An Online Marketplace for College Students

Buy + Sell is an e-commerce marketplace for broke college students. The majority of college students are struggling financially and are looking for ways to save time and money. Unfortunately, most commerce apps do not offer a safe and reliable way to buy, sell and connect with other students within a community. Buy + Sell proposes a more streamlined approach. Compared to other e-commerce apps, Buy + Sell offers peers an accessible and affordable way to buy and sell items from each other.

Methods

Goals

The high level goal for this project was to provide:

1. A safe and reliable platform built for a geo-specific community of college students.
2. Ease of use and search-ability for specific items.
3. Streamlined user journey to buy and sell items and stay connected.

User Research

I began user research with an extensive market analysis of other commonly used e-commerce marketplace apps and websites. Then, I established a user base to conduct user interviews and to perform surveys. I interviewed a user base consisting of undergraduate college students. The interviews helped me empathize with user needs, primary motivations and struggles.

Key User Quotes– In a summary of 100+  user insights, I pinpointed the overlapping key sentiments:

“It is hard to find reliable sellers on an online marketplace for certain items.”

“It is frustrating when posts are not in chronological order”

“I want to use a platform that is easy to access my own posts and other postings”

“Online marketplaces are difficult to navigate”

“I need a platform that is organized and easy to use.”

User Persona– Following the user interviews, I synthesized the findings, created a user persona and considered the user needs. This process helped me form a solid foundation to move into feature ideation and prioritization.

Features + Offerings

• Easy onboarding with a verified university or college email address.
• Optimized search and sorting options to reduce the user’s cognitive load.
• Alert function for specific keywords for items being sold.
• Instant messaging with other users.
• A community built on the geo-location of school and proximity.

User Flows

Wireframes

Outcomes and Learnings

This project was exciting to work on as it provided a solution to college student’s frustrations and pain points. It involved communication with users, research, design challenges and reiterations. I learned three very important takeaways from this project relating to product development and refining my design process.

#1: Prioritize the research phase.

Focus more time on the research than the product. Extensive research gave me a better understanding of the opportunities in the specific market and what to do differently than other apps.

#2: Put the user first.

Talking with users and understanding their motivations and pain points helped me gain insight and design with their needs in mind. It helped me build a strong foundation on the service-driven impact rather than favoring superficial design.

#3: Keep it simple.

Don’t over complicate a product with features if the user doesn’t need them. More options increase the user’s cognitive load. Keep the options simplified and straightforward for easier decision making.

Created as part of my role as UX Researcher & Designer at UConn Interactive Design Agency.