Ecodrive
Using research to implement core values for customer acquisition
The Project
Name
Ecodrive
via Harness Projects
Role
UX Researcher
Time
6 weeks
Ecodrive is a for-profit company that partners with online retailers to offset their carbon emissions.
They do this through their "plant-a-tree" model, where a tree is either included or can be added to any order. The planting happens by financing and partnering with local NGOs in the areas in need of reforestation. Their unique selling point is providing consumers and partners the opportunity to track the trees that are planted on their behalf.
Ecodrive was looking for data on whether or not their business model works. They wanted to know if their messaging is successful and if they can drive revenue growth for their eCommerce partners.
Their Core Value Proposition?
Simple. Tangible. Transparent.
RESEARCH PREP
“Are Ecodrive's core values being implemented in a way that speaks to consumers and translates into customer aquistions?”
I began my thinking with evaluating these values and asked:
What’s Working?
The great thing we learned about Ecodrive from the start is that they have strong case studies proving growth for partners who sign on to plant a tree with every order.
Which had me thinking, what about the partners who make it optional?
Research Method 1: Survey
What are people’s donation habits and why?
Recruitment: Participants were recruited from the family and friends of our eight cohort members.
37 participants
14 States and one offshore military base represented
64.9% (24 out of 37) of respondants were female
Adapting to Constraints: In brainstorming the best research methods and questions for this project, I found myself having to reign things in based on budget, time, and the information Ecodrive was able to divulge about some of their future endeavors in the pipeline. This forced me to really distill down what the essential information needed was and to focus in on what was currently happening in the company, rather than future plans which may have sparked my personal interest more.
Trust and personal connection were the overarching themes in donation habits.
Key Takeaways
Our participants primarily chose to donate to causes that they had a personal connection to or elicited an emotional response.
There is a belief in and care for the environment but it seems that limited monetary action is taken to improve it.
This prompted me to ask:
Are people more inclined to contribute to a positive environmental impact in ways outside their wallets? Is there a lack of urgency?
Research Method 2: Partner Audits
EcoDrive offers customization for its partners' sites. This puts a lot of the execution into the hands of partners. The result manifests in different levels of usability success.
Scroll down for a detailed view
Research Method 3: Interviews and Usability Tests
I now wanted to know how users interacted with these checkouts. I conducted remote interviews and usability tests where I had the participants walk me through their impressions of checkout pages of Ecodrive partners.
6 participants
2 participants chose to plant a tree
Potential Biases
Solely recruited from family and friends
All participants were located in the Metro New York Area
4 out of 6 participants make a six-figure salary
Comfortability discussing altruistic habits with others
Website testing started from product listing rather than homepage
Tree planting was mentioned before exploring website
Interview
Participants were asked about their donation habits and asked about expectation and desires when presented with the idea of a company like Ecodrive at checkout.
Storytelling and Connection
". . . being a brand and marketing person, I feel like I most appreciate it when it has something to do with the brand itself . . . So, depending on the product, I feel like if it's related, then I'm more likely [donate]."
Expectations
Q:You have just made an online purchase with a store that plants a tree with every order. What do you expect to happen once the purchase is complete?
"I don't even think about it beyond that point."
". . . if I was donating it in somebody else's name, I would wanna know that that actually happened."
In-Person Pressure
"So I feel like it was at like CVS or Target . . . I feel like I did it in those moments more out of like not wanting to look cheap."
Desires
Q: And you're told that you are going to be able to track the tree that was planted with your purchase. What do you envision that entails and what would you like to know?
"I actually think that's nice to be able to track it. It would be lovely to see a picture . . . when they first put the tree in and then somewhere down the road . . .”
"a tracking number of some sort . . . it'd be cool to have some sort of function that you could do that, but I also don't, I wouldn't see myself actually checking up on that".
Usability Test
Participants were asked to open a link to an Ecodrive partner’s checkout page and share their screen. I then asked them to talk me through their feelings, impressions, and steps they would take when presented with a shopping scenario.
Redirecting Focus
The first two interviewees were shown YesAnd's checkout experience.
There was confusion as to whether the EcoDrive toggle (unchecked) was connected to the other organization offering carbon offset (checked toggle)- or the EcoDrive toggle went completely unseen. In the first instance, they left the carbon offset toggle on and did not turn on the Ecodrive toggle.
After seeing Ecodrive have to compete for space on YesAnd, I transitioned to Avant Wood's checkout for the remainder of the interviews. My reasoning was working under the assumption that most companies would not have additional environmental or charitable partners battling it out for attention. Here 2/4 participants chose to plant a tree.
Simplicity and clear visuals (such as the size of the tree icon), engaged users more
Those who chose not to plant a tree, felt that the cause was too intangible or did not elicit enough of a personal connection.
The two who chose to plant a tree were enticed by and surprised by how low the price to do it was. One interviewee assumed that it was just their total being rounded up.
Synthesis and Feedback
I created this visual to distill down my findings of where Ecodrive is and where it can be headed in regard to its core values.
Toggle that was evaluated
Next Steps
One next step would be to adjusting the current Ecodrive checkout toggle.
Recommendation:
Adjust the current toggle copy to advertise Ecodrive's ability to track trees or that Ecodrive affects more than just the environment.
-Plant a tree
watch it grow with Ecodrive for $0.65-Plant a tree
and create jobs with Ecodrive for $0.65
Recommendation:
Have Ecodrive Hyperlink themselves within the toggle to make it easier for customers to look up the questions that may be keeping them on the fence from planting.
Additional Recommendations:
Multivariate testing with new tags
Offer an audit of partner brands' checkout and site implementation of Ecodrive
Options to choose tree type for more interactivity as Ecodrive's initiatives expand
Option to plant a tree in someone's name
Offer social media posts for partners that choose the opt-in option
Stakeholder Feedback
“The helpful part is one, just calling out we were doing a million things. Yesand, we're close with their founding team and I had no idea their cart was such a nightmare. So, reaching out and like things like that, or even Avantwood, and then the other [thing] that's really helpful, just the confirmation bias, I guess that we always preach simple as best, trying not to get too fancy with it.”
“. . . both actually do plant one tree for every order, and the businesses partner with us directly. And then they have the toggle on there, which is something we don't recommend doing. Interestingly enough, because of the confusion and cloudiness. So that just confirms that which is awesome.”
“The toggle feature has a lot of bugs. It's something we really need to improve we know, so this confirms that and maybe we prioritize that sooner rather than later. A big goal of that is more customization . . . you mentioned the hyperlink, what we want to do, because we don't want to take people away from a cart as they're about to checkout, but a little information bubble. Like, ‘Hey, this is more information.’ “
With this portion of feedback, I was able to learn how to better my recommendations and improve my knowledge in the area for the future.
"You mentioned the trust factor, but then also that some people wouldn't even be interested in the follow up on the tree. I think that that's something that would be interesting to dive in deeper on."