How Might We Make Buying Cars Online More Convenient and Flexible?

Intro: One of the largest automotive groups in Southeast Asia hired EY to enhance some of their apps, including their e-commerce store, as an integral part of their business improvement efforts. They faced increasing competitions.

Duration: 1.5 year

My roles:

• As the project progressed, my role evolved from senior to lead designer and assistant project manager.
• Initially, I assisted with the research and design process. Then I transitioned to tracking progress, guiding designers, and presenting updates to the leadership team. I also led the revamp of the app version.

This project underwent three phases with three different design teams. I was one of the longest-standing members and the only designer involved in all three phases.

WHAT WE DID

• Enhanced the platform to drive traffic and generate leads through SEO optimization.
• Implemented a flexible discovery process, allowing customers to find car information across various channels.
• Developed multiple pathways for inquiry and purchasing, enabling customers to choose between online, digital continuation, or O2O options.

Summaries (TL;DR for those who have limited time)

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RESEARCH & DEFINE

SOME OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS

Despite its popularity and large number of monthly visitors, the platform wasn’t generating enough leads and orders

• Many customers still prefer to inquire and order cars through offline dealers.
• The website and app have been live for two years with no significant improvement.
• Increasing competitors that utilize groundbreaking digital technologies.

After conducting UIUX audit, we identified several pain points on their website/platform, including:

• Cluttered design with excessive text and unclear visual hierarchy.
• Some journeys are too long and complicated.
• Product-detail-page (PDP) content looks like a brochure/ads, but doesn’t help customers to understand the product clearer.
• Lack of consistent navigation placement.

STUDIES: THE CONVENTIONAL PROCESS OF CAR BUYING & COMPARISON WITH E-COMMERCE

We also realized why selling cars online is still challenging in Indonesia

• Purchasing a car differs from the traditional store experience where buyers can proceed to the checkout counter and then make a one-time transaction. Instead, potential buyers usually initiate a “Quote Request” first, which can be negotiated and adjusted with salesmen.
• While many other e-commerce/marketplace platforms only require buyers to provide contact details and addresses for transactions, purchasing a car online may entail submitting additional documents to align with government regulations.

INTERVIEWS WITH 22 INTERNAL USERS & 16 CUSTOMERS

From interviews, we recognized that customers prefer a more serious-looking store and a clearer order journey

• “The current website looks too busy and cartoon-ish. It is not convincing enough for me to buy a high-value item on this platform.” - Old customer
• “Potential buyers found it hard to buy from the website because there are too many forms and steps. Buying cars offline is easier because we can assist them to finish those steps.” - Salesman

BENCHMARKING

We sought inspiration from other local & international platforms that sell cars

Some noteworthy heuristic findings that we found include:

• Familiar design elements and terminology
• Consistent design and layout.
• All forms & fields provide clear instructions
• Comprehensive and well-organized product information.
• Visually appealing design and clear product descriptions.
• Help resources are available.
• Multiple ways to reach the inquiry/quote request form.

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PROPOSED SOLUTION - A (FAILED)

Initially, we tried to simplify the end-to-end digital purchasing flow, but apparently, it was not enough 😥

Based on our early-stage findings, we proposed to simplify the end-to-end purchasing flow—from homepage to payment—and gave the platform a drastic redesign. Despite receiving positive feedback during user testing session, there are other factors led us to reconsider the approach:

• While the flow might be simpler, it would require significant changes to the clients’ business operations.
• Few testers, especially those considering high-value items, hesitated to complete the entire purchase online and expressed discomfort with uploading personal documents.
• Although the design appealed to testers from the young Millennial and Gen-Z generations, it failed to attract older generations, who still represent large portions of the market.

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PROPOSED SOLUTION - B (REFINED)

Refined Solution 1: Flexible Journey Options

We discovered that the user journey is often non-linear; customers may not always start from the homepage but instead search for cars on search engines or find links through various channels. To address this, we optimized entry points and SEO elements to facilitate the discovery phase. Once customers reach the detail page, they can choose to complete their journey fully online, interact with the sales team through digital channels (e.g., WhatsApp), or visit a physical dealership.

Refined Solution 2: Minor Visual Revamp

We developed new visuals that are bolder and more representative of a platform selling high-value items. We created several design options and conducted internal voting to select the most suitable one.

2a. Overall Theme Iteration

Initially, we proposed a simpler design (on the left) but sadly it lacked the feel of a commerce website (more reminiscent of a catalog website). We developed a new iteration (on the right) to strike a balance between our design principles and the clients’ vision. The tones and colors were also aligned with the website’s previous version.

2b. Evolving Design Library / Mini Design System

Due to the project's complexity and tight deadlines, we developed the design library simultaneously while creating features and flows. We continuously revisited and updated the library based on the needs and feedback.

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RESULT

For the new car discovery and purchasing flow, we divided the result by 3 stages:

1. Cross-Channel Discovery: Expanding Access Points Across Platforms

To ensure customers could easily find the cars they were interested in, we implemented multiple discovery paths across different channels. Whether customers arrived through search engines, retargeting messages on WhatsApp, or QR codes scanned at dealerships, the goal was to provide consistent access to the car detail page. This cross-channel approach ensured that customers could seamlessly pick up where they left off, no matter the entry point.

2. Flexible Ways to Inquire and Purchase a Car

Recognizing that not all customers are ready to purchase a car fully online, we introduced various purchasing paths. Customers can opt for a more traditional car-buying method by initiating a “Quote Request” (followed up by the sales team via WhatsApp), complete a digital checkout (similar to other e-commerce platforms), or utilize online-to-offline (O2O) features to engage directly with the car and the sales team. This flexibility allowed customers to choose the method that best suited their comfort level.

3. Omnichannel Document Submission

A significant roadblock in purchasing cars online is submitting documents required by government regulations. To tackle this issue, we offered customers the option to submit their documents digitally through the platform or physically at the dealership. This flexibility reduced friction while maintaining the convenience of either a fully online or hybrid experience.

Extra: Ensuring UI Consistency Across Devices

We ensured consistent visuals across the mobile app, mobile web, and desktop. This allowed customers to switch between devices, maintaining a cohesive experience whether browsing on-the-go or completing the journey at home.

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OUTCOME AND REFLECTION

While the project is still ongoing, some of the flows have already been shipped live successfully.

The website currently maintains a strong user base of 2,000,000 - 2,500,000 monthly visitors, and has seen a 70-90% increase in lead generation.

In addition to revamping the website and customer-facing platform, we also developed some backend app features. However, due to budget constraints, some progress had to be canceled.

Handling a complex project of this caliber has provided me with many valuable insights, including:

• As the team changed between project phases, maintaining design consistency proved to be challenging. This experience helped me realize the importance of establishing and adhering to a consistent design alignment. We tried to address this matter through ongoing coordination and daily progress tracking.
• Given the complexity of the clients’ business that has run for over 50 years, relying on design thinking and UI/UX principles alone is not enough to solve all the problems. We also needed to adopt emotional approaches to understand the clients' visions and predict the solutions that can balance the clients’ and their customers’ needs.