ConsumerAffairs
Product Overhaul
Transform ConsumerAffairs into a more consumer-friendly brand that users can trust.
My contribution
UX/UI Design User Research Design System Design Strategy
The team
1 x Principal Product Designer (Me) 1 x Head of Design 1 x VP of Product 1 x Senior Product Manager 6 x Engineers
Year
2023
Introduction
How do you rebuild trust in a platform meant to provide reliable reviews and expert insights but struggling with credibility? Over time, ConsumerAffairs product had grown outdated, failing to meet modern expectations.
Users viewed the product as unreliable, questioning its impartiality and whether the information it offered was current or trustworthy. These issues undermined user confidence and hindered ConsumerAffairs from achieving its goal of connecting users with brands.
Background
ConsumerAffairs serves as a review-based marketplace, delivering value to:
Consumers who rely on the platform for unbiased reviews and expert resources to make informed decisions for major purchases, like buying a home.
Brands who pay for authentic review generation to increase their exposure and reach new customers.
Process
Understand User Concerns through Research
Early user interviews revealed that trust was a major concern. Many users described ConsumerAffairs as "outdated," often citing the UI as a reason for questioning the credibility and reliability of the information.
Phase 1 – Build the Foundation
The first phase focused on modernizing the product to rebuild trust and set the stage for future improvements.
Design System: I created a scalable, component-based design library in Figma to ensure consistency, enhance efficiency, and facilitate easier collaboration with engineers. I designed WCAG 2.0 compliant components and wrote accessibility guidelines to make this product usable for everyone.
Design Audit: Reviewed existing components and documented their usage, creating a guide to help engineers make updates more smoothly without the need to identify every instance themselves.
UI Refresh: I updated the product's look and feel to meet modern design standards, helping to quickly rebuild trust and credibility.
Phase 2 – Drive Business Impact
The second phase concentrated on increasing user engagement across key performing pages, such as the company directory and brand profiles, which led to a positive business impact.
Goals
Rebuild Trust
Address user skepticism by modernizing the product UI to align with current design standards.
Better Positioning
Clearly convey ConsumerAffairs' mission and value throughout the product, especially on the homepage.
Increase User Engagement on Key Performance Pages
Company Directory: A newly introduced page with robust filtering and a comparison feature, enabling users to easily compare plans, reviews, and details for up to three brands.
Brand Profiles: Improve transparency by displaying both positive and negative reviews, along with descriptive tags that give clear and quick context to the feedback. I also worked with the engineering team to develop the logic and keyword-tagging system for this feature.
More Users Connecting with Brands
Increase the percentage of users connecting with brands by creating seamless pathways for discovery and decision-making.
Impact
The overhaul delivered a measurable impact for both users and the business:
+20% increase in users connecting with brands
+9% revenue growth
While updates to the homepage, buyer guides, brand profiles, and the new company directory page each contributed incremental gains, it was the collective effort of these changes that drove substantial growth in user engagement and revenue.
Together, these updates transformed ConsumerAffairs into a trusted, user-friendly product that effectively supports both consumers and brands in achieving their goals.