Monetization

Paying Bills in Local Currencies in
Shopify Admin Centre

overview

A retention initiative featuring a re-designed self-serve tool specifically for International Merchants.

Shopify Subscription Bills

In countries and regions where local currency billing is supported, Shopify issues bills in a local currency instead of in USD. When your bills are issued in your local currency, it can reduce the amount that you pay in currency exchange fees. In addition, you can predict some recurring expenses, such as your Shopify subscription, more easily because they are priced at a set cost in your local currency.

User Pain Points

During 2022, the local billing option was implemented in various countries and regions. Although it was expected to be a straightforward process, our merchant support team received numerous complaints. Merchants faced challenges while navigating this feature in the admin interface and required assistance from our support team.

Problem Statement

How might we enable merchants to independently modify their billing currency without requiring assistance from the support team?

Solution & Impact

The redesign was officially launched in the 2023 Q2 and has achieved success based on the following metrics:
- The task completion success rate saw a remarkable improvement, surging from ??% to ??%.
- The level of user satisfaction measured for the experience witnessed a substantial increase of ??%.
- The number of tickets pertaining to this feature received by the support team decreased by ??%.

Design Process

(Quantitative Research)

Performance Analysis

I conducted a performance analysis on the current feature dialogue using quantitative research methods, specifically focused on user behaviours regarding Call-to-Action elements. The study involved utilizing back-end data to track user activities from the feature's launch date to specific demographics.

Having gained insights into users' needs to seek more information before making changes to their accounts, the next step involved conducting qualitative research to ascertain the specific aspects merchants are interested in learning more about.

(Qualitative Research)

User Frustrations

Leveraging Shopify's internal User Frustration Platform, I systematically aggregated all complaints related to this feature. Employing the Infinity Diagram technique facilitated the sorting process, and the ensuing findings are succinctly outlined in the following three points.

(User Journey)

Prioritization

Despite the project's limited scope, the design was confined to the mentioned dialogue. However, I managed to extrapolate a more comprehensive user journey and collaborated with other teams responsible for various touch points within this mapping. This strategic approach allowed me to effectively persuade my project manager to prioritize the issue, consequently influencing the organization's roadmap.

(Use Cases)

UX Workshops with Stakeholders

Utilizing the user flow I constructed, I conducted multiple rounds of design critique workshops, engaging key stakeholders such as the PM Lead, Engineer Lead, Customer Support Partner, Content Designer, and UX Manager. Drawing upon the expertise of each participant in their respective domains, I iteratively refined the flow, culminating in the final user flow showcased below, encompassing both system decisions and user-centric considerations.

Design Explorations

Refining through Iterative Feedback from Critique Groups

After conducting multiple rounds of iterations based on valuable feedback from critique groups, my design explorations resulted in significant improvements.

Throughout the process, I actively involved stakeholders, particularly the design system team (Polaris), and maintained transparent communication with them. While we couldn't incorporate the timeline components (see Version 2) that are used in the Shopify Checkout directly into this design, we preserved the concept for a related project (Mobile Plan Checkout Experience Revamp).

By strategically leaving a mark on the roadmap, we paved the way for its universal implementation across any aspect related to time and billing in the Plans & Monetization domain.

Final Design

Bridging Usability Testing, Engineering Synergy, and Enhanced Merchant Experience

Through extensive usability testing, I crafted the final design, ensuring seamless synchronization with the engineering team.

This refined design effectively addressed all user frustrations gathered from our comprehensive research efforts in the earlier stage. As a result, merchants now benefit from a clear understanding of their currency options, expectations, and the change timeline.

My approach in the earlier stages emphasized a clear distinction between system and user choices, enabling the engineering team to swiftly develop a compelling demo for the development review process. The efficient use of time on this project allowed the team to expedite progress on a higher-priority endeavor, the "Shopify 2023 New Pricing Structure," ahead of schedule.

Impact

The implementation of the redesigned feature yielded significant improvements in user experience metrics. Notably, the task completion success rate witnessed a remarkable surge, escalating from a modest 2?% to an impressive ??%. This notable enhancement highlights the effectiveness of the design alterations in streamlining user interactions and facilitating successful task executions.

Furthermore, the impact analysis revealed a noteworthy reduction in the number of support tickets related to this feature. The decrease in user queries seeking assistance indicates the successful alignment of the redesign with Shopify's commitment to serving entrepreneurs with the utmost efficiency. By empowering users to navigate the feature autonomously, the support team's workload was significantly eased, allowing them to focus on more complex issues and deliver a heightened level of support to merchants.