For a senior-level design course ↗, my team leveraged experience design to identify and address unmet needs in the car-buying journey.
We redefined Kia’s desktop website to streamline the transition from online exploration to in-person purchasing, aiming to create and sustain value for both customers and the business.
For the final deliverable, I led the design of the user profile, customization and price features, while also contributing to the refinement and finalization of other key features.
Note: This project is for academic purposes only and is not affiliated with Kia.
Our first step was to identify a client. While exploring various companies and opportunities to intervene, we came across Kia, a mass-market South Korean automotive manufacturer that ranked first in dependability satisfactions. Known for prioritizing people and delivering customer-first experiences, Kia seemed like a strong example of success.
But wait, 💬
A firsthand experience with discrepancies between Kia’s online pricing and dealership offers highlighted a gap between its people-first values and the challenges customers face in the purchasing journey, prompting further investigation.
Call to design 🔍
Around 37,000 customers were to judge their experience at the respective dealer... Out of 17 mass-market brands, Kia came in dead last.
(J.D. Power, 2022.)
The issue between Kia and dealership satisfaction went beyond individual experiences, revealing a significant contrast: Kia ranked first in vehicle dependability but last in dealership satisfaction.
📌
Problem Statement
Kia customers encounter uncertainty and transparency issues on vehicle pricing between the online research process and in-person dealership interactions, leading to lack of trust among customers.
Bridging Kia’s Online to In-Store Roadway
Reimagining Kia's car-buying journey with its new features.
Goals
1. Build confidence in the purchasing journey.
Provide clear, accurate information to help customers make informed decisions with certainty.
2. Improve price transparency to foster trust.
It should be easy for customers to understand price breakdowns and compare features across vehicles, eliminating confusion and the need to go back and forth.
3. Deliver a seamless experience.
Prioritize UX over aesthetics, ensuring a smooth journey that feels effortless for buyers.
4. Optimze the gap between online and in-store purchases.
Ensure a consistent experience between online and in-store journeys, maintaining customer interest and perceived value.
5. Create values on both ends.
Consider the needs and challenges on both ends to create a balanced and effective approach.
Feature 1
Better Understanding of Vehicle, Value, and Cost
Customers want a clear understanding of their car’s value without feeling misled. By offering detailed feature breakdowns and transparent pricing during the customization phase, we create a more intuitive and informed experience.
Feature 2
Price Details in a Single View
Consolidated all pricing details, including selected add-ons, into an easy-to-understand chart, enabling customers to compare different vehicle builds for seamless decision-making.
Feature 3
Personalized Profile for Every Step
Capturing usability across both pre- and post-purchase stages, with features like live quote tracking, viewing past builds, pre-filling forms, and appointment booking.
Feature 4
Streamlining the Paperwork Process
Creating a seamless online-to-in-store transition by allowing customers to pre-fill documents, such as proof of insurance, before visiting the dealership. This reduces wait times and accelerates the purchasing process.
Feature 5
Enhancing Employee-Customer Connection
Integrating two-way customer profile access into Kia’s Activix interface to offer personalized, efficient service, and a smooth transition from online to in-store purchasing journey.
🏗️
Construction behind the Roadway
Quick recap,
Kia ranked first in vehicle reliability within the mass market
(J.D. Power, 2022.), but this doesn’t directly translate to a seamless purchasing experience, evidenced by its low dealership satisfaction ranking. With a clear problem space to address,
our goal was to refine the car-buying journey, driving both customer satisfaction and business growth.
Starting with user research from A to Z, why?
None of our team had firsthand experience purchasing a vehicle, where most didn’t even have a license (including myself). To bridge this gap, we conducted extensive research to fully understand the car-buying journey.
3 Key Insights 💡
1. Consumers prefer a mix of online and in-person interactions during the buying process.
Kia’s portal supports only existing owners, offering no features for potential buyers. In-person options are limited to booking a test drive or requesting a quote.
2. Prefer to complete steps online beforehand to minimize time spent in-store.
Instead of providing necessary details directly, Kia forces users to leave its platform to external dealership sites, disrupting the purchasing journey.
3. Many felt uninformed during their car-buying experience.
Pricing, add-ons, and extra charges are buried under various features or hoverable icons, with vague descriptions that hinder informed decision-making.
📌
Leading to the question of...
How might we facilitate a seamless transition between the online and in-person purchasing experience to expedite and enable informed decisions for Kia buyers?
🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️
5-Day Design Sprint: Ideation and Testing
Looking for a Car?
Test Drive our Prototype 🚗
📌
Next Step,
Based on usability testing results, refining the experience and conducting deeper research on building greater trust in pricing would enhance overall user satisfaction.
Reflecting back 💭
3 Main takeaways
1. Simplicity also matters in communication
With limited presentation time, clarity and conciseness were essential. This reinforced the value of an elevator pitch, clearly explaining the problem, solution, and impact in a brief yet compelling way.
2. Don’t design in your head
Our team assumed a design for a certain feature would work better, but testing proved it less functional. This highlighted the importance of prototyping and validating ideas rather than relying on assumptions.
3. Research and data drive design decisions
Reaffirmed that research and data are central to design decisions, justifying our choices, while fostering a more collaborative and transparent process.
Final words
Beyond my growth as a designer, working with talented individuals and receiving support from an incredible teaching team made this one of my most rewarding post-secondary experiences. I gained a deeper understanding of how I approach challenges, collaborate in teams, and create space for open communication and exploration.
