The Road to Research

I started the project by creating a research plan. The plan included a thorough analysis of our competitors and a detailed evaluation of the iPhone shopping experience provided by Apple. The research plan consisted of observing the context and benchmarking current iPhone shopping experiences by testing them against competitor websites. In the initial phase of my research, I visited several brick-and-mortar competitors that offered both prepaid and post-paid iPhone plans.

3rd party iPhone seller observations

• Wireless provider offers were either device-centric, plan-centric, or bundle-centric (i.e. receive 6 months of disney+ when you sign up)

  • 6 of the 8 vendors I visited sold iPhones as part of a larger offer and did not allow options outside of these existing offers. Walmart and Best Buy did sell post-paid plans which allowed the purchase of an iPhone outside of a contract but neither allowed the purchasing of an unlocked device. This would be a clear advantage to amazon as we had both.

• Overall quality of experience was greatly dependent on knowledge, professionalism, and enthusiasm of the sales representative.

  • The customer experience at all retail locations varied wildly based on the sales person who helped me. On two separate occasions I received incorrect information from the sales person (Sprint & Walmart) and it was clear which salespeople worked on commission.

• Most wireless stores hid device prices or only showed monthly (lease) pricing.

  • Trying to find the fully landed price on any device was nearly impossible for prepaid 3rd party stores. Post-paid devices showed fully landed price always.

• Post-paid plans are frequently paid for in cash (unverified).

  • A manager at Walmart mentioned this to me when browsing their selection, stating that customers who purchase post-paid plans do so more out of necessity than choice.

Apple store research

• The home screen for in-store iPhones lists of trade-in offers for existing iPhone models.

  • 94% of customers purchasing an iPhone in 2018 had owned at least one iPhone previously so Apple can reasonably assume that the majority of customers looking at iPhones in their store would be looking to trade-in their existing iPhone first. By leading with the exchange value, Apple can discuss prices with this applied discount.

• Customers are frequently left alone, adjacent to devices and accessories, while waiting for sales representatives to come assist.

  • In all 3 oApple Store visits I was made to wait for a representative to assist me in purchasing the device. Regardless of how busy the store was at the time, it took the sales representative a minimum of 3 minutes to greet me leaving me time to interact with the devices on the table.

• The iPhone table is situated in the front center of the store, forming an obstacle that forces customer engagement.

  • The iPhone table is the first object encountered in the Apple Store and frequently customers and their family members would interact with the devices when waiting on support for another device.

• iPhone sales representatives always start with the question “what brings you in today?” even though the intent to buy an iPhone was already stated.

  • The sales experience is a conversation where the Apple Store sales representative is trying to acquire information on the customer before moving forward with the purchase process.

• Customers are encouraged to hold multiple devices while browsing and iPhones are intentionally positioned close enough to be held simultaneously.

  • Device comparison is the most significant iPhone sales tool allowing customers to understand the differences between the devices. On two different occasions I observed a customer pull their own device from their pocket to compare it in their hand against the device on the table.

Generative Research Findings

After completing the competitive and observational research phase, I interviewed 18 participants who were both Amazon Prime customers and were currently looking for a new iPhone. During testing, I observed two main methods of searching for an iPhone on Amazon. The first method involved a brand-level query where the customer would search for "Apple" and then try to navigate to an iPhone detail page to continue their search from there. The second method involved a product or product+brand level query where customers would type in the specific iPhone model. I found that only 2 out of the 18 participants conducted a brand+product+model query (e.g. "Apple iPhone 8 Plus").

Additional Notes

5 out of 18 participants cited amazon.com as a space in which they would conduct research.

“I’m still in the preliminary stages of deciding which iPhone model I want to purchase. I have been reviewing cnet and amazon and some other reviewer sites on what each model brings to the table.”

10 out of 18 participants stated they would consider purchasing an iPhone on amazon.com.

“Yes, I would. Amazon has an excellent return policy and they make comparison easy.”

“No. I just don't see them as a good place for cell phones. Easier to get it from the manufacturer or your provider.”

5 out of 18 participants were shopping for an iPhone to replace a non-iPhone device.

“I currently have a Samsung Galaxy, but I have become increasingly unhappy with it. For my next phone, I am considering looking into other brands, such as the iPhone or Pixel.”

6 out of 18 participants cited price as the most important factor in choosing where to buy their iPhone.

“I have visited MetroPCS as well as Best Buy and I have also looked at Groupon for refurbished iPhones. My son recently got one at Apple so I was thinking of looking there next.”

Translating research to Design

I immediately started incorporating my research findings into designs to accelerate the design process and provide a fresh perspective. Our collaboration allowed us to go from concept to prototype in just 3 weeks, and I conducted an evaluative research test through usertesting.com. During the research and testing phase, I closely collaborated with Boris Rozenshteyn and Ashok Jagathrakshakan to create a development timeline and determine the scope of work. We agreed on an iterative design approach, making incremental improvements toward our ultimate goal. With the support of the product manager Sanjeev Goluguri, we translated the research findings into data-driven design improvements.