[personal UX/UI review] Coupang's UX issue and my recommendation

Coupang's UX Issue Report

- Found through user interview and heuristics

Below is my findings from using Coupang's web (i.e. PC) and mobile (i.e. iOS) app service and having user interviews.  Majority of e-commerce services in Korea has somewhat similar issues.  My hope is that many of them deal with significantly important service challenges hindering user experience to reduce unnecessary hassles among buying users to serve them with quality solution and at the same time gain fruitful business outcome. 

1. product searchability
1. not available product
1. issue
1. [data] not available products at "Zero Moment of Truth"
2. evidence
1. [user interview] 3 out of 3 users says they were not able to find products that they needed at the moment that they needed
3. recommendation
1. [operation] list up all possible products in Korea if not the world via seller mobilization

2. too long product description
1. issue
1. [UI] page content requiring too much scrolling (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [system] succinct product info through "1 item 1 description" operation on product detail page

3. text in image
1. issue
1. [data] displaying text in image format (e.g. link)
2. [data] description not searcheable
2. evidence
1. "Flexibility and efficiency of use" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [data] separate product image from text through redesigning product detail page and educating and supporting stakeholders (e.g. sellers) (e.g. Amazon: link)

4. not standardized product info
1. issue
1. [data] not canonicalized product information, not allowing users to compare (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "User control and freedom" and "Consistency and standards" principles from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [data] standardize product information per product category
2. [UI] allow users to filter products (e.g. link)

5. fake product listing
1. issue
1. [data] decreasing users’ trust on products at the site
2. evidence
1. “Error prevention” principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. either (1) [MD] removing not authentic or misleading products on display or (2) [UI] clearly telling users whether the products are authentic or not

2. purchase flow
1. many steps to go through for a purchase
1. issue
1. [system] operation model requiring users to select once more after they choose a product (i.e. link1-> link2), hurting user experience due to not leading to purchase right away but asking for more reading and selection
2. evidence
1. [user interview] too many steps
3. recommendation
1. [operation] change the current product listing system from many selectable items to only one item on product page to remove users' additional selection step on product detail page (i.e. link)
2. [user flow] select a product on first or search page-> select purchase button on product detail page-> Coupang ships the product

2. plethora of coupons to select to get discount
1. issue
1. [system] blocking convenient and pleasant shopping experience due to too many things to pay attention to to get discounts (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [system] either (1) change the current coupon system (i.e. an added process for users to go through before purchase to get discounts) to a pricing system where discounted prices are already implemented in product detail page or (2) remove the coupon system to provide streamlined purchasing experience

3. using too many colors and items
1. issue
1. [UI] distracting users from fluid flow of purchase (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [UI] minimize color variety perhaps less than 3 (c.f. Amazon: link1, link2)

4. no LBS (location-based service)
1. issue
1. [system] no nearby info option on mobile device (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "User control and freedom" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [system] providing "nearby" options whenever appropriate for users and products' context

3. ads
1. celebrity ad
1. issue
1. [user flow] obstructing users' primary activity (i.e. browsing and purchasing) flow on website; putting celebrity images to leverage brand recognition may bring a short win but the strategy may hurt the company in the long run by potentially distracting users from their focus of purchase to an interesting person to have a look at (e.g. link1, link2)
2. evidence
1. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [branding] to build brand equity in a sustainable and long run, remove celeb ad and focus on creating quality service which will be a good strategy for both short and long term

2. too many ads
1. issue
1. [system] distracting users from browsing and purchasing (e.g. link)
2. evidence
1. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" principle from "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" by Jakob Nielsen (i.e. link)
3. recommendation
1. [system] remove ads; if ads are needed for business purposes, think of other ways to show them but not obstruct users' browsing and purchasing flow