RETREAVEL
Retreavel is the premier marketplace for retreat based travel.
Methods
Contextual Inquiry
User Interviews
Persona Development
Competitive Analysis
Design Studio
Rapid Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Google Slides
White Board
Pen & Paper
Team
Nyesha Viechweg
Roma Patel
Zarra Ferrari
Myself
My Roles
UX Designer
UX Researcher
PROBLEM SPACE
Retreavel pairs wellness, yoga, and meditation retreats with resorts, food, and travel so that users can book their trip all in once place.
Retreavel CEO Diana Nleya came to me looking to create a responsive website redesign that would create a sense of trust throughout the user journey.
When users are going to thousands of dollars on a retreat they need to trust the site that they are booking with. Not just trust with their financial information, but trust that they are going to get what they expect.
RESEARCH & SYNTHESIS
CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
We interviewed users as they attempted to complete tasks within the current Retreavel website. This gave us insight into where users got stuck.
USER INTERVIEWS
We conducted a screener survey to hone in on Retreavel's primary user. I decided that we wanted to talk to people who had some sort of regular wellness practice — that could be meditation, yoga, or fitness — and we wanted to make sure that our users had a reasonable vacation budget (at least $2,000). Our last criteria for finding our primary user was finding people who traveled more than once within the last year, where traveling was defined as flying to a location further than 2,000 miles away.
Our initial outreach resulted in 54 responses which we narrowed down to 10 users based on the aforementioned criteria.
I wrote an interview script that focused on both what users looking for a retreat need and expect as they conduct their search, and what they think is trustworthy.
INTERVIEW INSIGHTS
"I feel safe purchasing from sites that have a good reputation."
"If I'm going to spends thousands of dollars on a retreat I want to know that I can trust the site."
"I factor in my mental wellness when I travel.. I would rather pay more for the kind of experience I want to have"
"It always seems like someone is trying to sell me something. I want simple pictures and basic descriptions and reviews."
SYNTHESIS
I used an affinity map to synthesize the qualitative data that I obtained from users interviews and created a persona and user journey that helped guide my design choices throughout the project.
Athena was working as a web developer for the last three years with a start up, but was recently let go when the company didn't make its numbers. Athena started doing yoga in college and still manages to practice 1-2 times a week. Now that she is experiencing a transition in her life she wants to build up her skills and connect more deeply with herself before she gets a new job.
PERSONA
Our persona was a synthesis of our user interviews and key insights, and served as our compass throughout the design process.
USER JOURNEY
I created a user journey map to see the user's experience from start to finish. Being able to see the chronological order of the user's experience provides insight as to where the user's biggest problem is.
For our users, they tend to leave the Retreavel website after their initial search. User's reported that they didn't trust Retreavel to provide services at the best prices, and that they could find a better deal by booking directly with the supplier.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
People use marketplace sites to do research on retreats but will often book their trip on the direct retreat website. Although Athena values all the information that a marketplace can give her, she does not fully trust the site enough to purchase a retreat through it.
How might we help Athena trust a retreat marketplace enough to place her booking?
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: HOW ARE OTHERS SOLVING THIS PROBLEM?
I looked at the top ten websites that were trying to provide the same service as Retreavel. I noticed several trends:Logo and information is centered on homepage; Lots of visuals to help inspire; Social proof at the top of the page; Modes of contact are prominent.
INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Creating trustworthy digital products posed a true challenge for us. Due to the subjective nature of what features create a sense of trust — what people consider trustworthy changes from culture to culture. For example, ten years ago flat design wasn’t considered trustworthy, and now it is. In order to create a trustworthy site I looked to one of the industries most reliable sources, The Nielsen Norman Group. According to NNG there are four main design features that build trust with users.
COMPREHENSIVE,
CURRENT, CORRECT
Thorough information related to the business exudes expertise and authority. It is also imperative that service sites display photos from all stages of the service, not merely the end result.
UPFRONT DISCLOSURE
On the web, like in real life, people appreciate when sites are upfront with all information that relates to the customer experience. When sites omitted basic information, they were almost immediately ruled out of consideration in favor of more upfront sites.
CONNECTED
An isolated website that does not link to and cannot be found on third-party review sites, social media, or news outlets appears to either have something to hide or not be a fully established, stable company.
DESIGN QUALITY
The first step to garnering trust is to make a site appear legitimate and professional. Both the landing-page content and the main navigation must be well organized and the site should use an appropriate color scheme and imagery.
IDEATION & IMPLEMENTATION
WIREFRAMES
STYLE GUIDE
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
HOMEPAGE
PRODUCT PAGE
CHECKOUT PAGE
RESULTS
NEXT STEPS
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Expand the mobile experience.
5/5 users stated that they would only feel comfortable making purchases of this magnitude on a laptop or desktop due to the amount of information and fine print they would need to read. But in a mobile first world it's important to have the option for a mobile shopping experience. Expanding the mobile experience would mean: creating a search experience that helps users find what the are looking for easily; create a user flow that is still image forward and intuitive; recreate a checkout experience that is appropriate for the mobile breakpoint.
TAKE AWAYS
My takeaways for this project revolves around the concept of trust, and how our design choices can influence they way a user perceives a product. I was surprised by how effective incorporating reviews from reputable sources was at creating trust. Even though many of the sources had little to no relationship with Retreavel users never bothered to dig deeper and find out why a major brand was giving its support. Users accept the endorsement at face value and it creates a very compelling and trustworthy experience.