Common and Unique User Experience Problems on E-Commerce Websites

Abstract

This research evaluated the user experience (UX) on the top three most visited e-commerce websites in Malaysia, and identified common and unique issues which affected user experience while interacting with such sites. Specific user experience criteria were used in the evaluation, which was adapted from earlier research, and consists of 40 metrics. These metrics were used to evaluate the utilitarian and hedonic features on the websites. The evaluation was conducted using three methods: quantitative questionnaires, qualitative open-ended questions, and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Twenty students participated in this research and they identified ten common user experience problems related to the utilitarian features (e.g., illogical organisation of the websites' content and lack of presenting detailed information about the products); and three unique user experience problems related to the utilitarian features (i.e., not obvious navigation and lack of suggesting complementary products from other shops). Furthermore, the participants identified four common user experience problems related to the hedonic features (e.g., not visually attractive websites, not creative design, and a lack of desirable design elements which evoke users' emotions and gratitude); they also identified seven unique user experience problems on only one of the tested websites (i.e., the website was not motivating).