As a child, shopping at the local grocery store was simple. My mom gave me a specific, itemized list, and I followed it strictly. No deviations, no distractions, and no chocolates or candies. Today, with the rise of online platforms, I tremendously miss that strict mom-like shopping method. With all the promos, bundles, and reviews, I get overwhelmed by the numerous UX/UI design features that don’t always align with my checking account balance. Whether those features benefit the business or the customer is a different story. A story I’d like to explore more in this blog.
User and business requirements
When designing a digital product, we consider the goals and requirements of the owner (business) and the user.
Business requirements clarify why the product exists from the organization’s perspective and define what success looks like for it. These include strategic goals like growth, revenue, brand positioning, operational efficiency, and success metrics. On the other hand, user requirements specify what users need to accomplish, experience, or feel when interacting with the product.
I find the interaction between those two goals fascinating. In some UX/UI features, they completely align and serve both parties equally. Sometimes they conflict entirely and only favor one side, usually the business. Other times, this interaction is a bit complicated, and its alignment isn’t immediately clear. I aim to explore this interaction and shed light on how it appears on the most popular retail site.
Business and user requirements in the Amazon courtyard
Retail websites could be simple: display products and enable buying or selling. What transformed Amazon into a retail giant are its numerous and strategic design features.
Some of them benefit both the user and the business. Let’s take the Buy Now feature, for example. This is an express checkout option that lets users skip the shopping cart and purchase an item with their default payment and shipping information. With this feature, the user completes transactions quickly without navigating through the full checkout flow, saving time and cognitive effort. Here, both parties benefit. The user enjoys a faster, smoother shopping experience, and the business gains a quicker sale with less risk of regret.
In other cases, some design features only serve the business. Think about the lengthy process of returning an item you bought. First, the return option isn’t clearly visible, forcing users to navigate around to find it. Once located, they must go through a slow, tedious process that involves answering numerous questions about the return. They are also asked troubleshooting questions and prompted to reconsider returning the item. This process only benefits the business because many users may give up on the return.
Sometimes, it’s not immediately clear who really benefits. For example, when you browse through a desired item yet are faced with a warning sign – this is a frequently returned item. Who benefits from this feature? It may seem that the user, who is being warned about purchasing a bad product, is the one who benefits. However, in reality, it is a clever strategy that creates a false impression that the business is on your side. It aims to protect you. This approach is designed to build strong trust between the user and the business, encouraging the user to buy products without that warning.
The customer reviews section on the product page uses the same approach. Yes, there are negative comments and ratings, which make it seem like the business is honest and on your side by sharing them. But it also helps build trust and encourages you to buy a product with better ratings. In a psychological study conducted by the Northwestern University Spiegel Research Center, researchers found that the purchase likelihood of a product with five reviews is 270% higher than that of a product with no reviews. In other words, the business is the winner here.
Conclusion
Many website design features are driven by a complex interaction between user and business goals. Understanding how these goals and requirements work together helps UX professionals create more effective products and raise customer awareness of hidden marketing strategies.
