User Research on Interactions for Shopping Apps in XR 

Exploring User Interaction with 3D Furniture Models in XR Shopping Apps

The rise of extended reality (XR) technologies has opened up new possibilities for enhancing the online shopping experience by by creating virtual simulations for users to interact with a product.

As a XR Designer, I embarked on a journey to investigate user interaction with 3D furniture models in an XR environment, focusing specifically on user behavior when browsing through a saved items list on a furniture shopping app.

My team and I aimed to leverage XR as a tool to interact with 3D models and information, applying real-world interactions and visuals. Ultimately, the study investigates mental models about interaction in XR and tries to align user expectations by reducing the gap between 3D models and real product.

If you want to read the full case study, please visit medium below.

Team

Jiho Kim(XR Designer)
1 UX Researcher
4 Designers

Duration

9 months

Tools

Figma
Spline

Skills

Literature Review

Qualitative Interviews

Rapid Ideation

Rapid Prototyping

Evaluative Research

Spatial Design

Context

Establishing Mental Models for XR Interactions

Determining whether to use augmented reality (AR) is a complex decision for any business. Factors such as development costs, finding appropriate use cases, and maintaining the technology have dissuaded many brands from creating AR experiences.

However, 56% of shoppers surveyed by NielsenIQ said that AR gives them more confidence about the quality of a product, and 61% said they prefer to shop with retailers that offer AR experiences.

Despite the potential for immersive exploration, novice users often encounter problems such as navigating through their list and searching for a specific item when using AR applications for browsing saved items during online shopping[1].


  1. "The Challenges of User Experience Design for Augmented Reality in eCommerce" by Eleonora Ibragimova (2020).

Research

Analyzing the Competition

To understand how existing products function in the market, we conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis. We examined the unique solutions offered by each company, ranging from virtual showrooms and LiDAR scanning to XR camera integration and floor plan templates.

Detailed Competitive Analysis can be found here↗️

Identifying the Problem

Based on initial secondary research, we started off with an assumption that most novice users are confused, mostly due to a general the lack of intuitive organization and clear visual cues leaves them feeling lost in virtual products.

Empathize on users

Gain hands-on experience by trying out existing XR shopping ourselves

Interviews with real users

Engage in conversations with real users who use XR or AR features to buy furniture

Mapping Out the Issues

I utilized the Affinity mapping and 2x2 matrix.
We approached the problem statement by reframing it as questions to brainstorm study design. This method enabled us to concentrate on specific aspects of the problem statement.

Narrowing down 3 main problems

Through background research with competitive analysis and affinity map, we identified three main problems of furniture shopping services:

Research Question

Asking the Questions

To tackle these challenges head-on, I formulated two key research questions.

01

How do users perceive and navigate the 3D perspective in an XR environment when browsing through a list of 3D furniture items?

02

How can the gap between user expectations (visual design and interaction) and the actual representation of 3D furniture models be minimized in an XR environment?

Ideation

Bringing Ideas to Life

With these questions, I deep dive into the prototyping phase. Using Spatial.io, I created medium-fidelity prototypes that brought my designs to life in a 3D environment.

Browsing a 2D item list

Browsing a 3D item list

Connect to Content

Add layers or components to swipe between.

Browsing a 3D item list

Browsing a 3D item list

Connect to Content

Add layers or components to swipe between.

Perceiving detailed information

Browsing a 3D item list

Connect to Content

Add layers or components to swipe between.

User test

Testing with Real Users

To validate my designs, I facilitate usability testing sessions with participants who had no prior experience with XR glasses.

we set up an test sesstion that our participants navigate and interact with our XR prototypes in a 3D environment using meta quest, providing them with a hands-on experience of our designs.

Think-Aloud Sessions (Digital Mockup)

During these sessions, participants were encouraged to verbalize their impressions, thoughts, and experiences while viewing the prototypes in the 3D environment.

A Two-Part User Challenge

Participants were given two specific tasks to complete:

1. Explore and compare our 2D prototype and 3D furniture list, allowing us to assess the usability and effectiveness of our designs.
2. View detailed information about 3D furniture, enabling us to evaluate the clarity and comprehensiveness of the product information provided.

Post-Interview

We conducted semi-structured interviews to uncover their expectations and desires by diving deeply into participants' past furniture shopping experiences.

Participants shared their thoughts on the ease of understanding and navigating our prototypes.

data analysis

Uncovering Insights

With the thematic analysis, we grouped data via affinity mapping. The process included data familiarization (interview review), coding (data breakdown), and theme identification.

Our thematic analysis from notion

The process resulted in two main themes:

3D interaction design in the XR environment

3D and UI design in detailed pages

findings

Leveraging the Power of XR

With the thematic analysis, we grouped data via affinity mapping. The process included data familiarization (interview review), coding (data breakdown), and theme identification.

01

With the thematic analysis, we grouped data via affinity mapping. The process included data familiarization (interview review), coding (data breakdown), and theme identification.

  • The research shows that users want to place 3D models within their surroundings in an XR environment unlike existing 2D furniture shopping.

  • Users expect to see the realistic size and material of the 3D furniture to match them to real surroundings.

  • Implement a UI that demonstrates the actual size of the furniture through simple interactions (tap, swipe, etc.). & Displays the measurements of ratio scales in numerical value

We saw that when a user with no prior experience using AR headset shops, they tend to use familiar hand gestures (e.g., zooming or swiping) in order to locate 3D models.

02

We identified several key points to display the detailed product in an XR environment

Provide product details such as texture or color that users expect to see from the 3D model.

Align the information in the order of importance from 

(1) center (2) top (3) bottom; users showed a pattern of scanning the center of the contents first, then looking at the top and then the bottom.

Reflection

Takeaways

  • Realistic representation (e.g., texture and color) matters to perceiving 3D models in the XR environment.

  • Size demonstration with numerical value helps users’ understanding.

  • Users use mobile-based interactions such as swiping to control XR elements.

  • Due to the field of view, the center objects are noticed faster than the outer ones.

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