PROJECT SUMMARY

Microsoft Shopping and Autos are integrated experiences within Bing and Edge, helping users discover deals, compare products, and make informed purchases. Despite strong traffic, both experiences faced friction in user flow, low engagement with key features (like price tracking and vehicle comparison), and inconsistent design patterns across surfaces.

Our mission was to unify the design language, streamline decision-making, and increase conversion through a more intuitive, personalized, and trustworthy experience.

THE OBJECTIVES

Improve discoverability of core features (e.g., price tracking, vehicle filters).
Reduce cognitive load and decision fatigue during shopping and car research.
Increase daily active users and optimize My Garage experience.
Drive measurable lift in click-through rates, conversions, and session depth

LOCATION

Edmonton (Canada)

COMPANY

Microsoft

MY ROLE

Contract Product Designer in a team of 6 members

DURATION

March 2023 - December 2024

OLD DESIGN

NEW DESIGN

DEFINING MOMENTS

Autos bing and LDP

THE PROBLEM

Premature engagement with Autos Marketplace: Users in the exploratory phase are not ready to interact with the Autos Marketplace answer, indicating a mismatch between user intent and feature timing.
Right pane visibility issues: The right pane content is largely overlooked, especially by users on narrower screens, revealing a design and accessibility gap.
Marketplace relevance limited to buying phase: Users only show interest in the Autos Marketplace during the buying phase, highlighting the need for phase-specific content delivery.
Established browsing habits: Half of the buying-phase users already have a preferred website for car research, reducing the likelihood of switching platforms.
Offline purchasing behavior dominates: All respondents ultimately purchased vehicles offline via local dealerships, showing limited adoption of online car buying.
Social and brand influence: Purchase decisions are heavily influenced by friends, family, and previous vehicle brands, underscoring the importance of trust and legacy in automotive choices.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Tailor content by user intent: Introduce lightweight, educational content for exploratory users—such as comparison guides, brand histories, or lifestyle fit quizzes—before surfacing Autos Marketplace.
Enhance manufacturer link visibility: Ensure official brand sites are clearly labeled and prioritized, possibly with trust badges or preview snippets.
Phase-Aware Mainline Design: Prioritize market value, insights, attributes, manufacturer links and educational content (e.g., “Compare SUVs vs Sedans” or “Top-rated brands for safety”).
Build trust through social proof: Add user reviews, expert ratings, or influencer testimonials to Marketplace listings to compete with go-to car research sites.
Local dealership integration: Highlight nearby dealerships with contact options, appointment booking, and offline purchase pathways

My design strategy

Step 1

Discovery / Empathize

Understanding more about the problem space, considering potential solutions and learning about the users and the business goals.

Step 2

User Journey

Diving deep into the user journey and exploring user stories, personas and user decision making.

Step 3

Design Exploration

Diverging wide and exploring a range of possible solutions. Testing, iterating, discussing, gaining feedback and working through the problem.

Step 4

Research / Early Testing

Collecting user feedback through A/B, usability and concept testing to help validate solutions and identify any opportunities for refinement.

Step 5

Design Refinement

Refining a chosen direction and polishing the design in preparing for engineering handoff. Ensuring rationale is clearly documented.

Step 6

Handoff & Monitoring

Working closely with engineering and product to ensure a successful handoff. The work isn’t done! We monitor the product’s performance.

RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY

User research

We conducted a multi-phase research initiative:

User Interviews & Surveys: Identified confusion around deal credibility and comparison tools.
Behavioral Analytics: Revealed drop-offs during lead generation and vehicle detail exploration.
Competitive Benchmarking: Compared flows with Car Gurus, AutoTrader, Amazon, Google Shopping, and Kelley Blue Book.
Accessibility Audit: Flagged key issues in contrast, tap targets, and screen reader support.

Key Insights:

Users struggle with decision fatigue when comparing products or vehicles, especially when specs and pricing aren’t presented clearly or consistently.
Trust signals are critical—users are more likely to engage with deals and listings that include verified reviews, seller ratings, and transparent pricing history.
Feature discoverability is low—many users were unaware of powerful tools like price tracking, cashback offers, or side-by-side vehicle comparisons.
Users want personalized guidance, not just search results—suggested deals, saved preferences, and contextual nudges increased perceived value and satisfaction.

EXPLORATIONS

Some design options

We went through multiple rounds of iteration:

OPTION 1 - MAINLINE ONLY

OPTION 2 - MAINLINE + TASKPANE

OPTION 3 - TASKPANE ONLY

Key Insights from UX Labs:

Users like the simplicity of Concept A and seeing the listings of cars for sale near them, which helps them compare prices, models, and availability of the BMW X5 M.
Users like the way Concept B presents both a mainline with video and market value information and a taskpane with specifications, reviews, and other details about the car. They find this approach more complete, informative, and helpful for their research.
Users find the car listings in Concept C more useful, relevant, and helpful than the other results in Concept B. They can see different offers, prices, colors, and models of the car they are looking for and compare them easily.

LISTINGS DETAIL PAGE OLD DESIGN

LISTINGS DETAIL PAGE NEW DESIGN

LISTINGS DETAIL PAGE UX LABS

WRAPPING UP

The impact

THE IMPACT

Added $5 million within the second quarter post-launch.
Increase in DAU from 300K to 1 million
40% faster vehicle comparison, 18% increase in dealer contact initiation
65% of users rated the new design as more credible and easier to use

Going forward

LESSONS LEARNED

This project reinforced the value of designing for clarity and confidence—especially in commerce and research-heavy domains. By aligning user needs with business goals, we delivered experiences that not only looked better but performed better.

NEXT STEPS

Integrate AI-Powered Recommendations: Use Copilot to suggest vehicles based on user preferences, budget, and browsing behavior—making research more personalized and efficient.

Optimize Mobile Experience: Refine filters, tap targets, and layout for mobile users who often browse on the go.

Some more projects