Increasing accessibility to safe,
second-hand shopping

Two feature screenshots displaying work done by Nancy for her case study on Lawnstack

Resell

Resell is a Cornell community marketplace where students are able to sell and purchase second-hand items from Cornell-authenticated users without additional fees.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
Fall 2023
Team
1 Product Manager
3 Developers
2 Designers
1 Marketer
Skills
Interaction Design
Visual Design
Product Thinking
UX Writing
Outcome
Shipped a new “request” feature post-MVP launch, leading to a 138% increase in daily active users and a stabilization in user engagement. See on App Store↗ and Google Play Store↗.
Overview
What are Requests?
Requests acts as a wishlist for buyers who were unable to find what they were looking for on Resell. When a similar listing is posted, they are notified right away.
Seamlessly incorporating a new feature into the MVP, while also making it visible to users
Be notified of listings you are in search of immediately.
Setting communication between buyer and seller
Browse through matches and easily set a time & place to meet.
The Problem
With Resell’s MVP launch, we struggled to maintain users on the app.
The chart titled "Resell’s Daily Active User Chart" shows a steady decline in daily active users from mid-August to late September, starting near 150 and approaching zero by the end of the period.
55%
decline in the first two weeks
86%
decline two months post-launch
User Testing
31/34 Users Dropped Resell From Lack of Results
When testing the purchasing flow, 31 users were unable to find what they searched for.

After, they felt that they no longer had any use for Resell. This explains Resell’s current lack of user retention.
Resell fails to deliver what it promises: to provide affordable options for necessities.
Satisfaction from saving money
Buyers who use secondhand platforms love the option of buying needs for cheaper. Saving money is a reward for them.
Disappointment with full cost
When Resell doesn’t have what they need, they have to buy it at full cost, which leaves them disappointed with Resell.
Our Design Goal
How might we maintain confidence within our users that they’ll be able to find what they’re looking for on Resell?
Ideation
Brainstorming Solutions
In order to target Resell’s user retention issue, we came up with two different directions we can go in for the new feature space:

#1 Increase overall user base. With more listings, buyers are more likely to find what they’re looking for.

#2 Provide alternatives to the roadblock. This provides more value to buyers and sellers.
#1 Friend Referrals
The Friend Referrals wireframe shows the process a user goes through to refer a user.
❌ Not a long-term solution
#2 Similar item suggestions
The similar items suggestion wireframes shows low-fidelity mockups of how users might be able to view similar items to their search.
❌ Low DAU means there’s not a lot of listings to suggest in the first place
Market Research
Referring Back to User Testing
After scrapping our two ideas, we went back to our user testing results in search of a new feature space. Upon re-analysis, we stumbled upon this statistic:
24/31 Users who dropped Resell suggested using Reddit
A public forum reachable to a large Cornell community. Guarantees a buyer for sellers, connects buyers to potential sellers.
Three reddit posts featuring users who are posting on the forum to ask if anyone is selling particular items,
Curved lines flow across a dark background, framing bold white text that reads "Requests!" with the subtitle "Providing an alternative to buying unlisted items at full-cost."
Outlining the Request Feature
Our request feature contains two key parts to target the two users of the app: the public forum for sellers/buyers and automatic matching to requests for buyers.
Public Forum
The Public Forum wireframe shows a list of requests with message buttons to contact buyers directly.
✅ Allows buyers to reach Cornell community
‍
✅ Guarantees a buyer for sellers
Automatic matching to new listings
The Automatic Matching wireframe connects user requests to new listings, instantly displaying relevant matches.
✅ Leverages Resell’s platform to automate the process of finding a specific item
The flowchart maps Resell’s information architecture, branching into Home, Saved, Chat, and Profile. Home links to the Request forum, current listings, and search, while Profile connects to Request matches, your listings, and archive.
Information Architecture
Rethinking the feature space
Big problem: my idea for requests was infeasible
given our dev power and new timeline.
I decided to remove the public forum feature, as it wasn’t necessary to achieve our design goal, which is to maintain users’ confidence in Resell by providing an alternative to roadblocks in the app.
The updated Resell information architecture connects Home, Saved, Chat, and Profile. Search now leads to New Request, addressing user roadblocks, while Request matches links to Chat for improved flow.
Updated Information Architecture & User Flow
Iteration
Entry Point: Making Requests Visible and Seamless
In creating the entry point of requests, we had to consider the existing entry point of creating a listing, which is a floating button. Which CTA provides the most clarity and blends in with the existing design system?
Users were 74% more likely to find requests with a floating button, according to A/B testing on 10 Cornell students. Floating buttons serve as the primary action in an interface, increasing prominence of the new feature while blending it with the existing design system.Users were 74% more likely to find requests with a floating button, according to A/B testing on 10 Cornell students. Floating buttons serve as the primary action in an interface, increasing prominence of the new feature while blending it with the existing design system.
Creating a Request: Supporting Urgency in Finding an Item
In deciding what content we wanted to include in creating a request, we had to debate which was more important in matches: quality or quantity?
‍
We ultimately went with the option on the left, trading off quality for quantity. This is because buyers are likely open to having several options that might not fit their exact description. Additionally, it provides the option to compare and contrast which listings fit their needs best.
Quantity: open response supports a user’s flexibility in the item they’re looking for, achieving an 88% success rate in initiating a transaction. Out of 17 requests, 15 were fulfilled upon shipping the feature to the App Store.Quantity: open response supports a user’s flexibility in the item they’re looking for, achieving an 88% success rate in initiating a transaction. Out of 17 requests, 15 were fulfilled upon shipping the feature to the App Store.
UX Writing
Empty State: What even are requests?
Our product manager strongly wanted to call our new feature space “requests”. However, my co-designer and I knew that it was ambiguous by itself. It could mean friend request, follow request, message request, etc. Thus, we wanted to make sure that we provided clarity on what requests are once they find the feature.
The feedback highlights that users didn’t understand what “requests” were in V0, leading to low engagement. In V1, changes were made to address the roadblock, include the feature name with “Submit a request”, and add a promise statement: “we’ll notify you when someone lists something similar.”The feedback highlights that users didn’t understand what “requests” were in V0, leading to low engagement. In V1, changes were made to address the roadblock, include the feature name with “Submit a request”, and add a promise statement: “we’ll notify you when someone lists something similar.”
118% increase in user engagement
with request feature
17 users who submitted a request initially, then grew to 37 post-update
Final Prototypes
Putting it all together
Accommodating Urgent Jobs
Be notified of listings you are in search of immediately
Providing an alternative way to utilize Resell if buyers are unable to find what they are looking for. By providing specific details such as item name, item details, and a price range, buyers will be instantly notified of listings that match what they are looking for.
Setting communication between buyer and seller
Browse through matches and easily set a time & place to meet.
Receive instant notifications of new matches. Upon finding the perfect listing, buyers are able to contact the seller, negotiate prices, send availabilities, and schedule an in-person meeting, all in one place.
Reflections
NEXT STEPS
In future semesters, I aim to expand on the request feature, as timeline constraints had forced me to downsize my initial ideas. I will be working on the public forum next!
MY FIRST TIME COLLABING CROSS-FUNCTIONALLY
In collaboration with product managers, developers, and marketers, it broadened my perspective on product thinking. Design is all about the user’s needs and goals in a perfect world. However, there will always be several constraints, such as timeline and engineering. Through Resell, I was able to experience balancing user, timeline, and development needs.

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