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How can we make property searching more engaging and intuitive?
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Daft.ie
Role: UX Researcher and Designer
Year: 2024
Daft.ie is Ireland's no.1 property searching app. Recently, I had the opportunity to present this case study to the Daft product team as they embark on a strategic shift to enhance the demand side of the platform. This presentation outlines key insights and recommendations to drive this refocus.
Overview:
Daft.ie is Ireland’s most used property searching platform. It hosts a website (with over 8 million monthly visitors) and a mobile app. With limited contenders in the Irish market, Daft dominates the space, posing the question: Could a competitor come in and offer a better property searching experience?
The problem
The opportunity
Initial assumptions and preliminary research found that there are problems with the core function of the app:
searching for a property.
Refine Daft.ie's app functionality and user experience, so that it can fortify its position in the market while offering an even more compelling platform for property seekers.
Business Value
Risks identified for Daft
Loss of Future User base: Disengagement with users (particularly next gen) as product is perceived as outdated.
Loss of Market Share and Revenue: As new entrants with better UX enter the market, Daft risks losing their existing user base and market share.
Lower conversion rates: A poorly designed app often translates to lower conversion rates.
UX Impact
Higher User Acquisition and Conversion Rates: Improved UX will lead to increased engagement and time spent in app.
Positive reviews and enhanced reputation: Attracting new users and improving overall trust in Daft.
Optimized operations: reduces the burden on support teams by minimizing user queries and issues related to usability.
Discovery
Discovery |
Deliver
During my college days, I used Daft to search for rental properties. I remembered Daft's outdated interface and cumbersome search functionality. This sparked my interest in selecting it for my case study.
To begin, I needed to challenge my assumption that searching was indeed frustrating. I formulated 3 research questions and selected 4 methods tailored to each question's requirements.
Why did I choose this project?
Design |
Deliver
What are people saying about Daft and what frustrates them?
I analyzed hundreds of reviews from App store, Google Store, Reddit and Trust Pilot and grouped them into 5 themes.
This validated that location searching issues and filtering issues had the most pain points to resolve, however it was interesting to note how saving a search and the returning search journey came up as a problem area.
What I found
user interviews conducted
user testing sessions conducted
What are behaviours of the Daft user and how do they find the app for finding a property?
Deliver
6 people looking to buy and 4 people looking to rent.
Testing the existing Daft flow with users.
Affinity diagramming
After grouping my interview and testing results into themes and sub-themes I had greater clarity over the behaviours and preferences of the Daft user and the main pain areas that they experienced. It was clear that searching, particularly adding a location to the search and filtering were problematic. This reinforced the decision to concentrate the project on enhancing the search journey flow. The aim being to improve the ease and efficiency of the searching process, ultimately increasing user engagement and session length within the Daft app.
Interview 04. Interviewing Megan, a Daft user who is in search of a property to buy.
What I found
Key Findings from Research phase
Define:
Deliver
Define |
User Personas
The two principle personas were Isabelle,The Savvy Home Hunter, who avidly uses the app, scanning listings efficiently and Luke, The Novice Renter, who is looking to rent a place to meet his needs for the short-term.
Opportunity found:
Opp
Opportunity found
My hypothesis suggests that the Novice Renter's journey has been less prioritized compared to the Savvy Home Hunter. There's a considerable potential for business growth in this segment, presenting an opportunity to expand the customer base and enhance customer session length and frequency. By focusing on this persona's journey and tasks, we could increased engagement within the app, which could also positively impact other identified personas.
While both users experience usability issues and frustrations with searching, the Novice Renter is likely to experience these issues more frequently as he is less inclined to use the Saved Search feature and therefore will go through the entire searching+filtering journey more often.
'Pro Daft users' use the 'Saved Search' feature however the average Daft user tends to create a new search each time they return.
Empathy and Customer Journey Mapping
With my principle personas outlined, I conducted an empathy map to really put myself in the mind of the Daft user and understand their needs and behaviours. The customer journey map really helped me breakdown the frustrating parts of the journey and force me to consider potential improvement opportunities at each step: One of them being a dynamic mapping feature where users could freely draw circles around areas of interest, offering flexibility and removing the constraints of specifying precise locations.
Deliver
I spent quite a bit of time in the early paper prototyping phase. After reviewing sticky notes from testing, word diagramming and doing some crazy eights, I had a rough outline of a redefined flow to put pencil to paper.
I found I preferred playing around with paper prototyping than digital wireframing as I end up focusing on making it pixel perfect (which is not the point of this earlier phase!).
Design
Deliver
Design |
Early design phase
Lo-fi digital wireframes
Next I designed a lo-fi prototype (for the purposes of testing proof of concept with 3 users) which further examined how the user flow of searching and filtering for a property would work. Overall it was easily to navigate but found that I had overcomplicated some of the filter inputs (see draggable room bar on 2nd screen).
Creating a 'search profile'
Refining your search
Simplifying filters screen from previous screen
High-fi prototype
Daft's current initial search page
My redesign of this page
How might we make the search page easy and simple to understand?
