Lexus Car Search

Improving The Search For A Pre-Owned Lexus

Lexus Car Search

Improving the search for a
pre-owned Lexus

The Project

To improve the user experience around searching for a pre-owned Lexus car. This was a personal project that I set myself. I have used the pre-owned search on the live Lexus website a number of times over the years and have always been left frustrated with the experience.

To help create the new designs, I came up with simple personas and stories to help brainstorm ideas and functionality.

The Project

To improve the user experience around searching for a pre-owned Lexus car. This was a personal project that I set myself. I have used the pre-owned search on the live Lexus website a number of times over the years and have always been left frustrated with the experience.

To help create the new designs, I came up with simple personas and stories to help brainstorm ideas and functionality.

Project Aims

Create a streamlined car search
Cater for users not familiar with Lexus cars
Allow users to save and compare cars
Allow users to quickly view car details
Simplify enquiring about a car

Persona 1

Len, the loyal Lexus customer

Len has been a Lexus owner for a number of years. He has owned three RX's and already knows what he wants to upgrade to. He has done all the research, knows what trims he is after and now just wants to search for the car.

Behaviours:

Len is retired and values his free time
Spends most of his time with grandkids
Hates his time being wasted
Hates being pestered by phone

Goals:

Easily search for what model/trim he wants
Contact dealers online to see cars
Deal with everything in his own time
Spend time with grandkids

User Story:

Len would need to be able to clearly choose the car and trim to start his search. Once he had found cars that fitted his needs, contacting dealers would need to be clear and obvious to start dialogue about price and test drive.

Persona 1

Len, the loyal Lexus customer

Len has been a Lexus owner for a number of years. He has owned three RXs and already knows he wants to upgrade to another one. He has done all the research, knows what trim he is after and now just wants to search for the car.

Behaviours:

Len is retired and values his free time
Spends most of his time with grandkids
Hates his time being wasted
Hates being pestered by phone

Goals:

Easily search for what model/trim he wants
Contact dealers online to see cars
Deal with everything in his own time
Spend time with grandkids

User Story:

Len would need to be able to clearly choose the car and trim to start his search. Once he had found cars that fitted his needs, contacting dealers would need to be clear and obvious to start dialogue about price and test drive.

VIEW USER FLOW

(PDF document)

Persona 2

Peter, the Lexus novice

Peter has never shopped at Lexus before. He has no idea about the cars or trims and is just searching to see what is on offer. Searching by model and trim would make his search harder. He is however looking for a large family car that he can take out to the country as he and his family are keen hikers.

Behaviours:

Peter works full time and has a family
Very money conscious
Hates making decisions
Wants to be shown the right options for him

Goals:

Find the best value car for his needs
Easily compare options
Ability to save and come back to cars
Come to a decision on the best car for him

User Story 1:

To start with, Peter won’t be interested in contacting dealers just yet, but would rather just research what is available. Options would need to be available to allow him to compare cars and share, print or download his findings.

Persona 2

Peter, the Lexus novice

Peter has never shopped at Lexus before. He has no idea about the cars or trims and is just searching to see what is on offer. Searching by model and trim would make his search harder. He is however looking for a large family car that he can take out to the country as he and his family are keen hikers.

Behaviours:

Peter works full time and has a family
Very money conscious
Hates making decisions
Wants to be shown the right options for him

Goals:

Find the best value car for his needs
Easily compare options
Ability to save and come back to cars
Come to a decision on the best car for him

User Story 1:

To start with, he won’t be interested in contacting dealers just yet, but would rather just research what is available. Options would need to be available to allow him to compare cars and share, print or download his findings.

VIEW USER FLOW

(PDF document)

User Story 2:

Having done all his comparing and research, Peter would now need to be able to easily access his saved cars upon coming back to the website. He would now be ready to start contacting dealers to discuss price and potential test drive.

VIEW USER FLOW

(PDF document)

Search Landing

The idea behind the landing page was to clearly signpost the different search options to the users. The page introduces two different ways to search for a car depending on whether you already know what you are after, or you need help in finding the right car. My initial idea was to have these options on the actual search page as tabs, but whilst I was wireframing the page I felt this made the search page cluttered and harder to follow. People could also miss the tabs so I decided to introduce a landing page which would require users to make a decision, and depending on their choice, we would show them the relevant search page.

The header also allows returning users to easily access their messages, saved cars and previous searches.

Search Landing

The idea behind the landing page was to clearly signpost the different search options to the users. The page introduces two different ways to search for a car depending on whether you already know what you are after, or you need help in finding the right car. My initial idea was to have these options on the actual search page as tabs, but whilst I was wireframing the page I felt this made the search page cluttered and harder to follow. People could also miss the tabs so I decided to introduce a landing page which would require users to make a decision, and depending on their choice, we would show them the relevant search page.

The header also allows returning users to easily access their messages, saved cars and previous searches.

Search Landing

The idea behind the landing page was to clearly signpost the different search options to the users. The page introduces two different ways to search for a car depending on whether you already know what you are after, or you need help in finding the right car. My initial idea was to have these options on the actual search page as tabs, but whilst I was wireframing the page I felt this made the search page cluttered and harder to follow. People could also miss the tabs so I decided to introduce a landing page which would require users to make a decision, and depending on their choice, we would show them the relevant search page.

The header also allows returning users to easily access their messages, saved cars and previous searches.

Starting The Search

(Persona 1, Len)

I needed to keep the search page simple. By presenting minimal key options the idea was to get users into the results as quickly as possible. With Persona 1 already knowing what car they were looking for, this page needed key options to choose the model and trim immediately.

