Behind the scenes

How we revamped our product filters

25.3.2020

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

When the software developers from team Stella Polaris took on the project of updating our product filters, they soon realised: this is where it gets down to the nitty-gritty. The time had come to future-proof the tried, tested and much-loved filters. And this did not make everyone happy. At least for now.

Digitec and Galaxus combined feature over three thousand product categories. That’s more than three million articles with over fourteen thousand properties. Especially when it comes to digitec, our long-standing customers know our product filters inside and out. Accordingly, the left column of our online shop is considered holy grounds. With the launch of Galaxus in 2012, many new requirements arose. After all, searching for a sofa or for server components requires a different set of filters.

The old navigation with the products in the left column

From concept to feature

The team got to work with lots enthusiasm. Tackling the first task went smoothly. Mobile filtering went live without any hiccups and is now considerably more user-friendly. Finding the filters is easier and the ones you’re using are visible at all time.

Next up, our developers started working on a desktop version. In several workshops, the team defined their goals: to place filters and products closely together. This makes filter results immediately visible and allows users to adapt them whenever they want. The team also wanted to gain space to create a clearer presentation of the navigation. Any future expansion of the shop would have posed considerable problems to the structure that existed at the time. Because more products equals more properties and additional filter options. Had the old design been kept, the filter column would have grown with no end in sight. Infinite scroll for real, so to speak.

So the team decided to place the filters above the products. On the one hand, this would cater for the intuitive behaviour of the majority of users and could be solved consistently for desktop and mobile use on the other. What’s more, they developed a range slider, which offers a fast and effective way to filter within a defined range (e.g. the size of a TV).

Following weeks of preparation, evaluation and planning, the team went into action mode and entered the arena. But what followed next would set them back.

One user was particularly annoyed: «Fire the one who thought this up! Then, fire whoever didn't stop it. Last but not least, order a 35% pay cut for the entire staff.»

The team seemed to have stirred up a hornets’ nest. Our Community’s comments thread was growing fast. And as if that wasn’t enough, the filters weren’t being used as much as they were before in the most popular categories on digitec. Hon, Christoph and the rest of the team were hit by a wave of almost 20 years of passion for digitec. Our Community members aren’t just your average users. Many of them have been loyal companions to the company and have been buying from us for years. In other words, they know what they’re talking about. It soon dawned on the team that there was a gap between user groups in our shop. The main criticism they were confronted with was that the left column with its clear overview had been removed.

Our developers took the feedback to heart. They still believed in their mission and were looking for solutions that would meet the needs of the different customer groups. Their main focus was on making the filters easy to find and easy to read. Each sprint that followed included new features to improve said criteria. With the «Expand filters» feature, all filters and properties can now be displayed in full-screen mode. Another example is that the filter status moves with the product list when the user is scrolling up and down. This means you always know which filters are active.

Future-proof

After that first shock and the drop in filter use, things stabilised. That was when Claudio, our product specialist from Category Management, also breathed a sigh of relief. «It’s incredibly difficult to meet all needs. But we’re confident that the introduction of the new filters and the adjustments we made based on the feedback from our Community have been an improvement. But above all, we’re now better prepared for future growth in our product range.» The direction of our UX design is clear: focus on what’s essential to make finding products easier. This is done by carefully coordinating the interaction between navigation, product categories, search and filters. The aim is to keep the complexity away from the users and simplify their search for the products they want.

Now that the last technical aspects of the filter initiative have been implemented, the members of team Stella Polaris can take a breather. In the Community thread on the subject, the positive feedback has also increased. Having said that, the team is by no means kicking back. New challenges are waiting to be tackled. The organisms that are digitec.ch and galaxus.ch keep on growing and need to be nurtured and cared for. Watch this space for exciting innovations to come.

How do you use the product filters? Thanks for letting us know in the comments field! In our next blog post, we’ll be taking a closer look at two more features: the range slider and the price filter.

61 people like this article

Patrick McEvily

Communications Manager

patrick.mcevily@digitecgalaxus.ch

Be it at our warehouse in Wohlen, in our shops or among the accountants: In this jungle that is Digitec Galaxus, I swing from vine to vine, combing through the undergrowth on the lookout for juicy stories.

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How we revamped our product filters

From concept to feature

Future-proof

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