Device Trade-In Consumer Experience

An innovative approach to online trade-in.

The problem

Trading in devices online - like laptops - is not easy. E.g. the conversion rate on Dell.com's 'trade-in' website is below 5% for those consumers that started the process.

Results

The initial redesign increased the conversion rate 6x and improved customer satisfaction. As a result thousands of additional devices are returned every month, generating significant revenue.

Actions

Performed research, which led to the following key insights:

  • The low conversion rate of the standalone 'trade-in' website is primarily caused by the process not being user friendly.

  • Main reasons for it not being user friendly are: It's a long process, has hard to answer technical questions, and unexpected layout and navigation challenges.

  • In addition, the current flow requires the user to provide contact information prior to receiving an estimate. This is a major dissatisfier and causes most consumers to abandon at that point.

Decided on a roadmap approach:

  1. Redesign the trade-in website to improve conversion rate (now).

  2. Include trade-in as part of the buy flow (later).

Created comprehensive current & ideal journey maps capturing all stakeholders, job-to-be-done, emotions, friction points, alternate paths and extracted the design direction.

Design direction:

  • Full screen application to allow for better experiences on web and mobile.

  • Remove friction through automation.

  • Make it easy to trade in multiple devices.

  • Make the process fun and engaging.

Redesigned the trade-in website:

  • Created a responsive experience across web and mobile.

  • Reduced the number of steps and complexity significantly by automatically detecting device information.

  • Made optional decisions truly optional, but fun to explore.

  • Provided an estimated value before contact information is requested.

  • Added ability to compare with competitors.

Before...
After...
My role

I was the sole researcher and designer of this platform. I collaborated closely with various internal stakeholders including product managers, development leads, sales, strategy and marketing. All actions taken are my own.