Gumtree

Background

In 2019 the Ebay Motors Group was formed, consisting of Ebay, Gumtree, and Motors.co.uk. As part of a new strategic focus, Gumtree wanted to empower users to buy and sell vehicles on their platform with greater speed and ease.

Over a period of nine months I worked with Gumtree’s digital product team to prototype, design and test a number of new tools for their users. One tool I worked extensively on was a Price Guidance tool. The main aim of the tool was to give users a way to value, advertise and sell their vehicle online with minimal fuss.

The approach

• 1. Discovery -  identify gaps in the current selling experience
• 2. Wireframing - visualise user journeys and interaction processes
  
• 3. Testing - test design concepts with existing and potential users
• 4. Design - improve the design then A/B test it with real users

1. Discovery

Sellers were already active on the platform, but not much was known about them as a distinct group. I conducted a series of interviews with local sellers to understand the issues they faced when selling a vehicle online.

Main issues:

• 1. Vehicle value - most users did not have a easy way to understand the market value of the vehicle they wanted to sell
• 2. Difficulty level - most users assumed that the car selling process was inherently difficult and time consuming
  
• 3. Lack of trust - most users did not see the platform as a reliable place to sell a car compared to a site such as Autotrader

2. Wireframing

I designed a landing page that would serve as a point of entry for prospective sellers on Gumtree. Users were prompted to submit their vehicle registration to get a rough idea of it’s market value and were then encouraged to create a free advertisment on the platform to sell the vehicle.

Our assumption was that if someone was interested in finding out how much their vehicle was worth, they were at least partially interested in selling it.

The goal was to highlight the following:

• 1. Price guidance - provide users with a clear estimate of their vehicle’s market value and be transparent about how we calculated that value
• 2. A simple selling experience - alleviate fears about the complexity of the vehicle selling process and promote an ‘Easy as 1-2-3’ experience
  
• 3. Trust & community - showcase a vibrant community of buyers and sellers operating in a dependable and trustworthy way

3. Testing

Preference tests were conducted with a cohort of online users and more detailed usability studies were conducted in-person. Testing early and frequently allowed me to identify what needed fixing early on without becoming too attached to a particular design approach.

The main problems highlighted:

• Free Vs paid advertising - users did not immediatley understand that posting an advert was free. This was a USP for Gumtree, so it was important.
• Transparency - users didn’t understand how we calculated the price of their vehicle. Without this understanding they were hesitant to post an advert.
  

4. Design

Changes to the design were made to address issues encountered by users during testing. The finished visual design of the tool made use of Gumtree’s vibrant, human centric brand. As selling a car was percieved as being difficult and time consuming by many users, I used imagery that felt fun and light hearted.

The final designs were handed off to developers to be built and would form part of several real world A/B tests.

Outcomes

In the nine months I worked with the team, I believe I was integral to helping shape their vision of the product and I feel proud to have contributed to their success.