ASDA
Together with technology partners Infogain we turned round the fortunes for ASDA shopping on the web. The original site design by Nucleus and Xpedior was dysfunctional. Analysis of technical failures, customer feedback and real usage patterns indicated a need to re-think, rationalise and redesign the site. From this analysis we were able to make major measurable improvements to the way people shop on www.asda.co.uk
The new design was based on the solid ground of usability testing and customer focus group assessment. It was an iterative process of prototyping, testing and improving.
Having recruited a representative sample of new and existing customers, we ran a series of sessions to test customer reaction and gauge the likely success of the proposed redesign. By building a working model of the site and getting customers to perform real tasks in a relaxed home environment, we were able to gain a clear insight into the way people shop for groceries on the web.
The sessions and subsequent period of analysis provided us with a tangible picture of shopping practices and highlighted some unexpected customer preferences and reactions. Placing the emphasis on simplicity and ease of use has resulted in a site that is much more straightforward for customers to understand, enabling them to complete their shop quickly and efficiently.
The new design enables ASDA to offer a greatly expanded product range. New features include product pictures, more product information and the ability to shop by entering details from a till receipt.
At the same time we made significant contributions to the ‘ASDAness’ of the site. Expressing the ASDA brand is a design challenge that many snootily ignore or under-estimate. We were able to get under the skin of what ASDA is about both in terms of the way the site looks and the way it functions.
This is an on-going process – we’ve been working with ASDA since 2000.
The new design was based on the solid ground of usability testing and customer focus group assessment. It was an iterative process of prototyping, testing and improving.
Having recruited a representative sample of new and existing customers, we ran a series of sessions to test customer reaction and gauge the likely success of the proposed redesign. By building a working model of the site and getting customers to perform real tasks in a relaxed home environment, we were able to gain a clear insight into the way people shop for groceries on the web.
The sessions and subsequent period of analysis provided us with a tangible picture of shopping practices and highlighted some unexpected customer preferences and reactions. Placing the emphasis on simplicity and ease of use has resulted in a site that is much more straightforward for customers to understand, enabling them to complete their shop quickly and efficiently.
The new design enables ASDA to offer a greatly expanded product range. New features include product pictures, more product information and the ability to shop by entering details from a till receipt.
At the same time we made significant contributions to the ‘ASDAness’ of the site. Expressing the ASDA brand is a design challenge that many snootily ignore or under-estimate. We were able to get under the skin of what ASDA is about both in terms of the way the site looks and the way it functions.
This is an on-going process – we’ve been working with ASDA since 2000.
