Rethinking Audible Subscription / November 2023
We were challenged by our teachers to improve the subscription and cancellation process of a service of our choice.
Looking at products we knew, Audible had an immense potential. With a vast library on audiobooks and podcasts spanning various genres, there was room for improvements in connecting people with content that speaks to their interests. Although the content was there and available to people, Audible failed to captivate users with a personalised experience from the first interaction.
Following a design thinking approach, we set out to discover what’s the current experience Audible is providing their users.
Looking at products we knew, Audible had an immense potential. With a vast library on audiobooks and podcasts spanning various genres, there was room for improvements in connecting people with content that speaks to their interests. Although the content was there and available to people, Audible failed to captivate users with a personalised experience from the first interaction.
Following a design thinking approach, we set out to discover what’s the current experience Audible is providing their users.
Empathise
We met with 5 people and sat down to interview and test the current usability of the platform, then gathered insights under 4 topics
The usability tests showed us that
5/5 were able to successfully subscribe to the free trial in 4 steps total. This process was made easy by Amazon account.
5/5 were able to successfully subscribe to the free trial in 4 steps total. This process was made easy by Amazon account.
The cancellation was where we saw people confused, having to move to the desktop to cancel their subscription, and trying different sub-menus until reaching the correct one to cancel. 1 out of 4 stopped one step before concluding the cancellation and assumed it was already done.
Define
Users need captivating recommendations to have easy access to personalised content that is aligned with their interests.
Ideate
With this context we moved to our lo-fi wireframes.
The goal was to have an immersive onboarding experience where new users build their profiles as they get to know Audible, enhancing their experience and making audiobooks a habit people find time for.
The goal was to have an immersive onboarding experience where new users build their profiles as they get to know Audible, enhancing their experience and making audiobooks a habit people find time for.
Usability tests with new process
On the onboarding process, every user completed the necessary actions to subscribe the service.
There were also key feedback points shared (some of which I later incorporated in the prototype shared below):
“Recommendations would shorten the browsing time and I could use my time more efficiently”
“Goals are useful to get into the habit but I can get overwhelmed with notifications”
“We should have the option to skip the questions, jump to the main page, and complete them at a later stage”
All users were able to successfully cancel their subscriptions.
On the onboarding process, every user completed the necessary actions to subscribe the service.
There were also key feedback points shared (some of which I later incorporated in the prototype shared below):
“Recommendations would shorten the browsing time and I could use my time more efficiently”
“Goals are useful to get into the habit but I can get overwhelmed with notifications”
“We should have the option to skip the questions, jump to the main page, and complete them at a later stage”
All users were able to successfully cancel their subscriptions.
Prototype
