Research
Tori is a well-known web marketplace. At the beginning of 2024, Tori launched an updated version of its mobile application. However, this update was poorly received by users, as recent feedback about the app is mostly negative. This study focuses exclusively on the Tori mobile application. This is an unsolisited redesign.
Tori.fi is fortunate to have little competition. Mobile apps like Vinted and Tise primarily focus on selling used clothing and lack the extensive category offered by Tori. The closest competitor to Tori is Huuto.net, which does not have a mobile application and is described by its users as a graveyard. Tise and Vinted have mostly positive feedback, with users praising the apps for their ease of use. Some users even describe Tise as addictive, spending a lot of time browsing items. There are many similarities in the designs of Tori, Tise and Vinted, but users are more satisfied with the latter two apps.
Modeling
The best source for personas is user interviews, but in their absence, provisional personas based on market research and other available data are better than none. This provisional persona was constructed using Tori’s market research and user feedback.
Requirements definition
Problem statement: Tori’s customers are not satisfied with the mobile application update and are seeking alternative platforms. Users are unhappy with the functionality of the search feature, and struggle to find what they want. This, in turn, causes sellers to feel that their items are not being seen, leading to fewer sales compared to before.
Vision statement: The updated version of Tori’s application will enable users to browse and find items more efficiently and accurately.
Design framework
Design refinement
To help user find interesting items more easily, personal recommendations were added to the front page. User can click to view more recommendations on a dedicated page and filter them as needed. Since Tori collects user data, it makes sense to put it to use. Algorithms, data analysis and AI can generate recommendations based on the user’s location, previous purchase locations, and content-based filtering to suggest similar items that users have searched, bought, or favorited.
The improved UI features a darker, minimalistic design, aligning with current trends in mobile app design this year (source, source).
A horizontal scroll feature was added to the items in list view, allowing users to glimpse item information without opening it in full-screen. This makes browsing more efficient.
Mobile app users can often quickly check the app without spending a lot of time browsing it (Source: About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design). Slide-in menus can be slow and frustrating, especially for frequent use. Accordions are faster and usually work better (source, source). Slide-in menus were replaced with accordions in the filtered search. Additionally, sorting was added to the filtered search, as some users confuse filtering with sorting (Source: About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design). This allows users to have more options to sort before and after performing a search.
Users found searching for items to be difficult. While some of these experiences are due to issues with search algorithm or data, rather than the app’s design, there is still room to make the search process more efficient and purposeful. The current design is making users take unnecessary steps and fails to guide users when searching for an item.
To improve the search experience, the task flow was altered to offer the subcategories after the user selects a main category. Users can then choose to filter further or browse the search results. Since the user is already selecting a category, providing subcategories helps streamline the process. This way, the search function guides users comfortably without overwhelming them with too many options. It also makes the process more straightforward, saving users from unnecessary steps.
a main category
after selecting a main category
Video of the prototype
Tools and sources
- Figma
- Material Design 3
- Mobile app UI/UX Design Trends
- 10 UI/UX Mobile App Design Trends to Embrace in 2024
- Bottom Navigation Pattern On Mobile Web Pages: A Better Alternative?
- Designing Navigation for Mobile: Design Patterns and Best Practices
- Designing The Perfect Accordion
- Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher Noessel, About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design