Midi A Assignment: Protocol Analysis

I am Nicola Martin and I work as a Market Research Analyst at Bluestone Research, Inc.

Bluestone is a technology driven marketing research firm that works to provide forthcoming

consumer insights to the world’s largest agencies and brands. In order to collect our data, we

conduct a wide array of studies to further understand consumer behavior in any given market.

Specifically, this analysis will focus on asos.com, an online UK-based fashion retailer

targeted towards young adults. I conducted my initial research of the website on 10/28/2021 and

10/29/2021 at 12:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. respectively. I closely examined the website by looking

at the overall ease of use, this entailed surveying their available filters as they carry a large

catalog of items. Moreover, I looked at their available payment and return/exchange options and

where relevant information was linked on the website. I conducted my protocol analysis with my

participant on 10/30/2021 at 5:30 p.m. My participant is Deborah Martin, a 23-year-old Policy

Analyst at the Florida College Access Network, she is also my older sister. I used the Otter

application on my iPhone to have my participant record their thoughts as they navigated the

website, and later have a transcription of their responses. In addition, my participant took

screenshots during the analysis to demonstrate their opinions. I sat beside the participant as the

analysis was conducted in order to view their screen, respond to any of their concerns, and to ask

them questions as my phone recorded the study.

Pictured here: Deborah Martin

Research Objectives:

• Highlight the flaws of asos.com that users may encounter and add to a negative

experience with the website

• Demonstrate what asos.com has done right with their website

• Formulate recommendations for Asos on how they can improve their website

The website clearly caters to a younger demographic, as shown with its contemporary

design complimented by bold neon colors. There is a distinct theme of focus on youthfulness or

trendiness. It uses celebrities popular among young adults and teenagers to engage consumers.

Additionally, as the respondent noted, many of the pictures used throughout the website are very

“Instagram-ready” and flashy. Through my follow-up questions, the respondent revealed that

overall she really liked the simple design of the website and found it to be visually appealing and

memorable.
 Another reoccurring theme presented in the analysis, is that of the overwhelming catalog.

The respondent noted the vast quantity of items for sale and the filters available, however, in

some instances found them to be pointless. The four-column layout was also limiting as it made

browsing the website even more challenging for the respondent.

The respondent also noted the frequent “disruptive” wait times for new items to load, which

made browsing the large catalog harder. For instance, there are nearly 12,000 items in this first

screenshot, which is from when the respondent was browning women’s tops, it is easy to see

why this could pose a challenge.

The last theme presented in the study is the website’s focus on price. Sale prices are

scattered all throughout the website and shown off extensively. This makes it easier for price-

conscious consumers to find deals they will not get elsewhere. The sale prices are clearly marked

and are mixed in with regular-priced items which is uncommon for retailers. There are also

thousands of items currently on sale, 4,415 items to be exact, which positions asos.com as a

budget-friendly option for those looking for inexpensive clothing.

 Ultimately, the wide variety of on-trend items available for purchase on asos.com will

keep attracting millions of users globally. However, there are some improvements that could be

made to improve the user experience, and eventually promote higher customer spending,

browsing times, and loyalty. There should be an option to modify how many items are displayed

at a time, similar to what can be found on other retailers’ websites- and not just how many are

displayed per page, but per column as well. The respondent noted a challenge on getting to

browse through all the available merchandise and would have appreciated the option to change

four items per column to eight items or ten, for example. Enabling the user the option to preload

more items could alleviate the frequent loading breaks in between pages of merchandise, which

poses a barrier from the consumer getting to browse all available items. A “quick-view” option

could also be implemented so the user can see all the pictures and relevant details of an item with

one-click instead of having to open another tab, which could become cumbersome if the user is
looking at many items at a time- which the website would want as this consumer behavior

increases sales.

Appendix:

*This is the direct transcription taken from the Otter application of what the respondent stated as

they browsed the website.*

It loaded fast

and it all looks very bright.

It looks like something I would see on Instagram.

Like a lot of this is very much reminding me of what I see people post on Instagram. It looks

trendy

definitely very on trend.

The colors are very bright

the pictures they use look a lot like Instagram posts I see on my explore page

they have the monthly payment for PayPal

I see they have some skincare stuff

I didn't realize they sold skincare

they actually have some brands that I like, such as The Ordinary or Olaplex which is nice to see.

I didn't know they had that.

Oh they also sell Mac some nails

the thumbnail pictures are nice

I do wish that some of them would have a quick view option.

Actually, none of them have the Quick View option on here, which makes it a little harder

Especially for something a little bit more simple. Like a skincare or makeup or makeup

they have sale at the top which is nice to see if you're looking for something on sale

there's a lot of categories sort through

it is a little bit overwhelming

yeah, there's really a lot here

I do like that you can sort from price

again, there's no quick view here

the pictures they use are nice. So, it's easy to see what they're selling.

But I do wish that there is a quick view just I could scroll through the things I like a little bit

faster

there's a lot of items there's really a lot here.

I think there should be like a thumbnail for each clothing category. I see they haven't and some

of them but in clothing they don't and I feel like it would work much better here.
Actually the filters feel pointless at times because there’s still too much to scroll through here

Like in dresses, I think I should be able to see more items at a time

The loading is way too frequent and can be disruptive

I see they have work attire here.

I see that I can make an account here

there's nothing really here for me to make an account, but it's at least at the top and makes it

easy.

I like that I can sort through the brands of shoes

I see that they have designer.

But it's a little weird in this section because

I thought that designer would mean something else. But in here it's just their own. Brand.

So it's a little misleading.

I do like that they share what the model is wearing.

And their own measurements. It makes it easier for me to know what size I need, which is

usually kind of hard to do online.

Unfortunately there's not a lot of dresses here that have reviews

which is unfortunate because it's kind of hard to tell the quality

I see that there's also size guide which is nice.

Again, that also makes it easy. I just don't it's hard to tell what kind of quality you're getting.
Which is something I struggle with usually online like it looks different in the picture and then

once you actually get it it's quite different which is unfortunate.

They sell some items which look very like mean kind of stuff.

There is a lot of categories and the accessories

it's kind of difficult to go through

I do like some other business clothes. I just wish it was represented more

I think it's hard to see what exactly they have and not a lot of it is modeled that well.

I think it's definitely a little off base for business attire.

But it seems like they don't focus too much on that maybe because I don't see it anywhere. else.

I like that there's a lot of different types of models, wearing the clothes, it's nice to see

them wearing something.

Women in different shapes it makes it kind of easier to envision the clothes on you.

I definitely see a lot of models of different sizes and ethnicities

which is nice to see.