Design Research | January 2022

Designergatan helped increase the sales conversion rate of HalpaHalli’s online store by more than 20%.

The purpose of usability research is to find out what kind of problems customers may run into while using digital services. With the help of accurate and professional usability research, services can be designed to be more user-friendly – and thus more efficient. High-quality usability research focuses only on real, concrete usability problems, not on the analysis of theoretical problem areas. “The information the report provides must always be easily applicable on a practical level. It is important to locate the problems that cause companies loss of profit or even damage the company image, when potential customers do not get what they need,” says Herman Talvitie, founder of Designergatan.

Designergatan’s usability research is carried out with the help of a list of specific tasks performed by a carefully selected test group. The user’s session is then analyzed, the deficiencies are carefully documented and prioritized according to the problems’ severity. The test report lists all usability issues – the most severe issues are those that cause a direct loss of income or other severe problems to the business. Usability research makes it possible to identify those areas of service that prevent or significantly slow down the use of the service for any real user.

For the customer, the report is in an easy-to-understand format and immediately applicable on a practical level. “The purpose of usability research is not to find out whether or not the service was initially well done, but to ensure that those who are working on it can keep doing their job well,” Talvitie explains.

“I immediately noticed that Designergatan wasn’t only trying to sell us something – they actually want to help!”

HalpaHalli wanted to analyze the functionality of their online store and map out its possible needs for development. “When Designergatan first contacted us, we were genuinely interested in hearing more about the usability research Designergatan offers,” says Online Store Manager at HalpaHalli, Tapani Mustonen. “From the beginning, Herman had a customer-oriented perspective, and we discussed the overall picture of the state of HalpaHalli’s online services and the possible needs for development related to it. I immediately noticed that Designergatan wasn’t only trying to sell us something – they actually want to help!”

Tapani Mustonen is responsible for the online store’s selection as well as digital advertising. Mustonen has worked in retail for 25 years in different positions.

The collaboration with Designergatan began with an overview of the overall situation. HalpaHalli expressed that they wanted the online store’s checkout to be more accessible and simpler. “We wanted to know where our customers might get stuck when visiting our online store – this question was then answered with the help of the usability research,” Mustonen says. In addition, the usability research focused on the search functions and their efficiency, signing up and registration as well as a few other functionalities that Designergatan suggested to be tested.

“We were effortlessly able to agree on a realistic set of services. We defined how the usability research should be done and we then built the schedules, frameworks, and budget around it. After this was done, the decision was easy to make and everything worked smoothly,” Mustonen explains.

“The report offered us complete information about our online store’s functionality that we were immediately able to put into practice as a concrete list of prioritized tasks. Thus, things were taken forward to our developers.”

Mustonen says that the results of the usability research were thoroughly explained in the report, and the results were also gone through together with Designergatan. “The report offered us complete information about our online store’s functionality that we were immediately able to put into practice as a concrete list of prioritized tasks, and we were able to take things forward to our developers,” Mustonen explains. “The prioritized list of the usability issues is an excellent addition to the report – some of the things that came up in the report were high on the priority list and needed to be fixed right away. The report also identified problem areas that were lower on the priority list. All of this made our job easier, too.”

“The usability research definitely paid for itself.”

With the help of the report, HalpaHalli received concrete development recommendations for their online store’s processes. The usability research was primarily used for long-term development, but it also provided HalpaHalli with areas that can be developed rapidly. “The rest was put on the to-do-list,” Mustonen states. “We got a good understanding of the development areas with the help of the report and immediately knew how they can be implemented. The usability research definitely paid for itself.”

On a practical level, HalpaHalli has been able to put the results of the usability research into practice by improving the online store’s search function to be easier for the user to follow. The registration process was also examined, and the shopping basket functions were improved – how products are added to the shopping basket and how more products can then be offered to the customer, for example. With the help of the accurate report, the production information cards were improved by touching up their small but important functionalities, such as the add to basket button’s location and color. According to Mustonen, the usability research clearly improved the online store’s functionality on a concrete level. The checkout’s stages were optimized, and the effects are clearly positive. “The customer doesn’t drop out of the purchase funnel but finalizes their purchase instead,” Mustonen says.

“Our sales conversion rate has increased by more than 20% because our online store visitors complete their purchases more often than before. This is a clear sign of success.”

After having fixed the deficiencies that came up during the usability research, the search function of HalpaHalli’s online store works better than before. The company has now been able to better control the website traffic and buying behavior. “Our conversion rate has increased by more than 20% because our online store visitors complete their purchases more often than before. This is a clear sign of success,” Mustonen sums up.

“The report was easy to understand, and the usability tests were recorded, which was a great addition to it. We were able to see the problem areas and understand the user better. Multiple times during the review of the report, we realized that our online store wasn’t as easy to use as we had assumed. The written part of the report was a ready to-do-list for us, and we were able to pick up tasks that we could give to our programming team as well as our developer partner. So, the list was very concrete. With the help of the links in the report, we were able to locate the problem areas. The report was very practical and showed us the exact problem area, for example, ‘the third button on the navigation bar,’ ” Mustonen explains.

“We appreciate the fact that Designergatan didn’t just try to sell quick solutions or anything irrelevant. We only discussed topics that were relevant to us, and that was it. We felt like we were on the same page with Designergatan and everything was discussed in a very clear manner. The frameworks we agreed upon were followed and the project was realistic to move forward with.”

HalpaHalli finds that the service provided by Designergatan was very professional. “We are satisfied with Designergatan’s expertise. We appreciate the fact that Designergatan didn’t just try to sell quick solutions or anything irrelevant. We only discussed topics that were relevant to us, and that was it. We felt like we were on the same page with Designergatan and everything was discussed in a very clear manner. The frameworks we agreed upon were followed and the project was realistic to move forward with.

Mustonen enjoys his job as Online Store Manager at HalpaHalli. “In our collaboration with Designergatan and in my job in general, it’s wonderful to see development steps, whether they’re big or small. We’re constantly learning and at the same time, if you never do anything, you can never learn from your mistakes. What’s even better is getting to congratulate yourself when you notice that you’ve made the right choices and the hard work pays off.”

“HalpaHalli – so that everyone can enjoy their everyday life!”

HalpaHalli is a family business with a history of over 50 years. HalpaHalli has stores in 35 cities in Finland. The company has 35 physical stores as well as an online store. Their slogan ‘HalpaHalli – so that everyone can enjoy their everyday life!’ is what HalpaHalli is all about – offering everyday products for their customers. The company sells food, utilities, and consumer goods at affordable prices, all under the same roof. The company has 1500 employees and a revenue of around 350 million euros. The company has its headquarters – central warehouse and management – in Kokkola, Finland.