Using my 'How might we's' from earlier, I was able to focus on parts of the journey which I felt were crucial in resolving user pains.
Search 1
Search 2
Search 3
Search 4
There are currently 4 different ways to begin searching for a property-overwhelming the user and leaving a feeling of uncertainty as to what type journey they are about to begin. Are they searching nearby? Searching in general? What is 'last search'?
I wanted to make it simple and clear with a direct call to action button in the centre of the screen.
Clear point to begin search
Deliver
How might we help the user to refine their house search in an engaging way?
My redesign of this page
Daft's current filter page
Hard to decide what is most important to complete
Lack of variety in filter input
Easy for user to click 'reset' by mistake
Building a 'search profile'
Seperating out the bigger questions making the cognitive load easier
The current filter page is 1. mentally intensive as it is harder for the user to differentiate between what is the most important to complete. 2. mentally draining due to a long list of filters with a lack of variety. 3. Prone to error (resetting the category type wipes all filters and easy to click 'reset filters' by mistake.
I wanted to help reduce the cognitive load by distinguishing primary questions (e.g., purchase/rental intent, location, property type) from secondary filters (e.g., number of bedrooms, bathrooms), streamlining the interface and facilitating easier decision-making.
Deliver
How might we give users greater control and flexibility over location searching?
Very specifc
Suitable to those who know exactly where they want to search.
Time consuming to go through long list of places
My redesign of this location searching
Daft's current location page
Gives user flexibility to choose the area they want to search in
Throughout my research for this case study, the consensus was that the specificity required when adding a location proved to be a source of frustration and time consumption for users. 'What if I want to select one part of Dundrum but not all of it?
I wanted to give the user more flexibility and greater sense of control so introduced the option to draw a circle on the map of the area they wanted to include, while also giving them the option to directly type in a location for those who knew the place they wanted to search in.
Deliver
How might we add clarity and efficiency to the returning search journey?
To enhance user experience and streamline navigation, I added a visual aid at the top of the page with the "search profile" box on both the property page and search results page, with the aim of facilitating easier recall of past searches and expedite the process of initiating new searches or editing existing ones.
My redesign of this page
Daft's current property page
Harder to recall what you are searching for
Adding in the idea of a 'search profile' to remind user of search and make for easier way to edit search quickly
Deliver
User Testing
User Testing Session 03. Testing with Divya, a Daft user who is in search of a property to rent.
I conducted user testing sessions with 5 people and used a scenario and task based approach, testing 2 flows (the initial search journey and returning journey).
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Testing results
Key findings
Iterations to make
Other areas of interest from testing
Improve the uncertainty around profile creation concept (potential to add in confirmation screen or popup).
Improve the layout and colours for filters page (users missed the price section).
Consider option for users to name searches (potentially post creation of profile) to aid them in their returning search journey.
Users mentioned a need for 'just added' 'just viewed' tags added to properties-frustration with clicking into the same ads over and over again.
Opportunity to optimize saved search journey and personalize it to aid in the returning search journey.
Users mentioned they would like to see reviews of properties from people who had lived there before (to give more credibility and reassurance to the user).
It seems like accessibility is an after-thought.' Quoted from a user in testing. For people who require accessibility facilities-there is limited options or considerations.
Users mentioned they would like to swipe through photos on the property page rather than having to click into each one.
Next Steps
Prioritiziation matrix
Input iterations into prototype and test with users again.
Meetings with developers to share case study and research found.
Understand constraints and issues in relation to development-make iterations and adjustments based off developer constraints and existing priorities.
Meetings with Product owner to help prioritize order of work flow.
Reflection and Summary
Embarking on this project as part of the UX tree mentorship provided a fantastic opportunity to work on a real project with excellent support and mentorship from the best in class in Ireland. Daft is Ireland's no.1 property app and given the current housing crisis,I thought it would be interesting to speak with real users who are looking for a house and what that experience is like for them. I also thought that it would be satisfying to try to tackle even a small part of the entire house hunting experience.
This brings us back to the question- could a competitor come in and offer a better search experience? I believe this is a strong possibility. There is the potential for a loss of the future user base if the UX is not improved (particularly next gen who expect high quality UX). Daft has a base of loyal customers and is top of Irish people's mind when it comes to property searching-however it needs to put itself in the shoes of the everyday house hunter in Ireland and prioritize their needs to remain competitive in the market.
Deliver
How do other property searching apps help users to search and refine their search?
I analyzed 6 property app competitors across Europe (Funda,Zoopla, Idealista, Immoscout, Myhome.ie and Airbnb).
Platform location search options vary (1-5), e.g., Immoscout (2) and Daft (4).
Less is more: Immoscout's streamlined approach offered clarity and flexibility.
What I found
Various platforms offer diverse filter inputs. Zoopla stood out with its intuitive use of icons and well-structured filter hierarchy, making the search process refreshing and effortless.
Mixed ease in saving property searches and sophistication in the returning search journey (Easy to save and personalise a search on Funda).
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