CRO for Google Merchandise & Breobox

Background:

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) research reduces customer acquisition costs by getting more value from visitors. I did this research while I was studying UX at Parsons. I started the research on Google Merchandise, eventually, I had to move to Breobox as it gave me access to the required data needed to complete the research.

Timeline: 

2 months (2020)

Tools:

Google Pagespeed, Pingdom, GTMetrix, Google Analytics, Hotjar

Goals: 

Improving Conversion Rate.

Research:

The research is done following the steps below.

Google Merchandise

  • Site Speed Analysis
  • Technical Analysis
  • Heuristic Analysis

Breobox

  • Survey Analysis
  • Heat map/ Click map Analysis
  • Funnel Analysis

 

SITE SPEED ANALYSIS:

Site speed can be a huge conversion killer and it’s also one of the easiest problems to fix within conversion research. 

 

Speed Scores for the Homepage:
Key Takeaways:

Need to work on reducing website loading time. 

  • Compress, and optimize codes. Remove unnecessary features.
  • Change resolution, compress, and crop images. Also, optimize fonts.

 

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: 

It’s good to see how the site fairs with all browser versions and see where I can help conversions on underperforming browsers and browser resolutions. Google Analytics, Jan 1, 2020- Nov 15, 2020.

Underperforming Browser Resolutions:

Low CR, not more than .12% even though the users are more than 30,000. Screen resolutions: 1920×1080, 1440×900, 1366×768, 1536×864.

Key Takeaways:
  • Larger screen resolutions are attracting traffic but no CR, I need to find out the reason. 
  • The majority of the users are using Chrome, next is Firefox. Chrome users are five times more than Firefox’s, yet the CR in Chrome is .03% which is much lower than Safari .78%. Extra emphasis on Chrome versions is needed.

 

HEURISTIC ANALYSIS:

Heuristic means discovery, and that’s what I am doing here. I am going to discover all of the problems that I can see on your site, and I base our discoveries on conversion optimization best practices.  

Homepage Observations:
Problems:
  • The carousel is distracting, never stops when needed.
  • The ‘Shop Now’ button in the banner with its other properties is positioned too left in the space, and none of the other elements of it are linked.
Actions:
  • Provide one most important promotion shine first in the landing page through a banner perhaps with text and image linked and interactive when hoovered for making it more tempting.
  • Rests can be added in more sections with banners or grouped cards while scrolling down.

BRAND SURVEY ANALYSIS:

Here is the Survey provided by the school. Below is the analysis I did.

Question :

How did you first hear about Brand Name?

  • Google search 28.92%
  • Heard it suggested in a comment/forum 27.71%
Notes:
  • The top three resources are Google search, focus, and invest more to use the opportunity to expand bigger, faster.
  • Forums and Mysubscription.com are the next resources, review the content and discussion to understand the interest and also to find who are potential clients.

HEATMAP/CLICKMAP ANALYSIS:

Heatmaps and Clickmaps give me great visibility into where people are clicking and where they are scrolling. It also will show me where I need to prioritize the design changes.

Key takeaways:
  • People are very interested to know the uniqueness the service is claiming which is content. That is why they are browsing the past boxes to get a clear idea beyond the intro provided on the home page.

FUNNEL ANALYSIS:

When I will able to see the full picture only then can I prioritize what part of the website needs the most help. Funnels give me that full picture and show us the blueprint of how I can move forward with changes on the website.

Main Checkout Funnel:

In Hotjar there are a few funnels that show me different ways customers can scroll through the website, but this funnel below shows every page of the funnel and where customers are dropping off.

Key Takeaways:
  •  Major drop off at Product 94.5% Need to work on the products and/or the way they are presented to make them more compelling.
  • The drop off continues to be quite bad at Cart 40.4% and 57.8%

Need to think about the forms, charges, inconveniences, and additional information that is making the consumer abandon the service.

Test:

REMOTE USER TESTING PLAN:

This plan is provided by the school.

These the necessary information needed for the user tests.

  • 5 desktop
  • 4 mobile
  • 1 tablet
Criteria:

Interested in subscription box services

Scenario:

you’re looking for a new subscription box service and land on this site via Google search

Task 1. What is this site about as far as you can tell? Why buy here and not some other site?

Task 2. Find the Past Boxes page and browse. Does this page incentivize you to subscribe to breobox?

Task 3. Find the Subscribe page – evaluate both options and choose the one you like more. Add it to the cart.

Task 4. Find the Give A Gift page – evaluate all 4 options and choose the one you like more. Add it to the cart.

 

REMOTE USER TESTING ANALYSIS:

Now that I have all the test results, it’s time to find discoveries about the website. The 1 of 3 Desktop test is discussed below.

Tester

First Impression

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Toussaint N.
  • Unsure about the product the website is trying to sell. 
  • He thought it might be selling coffee to women
  • Struggles to understand the product. He thinks it sells a wide range of products like a retail store. 
  • Does not like the design of the site. He thinks it is not professional enough and the process of the service is not clear and straight enough. 
  • User is not excited to subscribe because he thinks the products do not make sense while he does not get to see how they are being used in his lifestyle. He wants to see the benefits of the features. -Task was easy.
  • The task was easy. 
  • He would like to have a trial box before getting an annual plan.
  • Easy process for the user. 
  • Currency symbols in some places are missing.

 

Key Takeaways:
  • Make the service statement clear.
  • Make the subscription plans purposeful or relevant, if it is going to stay seasonal. 
  • Rather than providing complete random products, following a theme that  can keep balance between predictability and surprise.

This research was done to shed light on areas that can be improved for Brand Name. With these types of changes, revenue can be greatly improved.