We brought a ‘good-as-new’ shopping experience to the refurbed tech marketplace, helping Back Market on their mission to increase trust for preloved devices and reduce electronic waste.
Our collective obsession for new tech is neither good for the planet nor for our wallets. But we're warming up to the idea of choosing used, refurbished goods. To convince people that this was a better decision than buying brand new, we worked closely with Back Market across five, fast-paced weekly sprints to prototype the path to purchase. The challenge was to instil trust at every step of the user journey and sprinkle a layer of cheeky brand personality on top.
With such a huge potential customer base to cater to (AKA, everyone), the search functionality had to suit casual browsers looking for bargains, as well as the people searching for a very specific device. We designed three different ways to find a product: by word-search, by product category or by theme. The themes included travellers, tech lovers and home cooks. Something for everyone.
Designing a user interface in a way that puts people in control is not just good practice; it's essential. That’s why we created the opportunity for people to customise the colour, capacity and condition of their item. The device might be second hand, but that doesn’t mean the user experience should be.
Unlike buying used tech on other platforms, all Back Market devices are checked and restored by approved experts. They come with warranties, money-back guarantee, and refurbisher ratings. A transparent and standardised way of showing the condition of a device — a slider from Stallone to Mint — was designed to put people's minds at ease and help them make decisions. Making all this information easily accessible, at all times, while maintaining a clean interface was a tough design challenge, but crucial in gaining people’s trust.
Working with the delightfully rebellious brand identity created by Koto, we had fun bringing the interface to life with smooth transitions and animated elements. From the hidden ghost appearing on scroll bouncing to the running courier when you’ve completed a purchase, we seized every opportunity to add joy and delight to the shopping experience. And we hear that every purchase may or may not come with a free deep-fried Mars bar (just don't hold us to that).
Vianney Vaute
Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer