Enhancing Search and Ticket Purchasing for Skiddle (Redesign Concept)

We’re continually seeking ways to improve the user experience in everyday apps. As part of a new concept project, our team has been working to rethink two critical components of the Skiddle platform: the search functionality and the ticket purchasing flow. Our goal was simple – create a smoother, more intuitive experience that empowers users to find and book the events they love easily.

Is there really a problem with Skiddle? Actually, it’s simply behind.

Skiddle, while popular for event discovery, faces issues with its search functionality and ticket purchasing. Users often encounter inaccurate or irrelevant search results, limited filtering options, and slow loading times, making it hard to find specific events. Additionally, some events may not show up in search results at all.

When purchasing tickets, users have reported a confusing checkout process, with ticket availability sometimes changing mid-purchase and unclear options for different ticket types, leading to frustration and delays. These issues can impact the overall user experience on the platform.

As proper music fans, we decided to take on a challenge of improving the platform, which allows us to see our favourite bands live.

Improving Search Functionality: More Efficient, More Relevant

When users come to Skiddle, they expect to quickly find events matching their preferences. Search functionality plays a vital role in shaping that experience. According to research from the Nielsen Norman Group (NN Group), one of the leading voices in user experience

“Users want search to be easy, predictable, and responsive to their needs. People often abandon sites that don’t deliver relevant results fast enough.”

Taking this insight to heart, we’ve been focusing on making the Skiddle search feature more responsive and precise. Here’s how:

• Predictive Search: We’ve introduced smarter, context-aware suggestions to help users find what they’re looking for even if they’re unsure of the exact name or spelling. This reduces the time and effort spent searching, making the journey more fluid.
• Improved Filtering: Users should be able to filter results more intuitively, narrowing down by categories like location, date, genre, and even event type. This level of customisation ensures that search results are tailored to each user’s specific needs and preferences.
• Better Search Algorithms: Enhanced algorithms can refine how event data is displayed, ensuring that the most relevant and popular events rise to the top, minimising user frustration.

Once users find an event they’re excited about, the next critical step is securing their tickets. Any friction in this process can result in abandoned carts and missed opportunities, both for event-goers and organisers. To solve this, we have redesigned the ticket purchasing flow focusing on usability and efficiency.

Enhancing the Ticket Purchasing Flow

According to NN Group’s usability research, an optimal checkout flow should minimise user confusion and present all critical information upfront. Based on these principles, here are the key improvements we’ve integrated:

1. Streamlined Data Entry: We’ve reduced unnecessary fields and included auto-fill capabilities, allowing users to breeze through checkout without repeating information. For returning users, stored preferences can speed up the process even more.
2. Multiple Payment Options: Flexibility is crucial. We’ve integrated a variety of payment methods, from traditional credit and debit cards to newer options like digital wallets, ensuring users can choose their preferred method with ease.
3. Transparent Fees: Unexpected costs are a major source of frustration for users. To address this, we’ve made all fees visible from the start, ensuring users know the total price before they even begin the payment process.
4. Mobile Optimisation: With so many users booking tickets on the go, we’ve focused heavily on making the ticket purchasing flow fully optimized for mobile devices. The process is now just as seamless on a phone as it is on a desktop.

Why it matters to invest in quality search functionality?

Skiddle’s core mission has always been to connect people with events they love, and these improvements are part of an ongoing commitment to ensuring we offer the best experience possible.

By focusing on enhancing the search functionality, users can now find events faster and more precisely, without the frustration of irrelevant results or clunky filters. Meanwhile, our reimagined ticket purchasing flow eliminates unnecessary friction, making it quicker and easier to complete a purchase, reducing cart abandonment rates and increasing customer satisfaction.

What’s Next for Skiddle?

While these updates are just a concept project, we’re excited about the possibilities they present. By staying rooted in user experience best practices and learning from the most respected research in the field, like the work of NN Group, we’re confident that our concepts would help users discover and enjoy more events, effortlessly. And who knows, maybe Skiddle would like to redesign their product? If so, we’re here to help, and in a meantime check out Alethic case study with extensive search functionality.

Stay tuned for more updates as we develop new design concepts and share recent case studies!

References

• Nielsen Norman Group (NN Group). The Role of Search in UX. NNGroup.com.
• NN Group. Designing Effective Checkout Processes. NNGroup.com.