Rich Migliozzi
UX Researcher | Content Strategist | Copywriter & Editor

UX writing

UX Writing

 

OBJECTIVE

Simplify the consumer journey by creating a landing page that incorporates all of Microsoft gaming (Xbox, PC games, Windows, and mobile) into a streamlined shopping experience.

PROBLEM

Ensure the new page is engaging, easy to navigate, and highlights all gaming categories. Also, address the needs of the business to inform and sell.

 

Initial page design

  • The original design concept was created by UX designers on my team along with site merchandisers. The page focused on "needs of the business," i.e., promotional offers, quick links to numerous categories, product cards, plus featured messaging for gaming subscriptions and Xbox consoles.

  • Prior to the page going live via A/B experiment, I launched a qualitative test to gain participant feedback on page layout, content, and flow. The test spanned the customer journey from page discovery to initial link clickthrough.

Test results

  • The qualitative study revealed that individual sections of the page were strong, but holistically, it could present problems due to an abundance of information. Despite the findings, the teams were anxious to launch the A/B test without any further updates.

  • At the conclusion of the A/B test, the page did not perform well as overall engagement, clickthrough, and orders were significantly down.

Next steps

  • Despite the poor performance, business stakeholders were eager to move ahead. However, this time I was asked to lead the next iteration.  

  • In addition to leveraging learnings from the initial A/B and qualitative test, I conducted a competitive analysis and supplemental unmoderated studies targeted toward gamers to help drive changes to the new page design.

Landing page v.2 | New opportunity

Discovery

Through a series of qualitative tests, I gleaned information on the original layout as well critical insights into shopping behaviors. Simply put, the initial page tried to do too many things and ended up confusing consumers. Other pertinent takeaways included:

  1. Due to the small size and page placement, promo offers were overlooked by most users.

  2. Several users didn’t understand the features or benefits of Xbox Game Pass, nor that there are multiple subscription options.

  3. Many of the test participants felt the page had too much going on and was a bit cumbersome to navigate.

  4. Numerous test participants liked the category quick links, but were overwhelmed by how many there were.

 

Next steps

After synthesizing the test results, I collaborated closely with the design lead and senior UX designer on my team. My recommendation was to reimagine the page as a hub that served more as a portal to quickly get consumers to their desired shopping destination in the purchase funnel, while still fulfilling the business needs of featuring promotional offers, top categories, and digital gaming subscriptions.

applied changes

Consolidated offers into interactive multi-hero banner.

Significantly reduced the number of quick links to give more prominence to the top five categories.

Created a more visually engaging experience by replacing black and white glyphs with product and lifestyle imagery for featured product categories.

Complete redesign of Xbox Game Pass section, including clearer, more concise messaging and stronger CTA.

 
 

Impact

 

  • The updated comps were well received by business stakeholders and approved to move forward with an A/B test.

  • The new page layout generated extremely positive feedback from qualitative test participants.

 
 

  • Xbox Console Compare needs to be higher on the page to be viable.

  • Maximum engagement on quick links with icons happened through mobile.

 
 

  • Keep Xbox subscriptions above fold to encourage healthy CTRs.

  • With a lift of 177.3%, Deals should always be present in quick links.

 

Players
UX Design & Direction: Brian Paek & Kelcey Hatch
Creative Strategy, Copy, UX/Design Research: Rich Migliozzi