Sent enquiries 2.0
I led the redesign of “Sent enquiries”, a tool within Rightmove – the UK’s leading property search platform. My role was to identify opportunities to improve the experience for users while addressing a key business challenge: How can we increase user retention on Rightmove after they’ve sent a lead to an estate agent?
Role
Senior Product Designer
Domain
Proptech B2C
Duration
April – June 2023
Team
Product Manager, Engineers, QA
Context
Sent enquiries is a tool within Rightmove that helps users track and manage their enquiries to estate agents about properties they’re interested in. The business desire to evolve the tool stemmed from Rightmove’s goal to expand beyond just property search and establish itself as the go-to platform for the entire moving process.
Problem
The original version was a static list showing contacted properties, messages sent, notes and images. Despite 40K active monthly users, its limited functionality led to low engagement. A Hotjar survey on the existing page revealed that users wanted a better way of organising their enquiries, rather than just a static list.
Goals
Help users to organise and manager their enquiries while encouraging them to return to Rightmove beyond their search phase
- Add property categorisation
Allow users to organise their properties in a way that brings clarity to the process
- Improve user retention
Add meaningful functionality that keeps users engaged beyond their initial enquiry
- Gather data on the moving process
Design the tool to capture user journey data in order to personalise experiences
- Bring in the sunshine
Craft a tool that adds moments of delight in what is typically a stressful process
Final solution
Sent enquiries now enables users to organise their properties based on their stage in the moving process, providing both better organisation and a clear visual representation of their progress. As users move through the stages, Rightmove gains deeper insights into their journey, allowing for more targeted tools and personalised experiences elsewhere on site.
Performance
– 8% increase in visits
– 12 second increase in time on page
– 37% of users have changed the status of a property
– 20% improvement in bounce rate
– 74% liked or loved it
Research
Our goal was to help users categorise their enquiries in a way that reflected their moving journey and help them keep organised. I mapped out potential statuses for both buying and renting, then conducted a card sorting test to identify the most useful categories. I worked with my Product Manager to refine this list, making sure it captured key stages of the journey while remaining simple.
Buying statuses
– Enquiry sent – Offer rejected
– Viewed – Purchased STC
– Made an offer – Moved in
– Offer accepted
Renting statuses
– Enquiry sent – Offer rejected
– Viewed – Contract signed
– Made an offer – Moved in
– Offer accepted
Organising the list
After brainstorming various ways or organising users lists of enquiries with my team, I decided to focus on two of our preferred methods – organising it by time or status. I made prototypes of both approached and tested them with existing users of the tool. How might we order the list of enquiries? Our answer: By status.
Designing scalable navigation
I led a design workshop to engage the rest of the team and explore how users could interact with the list. Each designer focused on a specific aspect, such as how properties transition through categories or how users can hide and discard properties.
The two strongest concepts from the workshop explored organising properties using a side panel or tabs. To validate these ideas I ran a comparison test and found that mobile users preferred tabs, whilst desktop users preferred the side panel. Due to scalability concerns and limitations with horizontal scrolling on desktop, we opted for a hybrid approach. How might we present the categorised list in a way that works across devices? Our answer: A hybrid approach – tabs on mobile and a side panel on desktop
Property card IA
I refined the property cards by running another card sort to determine information hierarchy. Key details were placed on the cards themselves, mid-tier information went into a modal one click away and low priority elements were removed. Users needs within the tool changed according to where they were in their moving journey, to reflect this I introduced a larger card layout that prioritised the address of the property over price once they were past the offer accepted stage.
Dealing with highs and lows
To avoid creating a “sad property graveyard,” I removed the “offer rejected” category and instead introduced an archive option. To bring moments of joy, I added celebratory micro-interactions such as a confetti burst when the property reaches the offer accepted stage. I also refined animations, including dynamic side panel counters and property card hover states.
Maximising value
I introduced the “What happens next” section to provide users with relevant content such as blog articles based on their stage in the moving journey. It also strategically places Rightmove’s ad products – like Mortgage in Principle, broadband and insurance at key decision points. This created an 8% uptick in traffic to Mortgages upon release.
Final design: Page view
Users can now organise their list of enquiries by moving them through the stages that reflect their progress in the moving journey. They can also add notes and archive properties they are no longer interested in.
Final design: Announcements and bulk archive
Users are shown a modal walkthrough of the new update. Returning users searching for a new property after a break can bulk archive past enquiries for a fresh start in the tool.
Outcomes
- Key metrics reached
We ran a CSAT survey post release which showed that 74% of users liked or loved the update. Time on page increased by 12 seconds and 37% of users engaged with the tool by moving the properties through stages, reflecting improved engagement.
- Sparked the creation of a "moving tools" team
Our work on this project demonstrated to the wider business how they could expand outside of property search and create additional tools that sit within each stage of the moving journey. This led to the split of our team into two – to manage this new area.
Key takeaways
We had a tight timeline to design and build within a quarter, so on this project I engaged with the design team for brainstorming to explore lots of ideas and used my judgement to ditch concepts that weren’t working and push those that were. It’s also really important to leverage tools to get rapid feedback. I ran a few card sorting tests during this project which helped define the hierarchy of elements which enabled me to make informed decisions and keep things moving.