Get Started
Learn More
Amazon Shopping
2016
Interesting Finds
Background
For years, Amazon has experimented with ways to enable better discovery of products, in order to capture data related to shoppers’ intent with regard to future purchases, in addition to fueling the retailer’s capability to target its customers with personalized recommendations. In 2016, Amazon launched "Interesting Finds" - a feature that aimed to curate and showcase unique, interesting, and often quirky products across various categories on Amazon's platform. It functioned as a discovery tool designed to introduce shoppers to products they might not have come across through regular browsing or search.
Background
My role
Design Process
Ensured the product is not only functional but also delivers a seamless, intuitive, and delightful experience to users. From concept to post-launch, I was involved in various stages of the product development process. Here's a breakdown of my key deliverables:
A/B Testing
User Interviews
User-Generated Content
UI/UX
Responsive Design
Brand Awareness
Design Critique
Case Study 1
Habit-forming Browsing
Get Started
Learn More
Opportunity
When a need happens, you go on Amazon quickly, purchase what you need, and leave. Need-based customer who buy for a specific need or occasion and is very hard to upsell. Need is only a small part of why shoppers buy things. Want, on the other hand, which is typically driven by emotions, makes up a large part of why consumers choose to purchase things.
Background
🔍
How might we help customer discover items on Amazon they wouldn’t have thought to search for?
(Buyer might not need it now, but when they see it, they want it)
Background
3-Day Design Sprint
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Experiment 1: Content Curation Pivot
Hypothesis: Customers return to the experience more if they find the content interesting. Having the right content is critical for customers to participate in our hooked experiences.
Experiment: The new experience provided a selection of handpicked, unique, or trending items (40K total ASINs) across categories like home goods, gadgets, gifts, beauty, fashion, and more. Many of the items were unusual or lesser-known products that didn't always fit neatly into traditional product categories.
Result: Overall, 2-day revisit (+46.5%), ingress clicks (+97%), time in stream (+84.89%), product clicks (+193.25%), detail page clicks (+76.88%) and hearts (+18.03%). For Millennials, 2-day revisit (+75.9%), time in stream (+122.2%), product clicks (+248.9%), detail page clicks (+100.1%) and hearts (+35.5%). Press mentions: The Next Web, Tech Crunch
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Experiment 2: Contextual Themes
Hypothesis: Customers return to the experience more if the content is contextually relevant to their browsing interests.
Experiment: 24 contextual streams/themes (Smart Home, Tavel, Pets etc.) were tested to learn which themes we will target on relevant Amazon pages where customers are browsing more than buying.
Result: 2-day revisit (+1.52%), time in stream (+4.53%), product views (+3.02%), product clicks (+3.43%), detail page clicks (+5.78%). Press mention: TechCrunch.
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Prime Day 2017
In July 2017, I led the effort of refreshing Interesting Finds and its pages with marketing and promotional content designed to capitalize on Amazon's Prime Day event, a two-day annual sales event exclusively for Amazon Prime members.
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Content Curation Guideline
Curators were a key part of the experience, offering expert guidance in discovering unique and fun products. The feature was designed to highlight interesting, quirky, and sometimes offbeat items that users might not normally come across through traditional searching.
The curators of Amazon’s "Interesting Finds" blended a combination of in-house editorial teams, algorithmic personalization, user-generated lists, and influencer partnerships to offer customers unique, relevant, and curated product collections. This approach aimed to make product discovery fun and engaging, with a balance of human curation and AI-driven recommendations.
Background
Since the initial launch in October 2016, the platform has attracted a large number of shoppers who's interested in curating boutiques. In April 2017, I drafted a comprehensive Content Curation Guideline to ensure hand-picked products meet our platform's standards to maintain a consistent, seamless user experience.
Background
Get Started
Learn More
Case Study 2
Social Flywheel
Customer Feedback
We spoke to 12 customers to collect feedback since the initial launch. Customers include new visitors, highly active users, and dormant users. Two customers insights were collected:
☹ Not-returning customers felt content was not fresh
☹ Lack of rich content and community
Background
🔍
How might we scale product curation?
🔍
How might we create a community to show customers how products fit into their life and feel connected to other people?
Background
"Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products"
by Nir Eyal
We leveraged the "Hook Model" which is designed to help businesses build products that generate user habits. The book explores the psychology behind creating products that people can't stop using. It focuses on how to design products that encourage repeated use and engagement. The two experiments you will see below applied the "Hook Model" to drive long-term user engagement.
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Experiment 1: Idea List & Curator Profile
Hypothesis: a more editorial approach to product discovery adds a more humanized touch compared to standard Amazon listings.
Experiment: The feature included a more editorial approach to product discovery, often with curated lists of items for specific occasions (like "Every Day Carry" or "Back-to-School Finds") or categories, such as unusual home gadgets or fun office supplies.
Result: 2-day revisits (+2.55%), idea list clicks (+1.15%), detail page clicks (+1.75%)
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Experiment 2: Idea List Creation
Hypothesis: By enabling idea list curation, we can keep the product stream fresh with daily curated finds from across Amazon by amazon customers. This also has given customers a reason to spend time on Amazon everyday by helping them discover, refine, and express their idea and style to others. The more often customers come to Interesting Finds, the more likely they are to make a style-oriented purchase when the urge strikes them.
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Voice of Customer
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
Summary
"Interesting Finds" provided a glimpse into Amazon's experimentation with the discovery-driven shopping experience, which continues in different forms today. Amazon still offers curated collections and personalized recommendations in various ways (e.g., the "Recommended for You" section, curated Amazon storefronts, and seasonal or thematic collections).
Background
——————————————————————————————
Background
© Jingwen Cao. 2024