Similar — the AI shopping assistant
INTRODUCTION
Similar is a chrome extension that helps you find the best shopping deals on the internet. It is the consumer product by Particular Audience. The main features from Similar include automated price comparison, coupon code search and the ability to add products to wishlist from various websites.
In this case study, I will be focusing on how I went through the first major revamp to launching the product on Product Hunt.
ROLE
PLATFORM
DATE
Product Hunt launch 🎉
Sneak peak of the launch product, if you are interested in the design process please keep scrolling!
Problem
There were definitely a lot of room for improvements but these were the key problems that would need to be prioritised first:
How might we increase the retention rate and create a better experience for our users? 🤔
Goal
Manual activation
Suggest ways for uses to engage with Similar actively rather passively
Reorganise layout
Rearranging the cards in a manner so the layout is easily scrollable in a vertical way
Increase visibility
To improve the visibility of the side panel amongst other competitors
Results
We successfully launched Similar on Product Hunt after July 4th weekend (one of the most competitive weekend) and ranked #9 of the day.
Deliverables
We were able to release the product in different phases on chrome web store weeks later after multiple sprints as this is a big project.
Design process
Now let's take a step back to look at the design process!
User stories
First it started off with our product owner putting all the new proposed features into user stories. It would then pass it onto me where I would start planning out the user flows.
User flows
I worked out the user flows to ensure there weren't any missing steps. In this case study, we will be focusing on the home search feature.
Sketches and early designs
Then I would move on to drawing sketches and started working on low fidelity designs.
User testing
Before launching the product, we were able to find a handful of users to run some user testings and provide us with constructive feedbacks. This really helped us working towards our final design.
Final design
This is the final design of the Similar home search, updated search results and side panel.
Learnings
Communication
Making sure the communication with engineer is as clear as possible to avoid misunderstanding. Understand the limitation of what our engineers can do.
One step at a time
It was almost impossible to push out all the changes at once. By taking it one step a time, it gives us time to focus on the current tasks and keeps everything in play.
More than design
Due to the nature of startup, I was able to be involved in other areas of launching the product other than design which I found it to be one of the most rewarding experience.
Future
Further research
Since we were not able to conduct much user research, it would be great in the future if we can send out surveys and have 1:1 interviews to find more useful insights.
Bugs and better UX
All the new design and features were released in a short timespan, there could be a lot of things that we failed to notice such as bugs and UX that are not intuitive.
Implementing design system
By implementing a design system, the design and development can be a lot more efficient and consistent, this will benefit the whole team.