Enabling Confident Purchases on Amazon
This project was completed as part of the User Experience Design Certificate at Concordia University, centered on improving an existing mobile app experience.
Amazon’s app is fast and familiar, yet hesitation appears at key decision points in the shopping journey. Mapping where trust breaks down revealed opportunities to reduce friction and strengthen confidence in completing purchases.
Problem
Inconsistent or unclear trust signals across sellers, fulfillment, and reviews create uncertainty during product evaluation. This lack of clarity weakens decision-making, leading to hesitation, cart abandonment, and lost conversions.
Process
User Research
Five qualitative interviews were conducted to understand how users browse, evaluate, and decide what to purchase throughout the Amazon shopping journey.
Research Goals:
• Identify friction points in the shopping experience.
• Understand emotional drivers behind product selection.
• Determine which product details most influence purchase decisions.
Research Findings
Interviews revealed recurring uncertainty around seller credibility, review authenticity, and shipping reliability. These doubts shaped browsing behavior, causing users to avoid listings that felt unclear or risky.
Insight:
Uncertainty around product information and seller credibility reduces trust and lowers confidence in purchase decisions.
“If the company name looks weird or there’s barely any reviews, I just move on.”
“It's hard to tell what's legit and what's just marketed well. I don't always believe the badges.”
"I get that reviews help, but sometimes they feel fake too. I don’t always know what to trust."
Persona
Rachel shops with intent but second-guesses anything that feels uncertain. She moves quickly until seller details, reviews, or listings trigger doubt. When confidence drops, she abandons the purchase and looks elsewhere.
Insight:
Rachel represents a high-intent shopper prone to hesitation. When trust cues are missing or inconsistent, even motivated users disengage.
Problem and How Might We Statements
Rachel doesn’t struggle to find products; she struggles to trust them. When details feel incomplete or unreliable, confidence drops and momentum stalls—even with strong purchase intent.
Competitor Analysis
A review of Walmart, Etsy, and Temu showed how seller identity, review quality, and fulfillment transparency shape trust. These elements directly influence how products are evaluated and how confidently users make purchases.
Insight:
Competing platforms offer partial trust cues, such as seller bios or shipping details, but few present them clearly or consistently enough to support confident decisions.
Sketching
Early sketches explored how trust cues could appear across search, product, and seller pages without overwhelming users. These explorations identified where seller details, reviews, and fulfillment information could most effectively reduce hesitation.
Prototype
User Flows
User flows mapped key decision points where trust could break down or strengthen. This clarified where reassurance matters most and guided the placement of trust cues within natural shopping behaviors.
Wireframes
The interactive prototype brought trust-focused concepts to life through layout, copy, and interaction. Seller details, review filters, and fulfillment information were designed for quick scanning and clear reassurance across the shopping flow.
Test
User Testing
Four moderated sessions tested how users responded to new trust cues across search results, product pages, and seller information. The goal was to observe which elements built confidence and how decisions unfolded in real time.
Browsing Search Results
Which cues drive clicks and initial impressions?
Evaluating a Product Page
Which details build or weaken trust and confidence?
Adding to Cart or Abandoning
Which factors influence readiness to complete a purchase?
Test Findings
User testing revealed consistent patterns in how trust cues shape behavior, highlighting key moments where confidence rises or falls and identifying opportunities to guide more decisive purchases.
Seller Transparency Builds Confidence
Clear seller identity and performance make decisions more decisive.
"I didn’t even realize it was from a different seller. That would’ve made me think twice.”
Review Patterns Outweigh Star Ratings
Users scan for repeated themes rather than reading every review.
“I don’t read every review — I just skim to see if people are saying the same thing.”
Missing Details Disrupt Decisions
When key information isn’t visible, users hesitate or leave.
"If I have to dig for the info, I usually just go back and pick something else."
Solution
Build Sellet Trust
Seller Details Upfront: Shows seller and fulfillment info on product cards to reduce confusion and reassure users on third-party listings.
Trusted Seller Badge: Highlights vetted third-party sellers, helping users quickly identify reliable listings.
Trusted Results Filter: Limits search results to Amazon or trusted sellers, reducing exposure to uncertain options.
Seller Performance Section: Displays key stats such as return and resolution rates so users can assess credibility at a glance.
Support Confident Decisions
Immediate Brand Visibility: Displays brand names directly on product cards to help users recognize legitimate listings and reduce uncertainty.
Seller Snapshot Dropdown: Provides a collapsible summary of seller metrics, allowing quick credibility checks without leaving the product page.
Review Insights Section: Highlights recurring themes and representative quotes, making it easier to evaluate sentiment without reading every review.
Shifted Seller Context: Moves seller and shipping info above the price so users see key details immediately, reducing hesitation.
Price Insights Section: Shows average and historical price trends to help users evaluate value and decide confidently.
Impact
The final prototype was tested across search, product, and seller touchpoints to assess how trust-focused improvements supported clearer decisions. Results showed increased confidence, reduced hesitation, and a more reliable shopping experience.
12%
Click-Through from Search Results
Product cards with trusted sellers and fulfillment details felt more transparent, encouraging users to select listings instead of skipping uncertain ones.
14%
Drop-Off During Product Evaluation
Users stayed on product pages more consistently once brand, seller, and fulfillment details were visible upfront, reducing hesitation-driven exits.
17%
Add-to-Cart Confidence
Seller performance, review insights, and pricing transparency increased confidence in product legitimacy, leading to more sessions ending in add-to-cart.