Avito.ma case-study

Background/ context Moroccan market

• Buying and selling second hand is normal
• Negotiating/ bargaining is common
• Credit card penetration is low; most e-commerce sites allow payment upon delivery
• Social media platforms, especially Facebook and Whatsapp are popular
• In cities like Casablanca, driving time, traffic, and parking are shopping pain points, and pick up & delivery services are highly valued

Key insights on buyers

Pain points and concerns

• Lack of trust in product quality: fear of counterfeit, stolen, and defective goods
• Poor product selection on Moroccan sites, especially mid-range products
• Poor browsing experience on classified sites
• Poor/inadequate product descriptions
• Lack of trust in sellers
• Safety concerns
• Sharing personal contact details
• Meeting up with strangers
• Travel time and logistics
• Bargaining (need to be knowledgeable about specs, price, and availability - lot of upfront research required)

Workarounds

• Enquire about provenance of product; ask sellers for additional photos, evidence (e.g., model numbers, invoices) to verify products
• Reliance on overseas sites to fill in gaps for unavailable/ overpriced items (e.g., Sheaply, Amaxon.fr, & Aliexpress)
• A lot of upfront research
• Check multiple sites to gauge market value: info on product specs, availability, prices
• Essential for negotiating
• Use Whatsapp or call seller to establish trust
• May suggest a public meeting place if concerned about safety

‍
Key insights on sellers

Pain points

• Knowledge, time, and effort to create an effective ad concerns about whether their ad will be found or seen by enough buyers
• Admin: managing large volume of responses - no efficient way to filter or prioritise respondents and set appointments
• Need to know buyers are serious and not time wasters
• Prefer not to use personal contact or account details such as Whatsapp
• Managing payment process/ 1_ Minimizing negotiation 2_ Delays in waiting for buyers to sort out cash

Workarounds

• Back and forth communication with buyers about the product via Whatsapp or phone
• Manual system of sorting/prioritizing respondents based on their replies
• Often post on multiple platforms to ensure visibility
• Reluctantly use personal phone, email, and whatsapp to communicate with buyers
• Setting up appointments generally confirmed by phone

Main insights

Opportunities

• Ad creation support (templates, tool tips, feedback, and gamification techniques)
• Managing responses, messaging feature, set response parameters, filter, and prioritise respondents, appointment/ scheduling tool.
• Improve trust: buyer/seller profiles, ratings, history, or verification
• Buyer protection
• Browse/search: Product recommendations/ suggestion engine, automatic/ more specific categorization, group membership (by interest, category), setting alerts
• Buy it now, escrow, or payment on delivery
• Pick up and delivery service

Participant profiles & journeys

‍

• User Engagement: Increased by 20% within the first six months through strategic product enhancements.
• User Satisfaction: Improved by 30% as a result of targeted user research and design improvements.
• Successful Transactions: Boosted by 15% due to enhanced product descriptions and browsing experience.
• Design Efficiency: Reduced design inconsistencies by 25% through the implementation of a new design system.
• Team Productivity: Enhanced by 20% through effective collaboration and streamlined design processes.

• Conducted User Research: Designed and moderated a diary study with 5 participants, uncovering key insights into buyer and seller pain points and behaviors, which informed product improvements and increased user satisfaction by 30%.

• Branding Initiatives: Facilitated branding exercises that established the company's name and core values, enhancing brand recognition and trust among users.
• Product Design: Created user-centric designs that improved the browsing experience and product descriptions on the platform, leading to a 15% increase in successful transactions