UX Research — what is it and why does an e-commerce business need it?
UX research is a set of research methods used to add context and understanding to the design process of an online store. It helps us study customers: we ask questions, take note, learn everything we can about our target audience, then test our theories and work inside an e-commerce website. Once the first phase is over, we start the cycle again. And so on, indefinitely.
Unlike other areas of UX, research didn’t evolve from another discipline. Instead, we borrowed many techniques from academia, science, marketing, and other fields. At the same time, there are research methods unique to UX, which we will discuss later in the context of online shopping experiences.
The goal of UX research is to bring the design process to life from the perspective of the end user — the shopper. It’s about building an ecosystem around the person who interacts with our product pages, collections, cart, checkout, and post-purchase experience.
UX research prevents us from designing for design’s sake or creating what we think customers will like. It tells us the context in which a shopper will use your online store and how they will interact with it.
Ultimately, UX research helps answer the critical e-commerce question: what needs to be done for people to buy your product online?
UX research serves many purposes in the e-commerce design process. It helps us identify and confirm or disprove our assumptions, find common traits in our target shoppers, and recognize their needs, goals, and behaviors while browsing an online store. This always leads to improved shopping flows and business processes, resulting in increased profits. Therefore, UX research is essential for online stores that want to grow and increase their profitability.
If people are using your website to browse products, compare options, add to cart, or check out, understanding their behavior and interactions is crucial for modern e-commerce businesses. The design of your online store UI and user interactions can be a powerful trigger for boosting your conversion rate — or not. However, none of this will be effective without thorough UX analysis.
Kate Kolody
Senior / Lead Digital Product Designer · E-commerce / DTC / Growth · Subscription / Shopify / Conversion
