At Skroutz, we are aware that many of our users often require specific services during their shopping journey. Through our research, we have identified various user types, such as those who highly value Skroutz points, individuals in need of an invoice, or those who prefer the convenience of cash on delivery. However, we encounter the challenge wherein not all Skroutz merchants offer support for all these services. Consequently, users are unable to assemble a shopping cart that precisely aligns with their desired service requirements. While we have made some improvements by implementing filters on the product listing page, our objective is to surpass these efforts and provide users with an extraordinary shopping experience that exceeds their expectations.
Description
Problem definition
Till now, when users want to use a specific service, they don't know if the products they want to buy can actually be used with that service. It's a real pain for users because they have to make sure everything in their shopping cart is compatible with the service they want and that's not easy for them to figure out.
Goal
Our goal is to help the users buy from shops that support the desired service . In that way, we get more people to use the selected services (invoice, Skroutz point, cash on delivery, express and same day delivery) and we offer a great experience. But there's another benefit too: when more people use these services, it boosts the rate at which people complete their purchases and increases the overall value of their orders. This, in turn, leads to higher Gross Merchandise Volume.
Previous steps
The quickest solution (tech-wise) in order to test the feature usage was to add the extra services in cart. Τhe user will be able to filter their choices according to the services they need and build a cart.
After testing this solution using a prototype, we found out that even if most users understood how the filters worked, they didn't expect to find the option in the shopping cart and they didn't find it very user-friendly. Our goal was to understand user preferences, so we implemented it, and the results showed that only 0.29% of orders were made with the filters enabled. Specifically, 46.97% of orders had the invoice filter, 50.58% had the gift wrap filter, and 2.45% had both the invoice and gift wrap filters. So, even though users didn’t use the filtering in cart to choose the desired service, the problem of services exposure still remains.
Challenges
The biggest challenge we faced is that the shopping cart is made up of products from various merchants, and each merchant offers different services. As a result, we can't ensure that users will be able to build a cart with access to all the available services.
Solution
Our aim was to provide users with the perfect solution, enabling them to build a cart under the assumption that all services are accessible. Our commitment was to determine the most suitable solution to meet their needs. Instead of focusing on specific merchants, we decided to prioritize the services users want. So, when a user selects a service that not all merchants support, we'll find products from merchants who do support that service. The only downside is that the user's cart may end up being more expensive than the original one. Moreover, we knew from user feedback that users mistakenly think they are paying extra for services like delivering to Skroutz points. To avoid confusion, we made it clear that they're actually paying for the products and not the service itself.
To test our ideal solution, we chose to implement it specifically for the invoice functionality. This service was prioritized because it's a crucial requirement for many users, and they don't have the option to purchase without it. Furthermore, we discovered that the average order value for purchases with invoice is approximately €110, whereas orders without it have an average value of around €60.
The basic concept is that when the user chooses a service that isn't available for the current cart, we generate a new cart. This means finding a different merchant and price, so we need to display this updated information:
We applied the same approach for the cash on delivery service, Skroutz points and paying with installments.
Metrics
In general, our impact on the usage of every service we encountered has been overwhelmingly positive, except for installments which we didn’t have an impact on, but we consider that it’s influenced by various factors. As mentioned earlier, we implemented the changes in the checkout process for each service gradually, ensuring a smooth transition. Here is a breakdown of how we influenced each of the mentioned services:
1. Calculation of the new cart based on invoice functionality: We introduced this feature on the 11th of April. By providing customers with the ability to calculate their cart's total based on invoice details, we simplified the purchasing process. This change resulted in a smoother checkout experience and increased service usage:
We, also, managed to exceed our goal for GMV, since we reached 18.5%, while the target was 15,8%:
2. Cash on delivery: This feature was implemented on the 9th of May. By offering cash on delivery as a payment option, we catered to customers who preferred this method or those who didn't have access to online payment methods. This addition expanded our customer base and improved convenience for a significant number of users. The result was to increase our usage of the specific payment method, but also exceed our GMV target, since we reached 19.19%, while the target was 14.4%.
We, also, managed to exceed our goal for GMV, since we reached 18.5%, while the target was 15,8%:
3. Skroutz point integration: On the 1st of June, we released the calculation of the new cart for users that wanted to buy using Skroutz points. This allowed customers to have their orders delivered to Skroutz points, a service that users were already choosing at an increasing rate:
We, also, managed to exceed our goal for GMV, since we reached 18.5%, while the target was 15,8%:
Overall, our impact on these services has been overwhelmingly positive, with improvements in transparency, convenience, customer satisfaction, and loyalty.
The rise in service usage has significantly influenced cart conversion rates, as evidenced by the notable decrease in cart abandonment rates.
Next steps
In order to offer users the ability to purchase with their desired service regardless of shop availability, the next steps involve increasing the number of merchants that support each service. This can be achieved by providing assistance to merchants in opening up the desired services whenever possible. Additionally, alternative products that are either identical or similar to the ones in the user's cart will be sought out, enabling the identification of shops that support the desired service.