QUARK EXPEDITIONS
Redesigning a Cabin Selection flow
CHALLENGE
-
Simplify the cabin selection flow to reduce cognitive overload.
-
Improve cabin education & USP's for visitors.
-
Increase Session to Add to Card rate.
-
Increase web bookings.
MY ROLE
User Research, Ideation, User Experience Design, User Interface Design, Stakeholder Relations
Discovery & Research
Quark Expeditions is a polar cruise operator that has taken explorers to the Arctic and Antarctic for over 30 years. On web sessions, we've identified an above-average abandonment rate on the cabin selection step of the booking flow.
During my heuristic analysis of the booking flow, specifically the cabin selection process/departure card, I've identified several UX/UI opportunities for improvement. This will lead to an increase in the number of visitors who enter the checkout and ultimately complete a booking.
Departure Card (Default)
Departure Card (Expanded w/ step count)
To gather more data on the high abandonment rate, the CRO Manager and I conducted user tests (using usertesting.com) with 15 users and came to the following discoveries:
DISCOVERY #1
Users were confused that the initial CTA button expanded a card instead of leading to a new page.
DISCOVERY #3
Users found it difficult to understand cabin details, features, amenities, and benefits at a glance.
DISCOVERY #5
Confusion during occupancy selection because it was decoupled from the pricing in layout.
DISCOVERY #2
Displaying cabins in a carousel format caused friction when users tried to compare cabin offers. Also, no context on what a premium/standard cabin is.
DISCOVERY #4
Berth and cabin pricing was difficult to understand due to the disconnect of information between cabin price and occupancy.
The first test showed us what friction points users are facing, Next it was time to see which cabin information travellers who want to book an expedition are expecting to see first.
What travellers primarily look for when booking a cabin
Cabin Price
Cabin Size
Occupancy
Amenities Info
Competitive Analysis
After analyzing the cabin selection process of two competitors in the cruise industry, I discovered a few notable workflow processes and design treatments.
COMPETITOR #1
COMPETITOR #2
Findings
FINDING #1
Cabin Selection Completion in 3 clicks or less
Users can complete cabin selection in 3 clicks or less for both competitors
FINDING #2
Information is easily scannable
Use of whitespace, bullet points and iconography causes information to be easily scannable for both competitors reducing cognitive load.
FINDING #3
Clear occupancy and berth pricing
Using iconography and simple language, both competitors do a great job of communicating the relationship between occupancy and berth pricing.
Recommended Solution
Based on our research, It's evident that Quark Expeditions' current cabin selection process shows multiple friction points for the user. Moreover; the user flow wasn't designed with common UX design practices in mind - specifically not having a dedicated product page for each departure, which is needed on an architectural level.
RECOMMENDED SOLUTION
-
Redesign the Cabin Information Component to reduce cognitive load and improve user experience.
-
Design unique pages for each departure.
Ideation & Wireframing
First, I started ideating on better ways to design and structure information on the cabin selection card (this is the bottom section of the departure card that shows the cabin information).
Using research data, it's clear that users are looking for price, cabin size, occupancy, and amenities as priority information. Designing the cabin card layout to show this information at a glance will relieve friction points identified in the research phase. Below is the stakeholder-approved wireframe that we decided to prototype after multiple ideations.
Prototype and Test
I used the wireframe to design a high-fidelity prototype referencing the Quark Expeditions web style guide. A few design and layout changes were made during the prototyping process (which were presented to and approved by stakeholders).
After testing the new prototype with the existing design with 15 users (via usertesting.com), we received very positive feedback. Further optimization will occur through CRO testing, but for the time being, this design is a success and will be handed off to the development team to build.
Conclusion
This was a refreshing and exciting project to be a part of. The research phase findings proved to be slightly different than what I was expecting after my heuristic evaluation, but I'm confident that the final data-driven prototype will help improve overall user experience and help increase web bookings.
Project Status
Phase 1 - Redesign the Cabin Information Component (Handed off to Dev team)
Phase 2 - Design unique pages for each departure (in UX Research)