Discover different types of data that make up a user persona to ultimately aid in future design decisions.
Depop is a social shopping paltform that’s a little bit of eBay and a little bit Instagram. Users have profile pages that function as mini digital storefronts, where they post pictures and descriptions of what they’re selling, along with a price.
Figma / SurveyMonkey / Google Meet / LinkedIn / Reddit / CashApp
The first step of the research process involved indentifying the two user types. The two types were Buyers and Sellers.
This was eseential to allow for a deeper range of user experience qualitative data collection.
Once the interview guide was written, I received feedback on the guide from a UX design peer.
I created a screener through Survey Monkey that I sent out via LInkedIn and the Depop Reddit (r/depop) community. I then trimmed the fat and narrowed it down to six users who matched the criteria.
In order to gain insight into both user types I interviewed 5 seller types, and 1 buyer user type.
The interview questions were written to receive insights on what users think, what site content is memorable, what people feel is important on the site, and what ideas for improvement they may have.
The interviews ranged from 30-45 minutes, and included questions such as:
1. What factors into what you buy/sell?
2. Where do you source your items from?
3. Why Depop over other platforms?
4. What role do photos play in what you buy/sell?
After analyzing the interviews, I started with a top-line report and then followed with an affinity map. This information was the most relevant information in guiding the creation of the user persona, and uncovering the new opportunities.
Majority of users started on Depop as a way to make money on the side without having to ask parent or guardian for money.
With tools that allow you to communciate within the community and the ability to follow & bookmark sellers with a smiliar body type and/or style has made shopping on Depop a more interpersonal relationship.
Depop gives users an affordable option to shopping sustainably (Ethically sourced and stutainable clothing brands can be really expensive.
Buyers/Sellers alike choose this app because of it’s unique one-of-a-kind selection. It’s an app all about self-expression.
1. Incentive program for top sellers
2. Internship program for university students who sell on the platform and are majoring in Business, Fashion, or Textiles
3. Limit amount of brands a seller can tag in a given post to help clean up search inquiry results
4. Create a tool that helps sellers price items properly
5. Allow sellers to add “shop managers” that have access to edit, message, or publish items.
If I were to take this project further my next steps would be to validate my research above, followed with a customer journey map and wire framing possible solutions.
Looking back on the work I realized that I only interviewed users in the majority (Caucasian Women) and if I could do this differently I would be sure to diversify my interviewees. It could help to explore the other communities that exist on the platform because that may uncover different aspects of the experience.
