What did you like about the product configurator?
We recently ran a research study that investigated consumer tastes and preferences in the context of product customization. The goal was to find out what consumers want from a product customizer. We asked them to run through a Treehouse Logic product configurator and then respond to a series of questions.
The results are very telling: User experience design is top priority. Consumers are no longer of tolerant of websites that are not intuitive and fun to use. Good usability includes application performance, a smart layout, and comprehensive navigation. When users are exposed to an A+ site, they appreciate it. During the user flow, consumers need obvious answers to questions like ‘where am I?,’ ‘what do I do next?’ and “how do I finish?”
In addition to ease of use, respondents mentioned the ability to navigate many choices, and the importance of visualization of the custom product.
- 50% complimented the site’s ease of use
- 33% appreciated the rich selection of choices, (ie a graceful solution to “the paradox of choice.”)
- 17% raved about the visualization, ie zoom, alternate views, and the importance of seeing high quality, accurate images of the product as they design it.
179 respondents answered the optional open-ended question “What did you like most about the product customizer?” Here are a few verbatim answers.
Ease of use:
“Intuitive, lots of preprogrammed options, fast, very EASY”
“Easy and simple steps with a quick update of pricing on additional additions.”
“Its intuitive design and customizing features”
Selection:
“A wide range of selections. Various colors.”
“I liked being able to choose colors for every component.”
“Broad options for materials and colors.”
Visualization:
“Very fast in seeing what I wanted to appear in my changes”
“The zoom feature – the varying viewpoints of the product”
“I liked the visualization of the custom bag.”
Filed under: Consumer Experience
