Case Study buch.de
Shop Optimization buch.de
Significant increase of conversion rate- Usability tests
- Eye tracking
- Workshops
- Conversion rate optimization
- Order process optimization
buch.de is a very successful online shop and part of the Thalia Holding Group. The Thalia Holding Group is the German market leader in online bookselling. buch.de was established in 1998 and successfully survived the collapse of the dotcom bubble. In 2002 buch.de bought the Bertelsmann online brands and turned bol.de and bol.ch into other very successful online shops.
The buch.de online shop offers not only books and ebooks, but also toys, music, movies, office supplies, and software. buch.de is considered a serious competitor for the Internet giant amazon.de.
The Mission
The aim of the usability test for buch.de was to reveal why users were leaving the website at certain points and to uncover which usability obstacles prevented them from completing the checkout process. The most important goal of the usability measures, was to optimize the ordering process. Furthermore, usability.de was asked to evaluate the navigation structure which was very complex due to the broad range of products offered by buch.de. Eye Tracking was employed to reveal the users' unconscious processes while using the website.
The Approach
Users from the buch.de target group were asked to work on some typical tasks on the website. The participants were instructed to find a product that they were interested in and to order it. They were to go through the entire process of registration thru ordering and checkout. At the same time the participants' eye movements were being tracked to expose which website elements were being overlooked and where in the process the users needed more guidance.
The Solution
buch.de gained some very interesting insights from the usability test. The complex site navigation caused some usability issues, and unnecessary complications in the ordering process were found. The eye tracking results showed how important ordering buttons were completely overlooked by the participants. After implementing usability.de's solutions, buch.de registered a significant increase in their sales conversion rate.
