Voice-based interface for home automation, entertainment, and shopping has become a strategic battleground among technology rivals like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung worldwide.
It was estimated that there would be 24.5 million voice-first devices shipped in 2017, which led to a total device footprint of 33 million devices in circulation that year.
Further, 28% of search queries in India are made by voice on Google. Moreover, Hindi voice search queries are growing at over 400% year on year. Google Assistant also witnessed six-fold growth in its usage with the launch of the Jio phone in India.
Observing the above trends in voice, Flipkart was keen to understand -
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Flipkart.
Team members: 2 Product managers, 1 design manager, 2 UX Researchers, 1 Tech manager and 1 marketing manager
My role: UX researcher
Timeline: 8 weeks
After the secondary research, we drilled down to the below objectives for the research:
This was phase III of the voice next 100 million Study. Phase I and II were conducted before this in Flipkart.
After discussions with the team and analyzing the secondary research, we decided on the study's participant criteria. The smart device usage was high in India's metro cities, and we defined these users as Tech-savvy users. Other criteria considered for the participants were:
To deep dive into the users' life of using smart devices, the research method was In-depth Interviews. The study took place with 12 participants in their homes, and we spent 1.5 hours with each participant in Delhi and Pune cities.
I took a funnel approach for my discussion guide, where it begins broadly and progressively narrows the topic area to the subject matter of greatest importance to the research objectives.
Study structure — Funnel approach
Stage 1 - Introduction: I introduced myself to the participant, briefly explained the purpose of the research, the use of audio/video recording, participant’s anonymity, etc., and allowed the participant(s) to ask questions.
Stage 2 - Phone, apps usage, and Smart devices: General information and background related to participants’ phones and smart devices were gathered at this stage.
Stage 3 - Smart device usage: Attitudes and behaviors related to smart device usage were observed. The main tasks were performed on the participants' smart devices, and the extent of awareness about the smart device was captured.
Stage 4 - Smart device and Shopping along with shopping on Flipkart: Attitudes specific to shopping using smart devices using stimuli cards were captured. Finally, their expectation and suggestions related to the shopping using voice for Flipkart shopping was gathered.
Interviews with participants in Delhi and Pune
I analyzed the transcripts to find out patterns and themes. I collated a detailed insights report with video clippings and quotations to present to all stakeholders (Product, design, business, tech, and marketing teams).
The insights were compared to the first two phases of the study, which was done with less tech-savvy and moderately tech-savvy users.
The insights served as an input to product direction to approach these different cohort users.
Data analysis via clustering of data
Some of the insights from the study:
The smart device adds convenience = less effort = saves time.
“I saw a banner on Amazon and there was 30% off on the price of Echo. I purchased and saw a manual that it takes voice commands. For me, it is for convenience and saving time”
Smart devices offer limited use cases for Flipkart.
“Apart from music, I keep adding items to my shopping list. Recently I added green tea to the list. It is good for remembering things like a grocery list.”
“Smart devices would be preferable in buying frequently bought items which are generally perishables.”
Preference towards bringing voice to Flipkart app on mobile over bringing Flipkart to smart speakers. Voice on the Flipkart app offers both benefits of convenience and validity via visuals.
“Whenever I shop, I see all related products. Visual is very important. I want to see grains like rice. I want to see the colors of different products because products of the same color have different shades also.”
“I can’t buy all groceries using a smart device because I want to see details and packaging. If I already know what I order, then I can order grocery via a smart device.”
Part I: I conducted a research study to test the proposed concept with one category use cases and three cohorts of target users. This was a concept reaction to study the stimuli, which consisted of the product hypothesis and assumptions.
Part II: In addition to the concept study, I did a usability evaluation with the app using retrospective think-aloud to assess the usability aspects of the app.
References: