How Three Niche Websites Use Product-Specific Filters To Create A Good Choice Experience For Users

We live in a world where we have a huge amount of choice.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — we know from studies that some choice is good for human wellbeing — but we also know that the process of choosing can be difficult, especially when we are comparing multiple and conflicting features. We aren’t always great at making decisions — research shows that we can be biased by our own existing preconceptions, and can inconsistently switch between decision-making frameworks.

People can… find choosing among too many alternatives to be both enjoyable and overwhelming — Iyengar + Lepper

In many scenarios, consumers will have to make trade-offs. You might find the perfect product, but it’s out of stock in your preferred retailer. Or the cheapest option will take 2–3 weeks to arrive, or you can pay 20% more to get in next day. Which is more important; brand, budget or time? The answer to this will vary massively depending on the individual and the context.

Good product filters can help support users in making those trade-offs early in their product search journey. Let’s take a look.

Autotrader

The most popular automotive website in the UK, Autotrader is the go-to for buying and selling a car. Since their product inventory is nearly half a million, and there are numerous trade-off combinations involved in car buying, they need a pretty sophisticated method of helping customers find the car that fits their needs.

What we like:

• Depictive imagery: For users who don’t know their SUV from their MPV, the reference images are a handy guide to help users find the car style for them
• Long-term considerations: Cars can have a significant annual outlay, and buyers may be budgeting for these alongside initial costs — Autotrader has an option where users can filter against anticipated running costs such as tax
• Upfront expectations: The number on the search CTA dynamically adjusts depending on the filters selected — allowing users to make trade-offs at the filter page (when there are three yellow cars vs 200 black cars, how important is it to have a yellow car?)

Cult Beauty

Beauty products are inherently personal, with consumers potentially buying multiple products to use in combination. They may also be balancing complex requirements based on allergies or incompatible active ingredients.

Cult Beauty delivers an array of filter options, including generic filters based on customer expectations — users can filter by product type, brand, price. However, they also have some product-specific filters on the site too:

What we like:

• Plain-English problems: People might not know what product/ingredient they need, but they will know the problem they’re looking to resolve — such as dry skin or dark circles
• Routine-based: There’s an option for ‘night-time’ products, to help users differentiate products designed for their intended use-cases
• Granular filters: For users who know their AHA from their BHA, the more granular filters enable users to find the product they want based on components

Adidas

At first glance, you might not think there is much to filter against when it comes to trainers. However, Adidas has created a suite of filters which caters to every potential user — from their die-hard loyalists who want to see the latest releases to the occasional trainer buyer who maybe visits once a year.

Alongside the generic expected filters — colour, size, intended use — they also have more specific filters available too, catering for every potential user requirement:

What we like:

• Environmentally-conscious filters: Options around sustainability and recycled materials cater for consumers who want to make an environmentally-informed purchase
• Use-cases: For users who are buying for a specific activity (running, hiking, cycling) they have a filter to help find the most suitable options
• Features-led: If you need waterproof trainers or a no-laces fastening, they’ve covered these options (among others) in a specific feature-driven filter

Whilst all of these examples are based on vast product inventories, the learnings can be applied to smaller businesses too — by building filters around user preferences, requirements and barriers. Define the features that are potentially dealbreakers, and combine with generic ‘industry standard’ filters to create an experience that will resonate with users.

How Can Marketers Make Better Filters?

Use filters which align to user needs

Whether its being able to select products by brand, by material, by size… work out what’s important to your customers and build filters around these. Search data and social semantic analysis will help identify important areas.

Create filters around use-cases

Consider how people will use your products, and then create filters accordingly. If they’re buying for outdoor use vs indoor use, create a filter against those two scenarios. Customer surveys and colleague research can help inform more specific use-cases.

Be clear but inconsistent

Use clear language to set expectations; users shouldn’t have to filter to understand what the filter is. But also, don’t worry about being consistent across all filters — you don’t need the same amount of filters per product. Some products may have 3, some may have 33. It’s better to have relevant filters than filters which don’t make any sense against the product portfolio selected.

Originally published on psykkd.com