INTRODUCTION
Ever had to browse a foreign website only to go back and forth because you need to know the cost in your local currency.? Does opening a new tab and punching the numbers into google sound familiar? (been there) and If you haven't, it's a thing.
The project Mainai (that's Lithuanian for exchange) was born out of the need to make life stress-free and uncomplicated for myself and others (also because I'm lazy). I realized that the process involved in converting foreign prices to my local currency was a lot.
To do so, I'd have to ;
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Memorize the price (or risk coming back to check on it again)
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Open a new tab
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Type the cost in whatever currency and let Google do its thing.
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I'd return to the page, all the while adding a few extra bucks because somehow, I'm convinced it might cost a little more.
See? And I'd have to do so for every price with two values above 30 (ok, I might be exaggerating a bit) but the point is having to do this manually isn't just fun.
Some websites display the prices in my local currency for that; thank you. However, I wanted a way to make the process much simpler. One that didn't involve converting each price or opening a new tab. I thought about how I'd want this, but would it benefit other people? Or maybe I'm just behind on the trends and, a solution already exists in either scenario; there was one way to find out.
INTERVIEW
Maybe it's just me or not, but I wanted to find out if there were other people (I assume there are) who's had this same issue and for two reasons; To determine if it was a problem worth solving. Or to find out if there's already a solution. In which case - Problem solved. But, since you're still reading this case study. You may have to find out for yourself. I conducted an informal interview on WhatsApp because it was the quickest way to get answers and ask follow-up questions.
SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEW
My target audience consisted of people that frequented foreign websites. To validate my assumptions and gain insight as to how people were already solving this problem, I interviewed eight people and asked the following questions:
1) When you browse websites with prices in foreign currencies, how do you convert to Naira?
Most of the responses I received (6/8) made it clear that many people were using Google to convert the prices just like I was.
2) Do you care about using the correct exchange rate or, is an estimate is just fine?
I asked this because Google's exchange rate differs from other forex websites. Some of my interviewees (3/8) cared about having a correct exchange rate. Others agreed that an estimate was ok. I asked the following question for those who preferred to have an accurate exchange rate.
3) How do you get the exchange rates?
I asked this question to know where I could find accurate-forex-information. This information would come in handy during the development.
4) Do you think having to google the exchange rate disrupts your flow while browsing or, is it not an issue for you?
I wanted to know whether the current users considered the case on hand as an issue and; to understand if they would actively seek a solution. After all, another integral of UX is human-centered Design. A solution is only valid when it addresses an issue that users are actively trying to fix. I let them know that I assumed they had to open a new tab to find the exchange rate and then return to the website to continue browsing. To this, all of my interviewees responded positively. However, about 90% of them didn't care much about the interruption.
INSIGHTS.
From my interview, I discovered that most people solved the problem the way I did. They were also not aware of other ways to do this, So I decided to continue searching for a solution.
APPROACH
I brainstormed ways to implement the proposed solution and came up with the following;
SCOPE
I limited my execution to e-commerce websites for this case study.
INITIAL APPROACH (New Page)
Because I was surfing the shop on my laptop, My first idea was a browser extension. When installed would appear on every website and right below the price as an icon. I came up with the following flow.
ASSUMPTIONS: The user has already gone through the download and installation process.
STEP 1: The user clicks on the icon - it opens a page where the user can see the price.
STEP 2: The user clicks on the cancel icon to return to the main page.
I have to admit that I am somewhat embarrassed and thought of taking this option out. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to open this on a new page. It reminds me that sometimes, the first idea might not be the best, and that's ok. There's no reason to keep you wondering why I'd be embarrassed. Here you go;
CHALLENGES / CONCERNS
The issue I had with this was first how to present the information. There wasn't much to show to the user except the price in their local currency, the ability to see the current exchange rate, and the cost in other currencies. Also, opening another page would technically be like taking the user to another tab - one of the problems I hope to address. Another thing I had to consider was the edge case for users with low internet connectivity. Encountering an error due to a poor internet connection while checking the price might backfire, resulting in a negative experience. Worst-case scenario, the user might disable the extension.
PIVOT
Because this project aims to devise a better way of converting the currencies, I reiterated and pivoted my approach.
SECOND APPROACH (Pop-Up)
My idea was to implement a pop-up that showed when the user clicked on the plugin's icon containing information about the forex.
ASSUMPTIONS: The user has already gone through the download and installation process.
STEP 1: The user clicks on the icon, a pop-up showing the user's local currency, exchange rate, and an option to check costs in other currencies pops up.
STEP 2: The user clicks on the cancel icon to return to the main page.
CHALLENGES/CONCERN
It was a better option than the first - given that the user did not have to leave the page. It is easier and faster to load a pop-up. However, something felt missing. I needed something seamless that wouldn't interrupt a lot of activities.
THIRD APPROACH (In card ease-out)
For the third iteration, I thought of an in-card, horizontal ease-out.
ASSUMPTIONS: The user has already gone through the download and installation process.
Step 1: The user clicks on the plugin's icon. The price in their local currency rolls out. (if the user wants to see more information, they can then click on the more option)
FOURTH APPROACH
Instead of clicking the plugin's icon on each card or product to see the amount in the user's local currency, the extension uses the users' location to determine the local currency. It then asks for permission from the user to convert all prices.
An Icon still appears next to the prices.
ASSUMPTIONS: The user has already gone through the download and installation process.
How it works: The user clicks on the icon. It eases-out it and shows the original price, currency, and exchange rate.
The user can also choose the country and currency.
INSIGHTS.
It wasn't till I was "done" with the project that it occurred to me to conduct a competitive analysis. So, I did. I discovered three other browser extensions developed to solve this problem from my research. I installed it and gave them a run. All extensions required the user to manually input the price and choose the currency they want to convert to an option I sought to eliminate to make the process as seamless as possible.