1) clutter on the page, and 2) redundant filter entry points, and 3) non-standardized, archaic item cards, which impeded understandability and scannability (key user needs on the Search Results Page)
A high variety of elements existed within this version of the Search Results Page, competing with each other due to the density of content, and archaic design. This caused a struggle for users to focus on the page. Users often mentioned they felt “overwhelmed” by the amount of information on the page.
2. Concept Evaluation of Redesigned Search Results Page
After the Design Team created a new Search Results Page prototype based on past research, I conducted 11, 1:1 interviews with users as they walked through their natural search on eBay first, and then on the prototype.
On the live eBay site, participants mentioned that the design appeared “old fashioned and 2000s”. They also highlighted that the Search Results Page was “overwhelming” due to how cramped together information was. This prevented them from being able to focus fully on their search.
However, when participants tried the new prototype, it was well received. New designs were seen as cleaner and more modern, with several users commenting that the “breathing room” allowed them to focus more on the listings themselves.
3. Further Rounds of Research
In further rounds of research (Right Rail Study, Item Card Layouts Study, SRP Control Bar Study) findings focused on some of the tangential, but important aspects of the Search Results Page Redesign. This included:
Optimizing different layouts of item cards in different shopping categories (gallery view for more visual categories, list view for more technical categories),
Understanding how to use the right rail, white space on the Search Results Page to best fit a user’s expectation and provide a good experience.
Design Changes & Impact
After these phases of research and testing out the prototype, the Design and Product teams pushed the design changes live to the eBay website.
The redesigned search page now features a modern interface, providing a clean and intuitive layout that makes it easier for buyers to find what they are looking for. It prioritizes visual appeal with larger product images, and modernized menu buttons, helping buyers make informed decisions.
1. Increasing item card image size
Due to past UX research studies discovering the importance of image sizes to buyers, we increased the resolution and size of item images to elevate visual information and reduce buyer’s effort to find an item.
Impact & learnings | Item Card Image Size
Overall, we observed a lift in Quality view rate by +2.01% and Share of Search Sessions with BBO by +0.65%. The biggest impact of larger images was observed in Fashion, with a BI lift of +2.07%, Share of Search Sessions with BBO +1.81% and increase of +2.45% in Quality view rate (Quality view rate measures efficiency in finding an item of interest by reducing back and forth between SRP and VI).
Positive results were observed in categories with good quality images and buyer affinity to images, like Fashion and Home and Garden.
2. Shopping View for visually driven categories
As a result of my research on the Right Rail Space, on how to best use this area on the page moving forward, the team decided to expand item cards across a wider gallery view.
By doing this, we took advantage of the full page width with the removal of right rail ads. This provides a modernized visually appealing experience, with bigger images, to help buyers swiftly evaluate and compare quality among items in visually-driven or high ASP categories. The item cards now stretch across the screen, replacing where ads used to be.
Impact & learnings | Shopping View for visually driven categories
Quality view rate in visual-centric categories improved significantly: Clothing and Accessories: +1.61%, Jewelry & Watches: +1.08% and Toys & Hobbies:+2.39%
3. A Modernized, Clean Layout & Item Cards
Improvements made on the item card image experience for all categories and views, including rounded image corners, moving the Watch icon to the image and adding a gray background to standardize the image size.
Impact & learnings | Modernized Item Cards
Engagement with top 20 items has increased by +0.34% and site-level and vertical-level metrics in line with overall results.
4. Improved legibility on the Left Hand Navigation
The filter panel has an updated pill design and clear separation between filters, making it easy to scan available filtering options.
Impact & learnings | Left Hand Navigation
The new experience made filters easier to discover and engage with. Buyers used more item dimension specific filters on the left hand navigation and conversion improved, driven mainly by categories with high filter engagement.
+0.39% in Search Sessions with BBO was driven mainly by electronics, a category with high filter usage, and led to a +0.73% GMB lift and a full year impact of $144M. BI was trending positive in key verticals like Electronics and Home & Garden.
5. A modernized Control Bar making key filters prominent
The new control bar design drove engagement through a compelling and effective experience, with modernized pills and drop-downs, bringing all filters in the same view, and moving the Save action to the top.
Impact & learnings | Modernized Control Bar
The new experience led to a significant increase in buyers' engagement with filters and sort on the control bar. Engagement with key filters increased by +0.58%, sort increased by +0.50% and popular filters increased by +14.42%. The team iterated on multiple concepts until they found the right experience that maintained neutrality in business metrics.
What’s Next?
After delivering key milestones in 2023, the team will continue to improve the experience in 2024, investing in grid based layout, and collaborating with the header team to update the search bar!