Design Challenge:
Amazon Checkout/Payment Experience
Role:
Product Designer
Duration:
2 Days
Project Type:
Design Challenge
Business Line:
E-commerce, Fintech
Summary
Project Overview
Context
Brief
Conduct a UX audit of an e-commerce payment flow to identify usability friction and propose data-informed solutions in 48 hours.
Focus
I focused on Amazon, identifying a systemic trade-off where the platform's pursuit of "zero-friction" (Buy Now) inadvertently creates "negative friction" post-purchase (e.g., accidental orders, unrecognized payment failures). I delivered a full-funnel audit and a solution, expected to address metrics like Order Error Rate and Net Promoter Score (NPS).
My Process
01
User Research & UX Audit:
Conducted user research and end-to-end audit of the checkout flow, identifying hidden friction points where opaque default settings and lack of visibility led to accidental payments and unnoticed errors.
02
Problem Definition & Analysis:
Defined the core user struggle as a Trade-off, where the system prioritizes speed over accuracy, shifting friction to the post-purchase stage.
03
Design Strategy & Solution:
Proposed a redesigned the flow and information architecture that restores decision visibility and error prevention, ensuring users can verify critical details without sacrificing the efficiency of the checkout speed.
Research Summary - What I learned?
To identify critical pain points, I conducted a mixed-method UX audit combining online user feedback analysis (e.g., Reddit, forums) with 3 in-depth user interviews. This research revealed that while Amazon maximizes transaction speed, it often sacrifices user control, leading to a high rate of accidental errors.
01
🛡️ Prioritize Confidence over Blind Speed
Insight: ～66% Users hesitate to use "Buy Now" because they fear accidental errors (wrong card/address).
Strategy: Visibility. Keep "Fatal Error Factors" (Variant, Address, Payment, Total) permanently visible. Ensure a clear final "snapshot" exists before commitment.
02
🧠 Reduce Cognitive Load via Progressive Disclosure
Insight: Users feel overwhelmed by long scrolling pages and cluttered text blocks.
Strategy: Focus. Replace long lists with concise cards or accordions. Show only the must-know facts at each step to prevent context switching.
03
🏷️ Eliminate "Hidden Cost" Anxiety
Insight: Users abandon flows when shipping fees or taxes appear unexpectedly at the end.
Strategy: Transparency. Surface total costs upfront. Establish trust by ensuring the price users see is the price they pay.
Problem
⚠️ Design-Induced Errors
System Design Flaw Title: The "Speed Trap" Interface
Hidden Defaults: Critical decision factors (Active Card, Shipping Address) are buried behind "1-Click" defaults, assuming user context never changes.
Zero Friction: The flow removes the "Safety Pause" needed for verification.
😰 Post-Purchase Regret
Anxiety & Churn Loop
Decision Paralysis: Users hesitate to commit because the interface provides insufficient information to feel safe about the transaction.
Loss of Control: Info overload & hard to verify details beforehand makes the "Buy Now" button feel like a risky gamble rather than a convenience.
👆 Existing Checkout/Payment Flow 👆
Impact:
💸 Operational Waste
Escalating Operational Costs
High Return Rate: Frequent "accidental orders" (wrong address/card) directly drive up expensive cancellations and reverse logistics costs.
Increased Support Burden: Buried failure states force confused users to contact Customer Support for "Payment Revisions," increasing ticket volume.
📉 Trust Debt
Eroding User Confidence
Purchase Anxiety: The fear of unforced errors turns "Buy Now" into a "Risky Bet," causing users to hesitate on high-value purchases.
Damaged Loyalty (NPS): Repeated "hidden failures" destroy trust, creating a feeling of loss of control that drives long-term churn.
"
How might we balance place order efficiency with sufficient information visibility to prevent post-purchase errors from eroding long-term user trust (NPS)?
"
Opportunity
Confident Speed
Keep the "Buy Now" flow fast, but make it safe. We can add Smart Checkpoints—clear visual cues for Address and Card—so users can spot mistakes before they click "Place Order."
Regain Control through Visibility
Make the currently selected card impossible to miss. This restores financial control, ensuring users know which account is being charged before they commit.
Goal
Stop Accidental Orders
Prevent users from buying with the wrong card or address by ensuring they can clearly see these details before they commit.
Maximize "First-Time Yield"
Empower users to choose the right payment method instantly, ensuring the transaction is successful on the first try.
Reduce After-Sales Hassle
Cut down on the "Bad Profits" generated by user mistakes, specifically targeting the high cost of support and returns.
Design Proposals
Key Features
I was trying to overhaul the Standard Checkout (Flow 1) to introduce smart friction and visual clarity. This core redesign ensures users verify critical details before committing.
Above the Fold Clarity (Visual Hierarchy)
Design Strategy: Addressing user's need for brevity and reduced scrolling, I restructured the layout to pin the "Must-Know Facts" (Total Cost, Active Card, Primary Address) strictly above the fold.
Outcome: This reduces Cognitive Load by replacing long scrolls with a concise dorpdown, ensuring users see the essential info clearly before they place the order.
Visual Confidence Snapshots
Design Strategy: Moving away from text-heavy parsable content, I utilized Visual Cards (e.g., Card Art) to represent payment methods in the checkout/payment flow.
Outcome: This creates a focused "Final Snapshot" of what will be charged and shipped. It reduces the time needed to parse text, delivering the Trustworthy Flow that infrequent shoppers need to click "Place Order" without anxiety.
👆 Select payment plan + Select & edit address + Buy now (Updated); [Scroll Horizontally to See More ↔️] 👆
Potential Solution Impacts
Maximized Revenue Capture (Conversion)
Recovered at-risk revenue by enabling in-context editing (preventing drop-offs) and driving High-AOV adoption via seamless installment options.
Restored User Confidence (Experience)
Shifted user sentiment from "anxious" to "secure" by ensuring Zero-Scroll Visibility of critical decision factors (Total/Card/Address).
Reduced Operational Waste (Efficiency)
Drastically cut post-purchase cancellations and CS ticket volume (e.g., "Wrong Address," "Payment Reversal") by enforcing pre-purchase validation.