Reducing Research Friction in a Complex Purchase Journey
etrailer | Lead Product Designer | In progress
Executive Summary
Customers shopping for towing products at etrailer often struggled to answer a deceptively simple question: do I have everything I need to accomplish my goal? While the site contained a large amount of product and fitment information, that information was fragmented, difficult to interpret, and poorly timed within the journey. As a result, customers faced uncertainty about compatibility, completeness, and installation. That friction showed up as hesitation, abandoned purchases, incorrect orders, and frequent reliance on customer service for reassurance.
The initiative is still in active experimentation, so final business outcomes are not yet stable. Even so, the work has already produced meaningful signals. A guided flow has shown strong completion rates, revealing demand for structured guidance, while a post-purchase email concept tested as clearly helpful rather than promotional. Just as importantly, the initiative has shifted the organization toward more experience-led product thinking, stronger cross-team collaboration, and clearer outcome-oriented goals.
To address this, I led a cross-team initiative focused on reducing research burden across the journey rather than optimizing isolated pages. I established the research direction, set scope and methodology for the design team, and helped align multiple designers and product teams around a shared goal: helping customers confidently assemble a complete towing solution. The process moved from directional internal research to customer interviews, prototype development, and usability testing before live experimentation. As adjacent workstreams began to overlap, I helped structure collaboration and unify them into a more cohesive experience.