Embracing Foresight in UX Design for E-commerce
Anticipating the Future to Deliver Exceptional User Experiences
Welcome to this deep dive into the exciting world of foresight in UX design. Today, we’ll explore:
- The concept of foresight in UX design
- The relevance of foresight for UX designers in the e-commerce space
- The importance of foresight in anticipating future user needs and trends
- An overview of foresight techniques and their relevance to e-commerce UX design
What is Foresight?
As UX designers, we are often expected to anticipate user needs and design intelligent products that meet those needs. To do this successfully, several user research methods are commonly employed to understand user behavior and respond to them. However, there is a limit to how well we can anticipate and design for user needs based solely on past behavior. In a world where unexpected changes can alter the reality of our target users, the ability to anticipate future trends and behaviors that could impact user experiences is crucial.
Think about how the recent global pandemic revealed structural gaps in nearly every sphere of society. Before that, the 2008 global economic crisis and the September 11 attacks also changed the behavior of the world. If you recall life before these incidents, you can see how unprecedented events can alter the course of history, impacting every aspect of life, including digital experiences. As a UX designer, you need to be equipped to anticipate world- or industry-changing events and proactively design responses that benefit your users. This is where strategic foresight comes in.
Strategic foresight is the ability to anticipate and prepare for numerous possible futures and develop strategies to adapt accordingly. These changes may be internal or external, but they are significant enough to determine the direction of your product, service, or business. Strategic foresight is also crucial for staying ahead of the competition, meeting evolving user expectations, and leveraging emerging technologies to deliver exceptional user experiences.
Why is Foresight Relevant to UX Designers in E-commerce?
For UX designers in the e-commerce landscape, developing strategic foresight competencies helps you create innovative services that not only take advantage of groundbreaking technology but also shape culture positively. Anticipating both the positive and negative effects of introducing a technology allows designers to amplify features that will drive the desired future. For example, if you are designing an e-commerce platform for a retailer who wants to use drone technology for affordable delivery services to customers in hard-to-reach areas, strategic foresight competencies help you ask questions like:
- How effectively might the use of drones help my business save money compared to traditional delivery methods?
- How might we manage the risks of drone malfunctions, crashes, or technical failures, especially in hard-to-reach areas where retrieval and repair might be difficult?
- How can we ensure that our drone delivery system has minimal environmental and community impact and does not negatively affect wildlife, local residents, or ecosystems?
E-commerce platforms cater to diverse user demographics and preferences. The ability to anticipate shifts in user behavior, preferences, and expectations ensures that the design solutions remain relevant and engaging over time.
Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017 to tap into the rising trend of online grocery shopping. They foresaw the increasing demand for convenient food delivery services and positioned themselves to dominate the space.
Foresight Techniques in UX Design
As UX designers, we are not traditionally trained in foresight techniques, although some design methods can be expanded for use in foresight. To anticipate and plan for multiple future possibilities, certain skills are important. Here are a few explained:
Trend Analysis
Trend analysis involves examining current trends in technology, design, consumer behavior, and industry developments to identify patterns and extrapolate future trajectories. This helps UX designers anticipate shifts in user preferences and behaviors in the e-commerce space. UX designers can also capitalize on observing trends in society and translating insights from their observations into their work.
Alibaba closely monitors global consumer trends and adapts its platform to cater to emerging preferences. The livestream shopping feature incorporated into their platform capitalizes on the trend of interactive and engaging shopping experiences.
Scenario Planning
Scenario planning involves creating plausible future scenarios based on different combinations of factors such as technological advancements, market dynamics, and societal changes. UX designers can use scenario planning to envision potential future states of e-commerce and adapt their design strategies accordingly. Scenario planning is one of the more popular foresight techniques used by many big companies.
Alibaba’s expansion into cloud computing and digital entertainment reflects their anticipation of shifts in consumer behavior towards online entertainment and the increasing demand for cloud services.
Collaborative Foresight
Collaborative foresight involves engaging various stakeholders, including UX designers, product managers, developers, marketers, and even customers, in envisioning and shaping future scenarios for e-commerce experiences. It leverages collective intelligence to anticipate trends, identify opportunities, and innovate in the e-commerce space.
eBay actively engages with its user community through co-creation workshops and crowdsourcing initiatives. By soliciting feedback and ideas from users, eBay collaborates to identify emerging trends and opportunities for enhancing the e-commerce experience. For example, eBay’s Seller Summit events bring together sellers and eBay staff to discuss future strategies and product innovations.
Speculative Prototyping
Speculative prototyping is a technique used by UX designers to explore and test radical ideas and future scenarios in the e-commerce space. It involves creating prototypes of innovative concepts that may not yet be feasible or practical but have the potential to disrupt existing norms and shape the future of e-commerce experiences.
Amazon’s development of the Amazon Go concept store is an example of speculative prototyping. By creating a physical store with no checkout lines, powered by advanced computer vision and sensor technologies, Amazon explored a radical new approach to brick-and-mortar retail. While Amazon Go started as a prototype, it has since expanded into a real-world retail concept, showcasing how speculative prototyping can lead to innovative new ventures.
Conclusion
As a UX designer, you should consider acquiring foresight competencies for any space you are working in. Understanding the value foresight adds to businesses and its increasing importance in providing customer value and preserving the long-term interest of the business is essential. Incorporating foresight into your UX design practice helps you maintain an eagle-eye perspective on the internal and external factors involved in your business, setting you a step ahead of the competition. Therefore, let us embrace foresight and pave the way for a more innovative and user-centric e-commerce future.
Grace Okubo is a user experience designer, boasting over a decade of experience in crafting user-centered products and leading the design and development of software products across various sectors such as real estate, fintech, and e-commerce. Her expertise lies in seamlessly blending Design Thinking and Agile Methodologies. At the same time, her role as an educator has seen her impart essential skills to a global audience in design and product management. Trained in Ethics in Design, Design Thinking, and Foresight Methodologies, Grace consistently proposes innovative solutions to complex challenges, driven by her goal of promoting equity, inclusivity, and sustainability.