Starting The Search

(Persona 1)

I needed to keep the search page simple. By presenting minimal key options the idea was to get users into the results as quickly as possible. With Persona 1 knowing what car they were looking for needed key options to choose the model and trim immediately.

Starting The Search

(Persona 1)

I needed to keep the search page simple. By presenting minimal key options the idea was to get users into the results as quickly as possible. With Persona 1 knowing what car they were looking for needed key options to choose the model and trim immediately.

Starting The Search

(Persona 2)

Similar to Persona 1, I kept the search page simple. With Persona 2 not knowing about Lexus or their cars, I changed the minimal options to selecting what their new car would be used for and also what key features the car needed to have. This way we can get them quickly into the results and show cars which match their needs.

Starting The Search

(Persona 2)

Similar to Persona 1, I kept the search page simple. With Persona 2 not knowing about Lexus or their cars, I changed the minimal options to selecting what their new car would be used for and also what key features the car needed to have. This way we can get them quickly into the results and show cars which match their needs.

Starting The Search

(Persona 2)

Similar to Persona 1, I kept the search page simple. With Persona 2 not knowing about Lexus or their cars, I changed the minimal options to selecting what their new car would be used for and also what key features the car needed to have. This way we can get them quickly into the results and show cars which match their needs.

Results page

The results page was designed to be easily scanned. I purposely laid out each listing item so that there were clear columns for the different content. This means that as the user scrolls through the listings they can clearly scan the different car details such as the model, trim, price, car photos and/or the dealer info for each car. Options to save, share and download the PDF are subtly highlighted and the enquire button is prominently highlighted using colour and a drop shadow allowing a clear call to action to contact the dealer.

To view car details the user just needs to click on the ' View Car Details' link which opens up and an accordian showing more details about that car.

Users can filter and sort the list by using the clear options at the top. The idea being when a user scrolls this bar would sit at the top of the screen.

Template Features

Easy to scan car information
Prominent call to action to enquire about car
Fixed menu bar allowing users to filter or sort results
Quickview car details instead of loading a new page

Results page

The results page was designed to be easily scanned. I purposely laid out each listing item so that there were clear columns for the different content. This means that as the user scrolls through the listings they can clearly scan the different car details such as the model, trim, price, car photos and/or the dealer info for each car. Options to save, share and download the PDF are subtly highlighted and the enquire button is prominently highlighted using colour and a drop shadow allowing a clear call to action to contact the dealer.

To view car details the user just needs to click on the ' View Car Details' link which opens up and an accordian shows more details about that car.

Users can filter and sort the list by using the clear options at the top. The idea being when a user scrolls this bar would sit at the top of the screen.

Template Features

Easy to scan car information
Prominent call to action to enquire about car
Fixed menu bar allowing users to filter or sort results
Quickview car details instead of loading a new page

Quick View Listings

Instead of loading a new page for more car details, I designed each listing to have an accordian which would open to show extra details. The user can easily tab through the different details and can close the accordian when finished. The idea here is that the user can do everything all on one page.

Quick View Listings

Instead of loading a new page for more car details, I designed each listing to have an accordian which would open to show these extra details. The user can easily tab through the different details and can close the accordian when finished. The idea here is that the user can do everything all on one page.

Refine your search

Instead of the usual filters down the side or across the top, I went with an overlay approach. The advantage of this approach was in keeping the listing page clear and simple, I could give the filters the full screen allowing for a more visual approach to filtering by the different options.

Refine your search

Instead of the usual filters down the side or across the top, I went with an overlay approach. The advantage of this approach was in keeping the listing page clear and simple, I could give the filters the full screen allowing for a more visual approach to filtering by the different options.

Refine your search

Instead of the usual filters down the side or across the top, I went with an overlay approach. The advantage of this approach was in keeping the listing page clear and simple, I could give the filters the full screen allowing for a more visual approach to filtering by the different options.

Saved Cars

The saved cars page was designed to also allow the user to compare each car they have saved. By using an accordian approach, users can easily browse the info they want to see without having to scan a long page list of every feature the car has.

Cars can be easily scrolled through using the arrows and, via a delete button, can be removed from the page.

Enquiring about a car is made easy via a prominent call to action underneath the car details.

Template Features

Car details easy to digest due to accordian approach
Car details shown in columns allowing for easy comparing.
Clear call to action to enquire about each car
Cars can be easily removed via a delete button

Saved Cars

The saved cars page was designed to also allow the user to compare each car they have stored. By using an accordian approach, users can easily browse the info they want to see without having to scan a long page list of every feature the car has.

Cars can be easily scrolled through using the arrows and, via a delete button, can be removed from the page.

Enquiring about a car is made easy via a prominent call to action underneath the car details.

Template Features

Car details easy to digest due to accordian approach
Car details shown in columns allowing for easy comparing.
Clear call to action to enquire about each car
Cars can be easily removed via a delete button

Enquiring About A Car

The aim of the enquiry page was to allow users to have quick and easy conversations direct with the sales person, about a specific car. By making it a live chat, users can book a viewing, a testdrive or enquire about a car's availability and price in a more streamlined fashion - getting them the answers they need a lot quicker than having to submit a form. Messages can also be stored so the user can keep track of conversations they are having about numerous cars all on one page.

Enquiring About A Car

The aim of the enquiry page was to allow users to have quick and easy conversations direct with the sales person, about a specific car. By making it a live chat, users can book a viewing, a testdrive or enquire about a car's availability and price in a more streamlined fashion - getting them the answers they need a lot quicker than having to submit a form. Messages can also be stored so the user can keep track of conversations they are having about numerous cars all on one page.