this is a shop feature designed for twitch streamers to promote their products and affiliate items.
role
- ux researcher
- ui designer
- ux designer
scope
- deliver a feature for twitch, an existing app
- minimum viable product (mvp) in 80 hours
twitch is a live streaming platform intended to where users can watch others play video games or engage in various activities in real-time.
viewers can watch these streams in real-time and interact with the streamers through chat messages. it is a popular destination for gaming enthusiasts, esports fans, and creators to connect and share content.
twitch streamers struggle to effectively monetize their content due to the complexity of existing monetization options, competition, and unclear pathways to sustainable income, resulting in frustration, limited financial growth, and potential barriers to content creation sustainability.
the first goal of the research is to find important data and tips for how an explorer/discovery page should be structured and utilized. the second goal is to understand the needs and pain points of users who will be utilizing the feature and product as a whole.
- interviewed 4 participants ranging from ages 23-36
- 1 woman, 3 men
- all texas residents
- 1 in person interview, 3 on a video call
initially, i went into the user interviews with my hypothesis being focused on viewers wanting to discover more streamers through a means of a discovery feature. after my first interview, i received feedback that as a viewer, there are not that many pain points or needs at all, but streamers definitely carry that burden.
my participant suggested a feature that could help streamers with monetization since twitch does not have a heavy emphasis on that aspect. i tweaked my questions to also ask the next participants how they would feel about some kind of incorporation of a “shop” streamers could have that has the products they use in it. viewers can browse and purchase through an affiliate link which will help streamers receive money. i managed to interview 2 streamers which did enjoy this idea a lot, and preferred it to the live discovery feature.
all participants wanted to see an improvement in discovery and support for streamers, whether it be monetary or exposure wise.
- the streamer participants emphasized a need for more exposure to be found on twitch, primarily for smaller streamers
- the viewer participants wanted to see discoverable content that was already tailored to their needs and interests
- streamers wanted to see more tools/resources they could use for monetization
- streamers felt it was difficult to be discovered due to the oversaturated gaming market
- since it was difficult to be discovered, it made it harder to make money on the platform, especially since it was limited to subscriptions and donations
- viewers did not express as many pain points, they did note sometimes streams would be laggy
- one viewer noted ads are quite long, ranging to about 2 minutes of it being unskippable
- streamers are very passionate about gaming and broadcasting to an audience
- they also love the gaming community, they feel motivated to continue because they make great connections
- viewers love being able to see talented gamers and those who aspire and grow into their streaming career
- they also love being able to interact with streamers, through chat or donating
i chose 4 widely well known platforms that have a live streaming service.
- tiktok has a massive user base and emphasis on virality and discoverability. on the downside, there is limited monetization options for creators and concerns regarding privacy.
- instagram has a great easy to use interface, and integration with other instagram features is seamless. on the downside there is limited discoverability during livestreams and lack of advanced monetization options.
- youtube has diverse monetiztion options for creators and great integration into the youtube platform. on the downside, there is limited discoverability for live streamers, especially smaller channels.
- facebook like youtube, has great integration into the facebook platform and has a wide range of possibilities for content creation. their downside is limited discoverability for new creators and competition for visibilty due to sheer volume of existing content.
pov: i want support in diversifying my revenue streams beyond subscriptions and donations so that i can build a sustainable income and grow my streaming career.
- how might we assist twitch streamers in diversifying their revenue streams beyond subscriptions and donations?
- how might we integrate a feature into the twitch platform, allowing streamers to promote products or services relevant to their content and earn commissions on sales generated through their channels?
this task flow created has two screens that currently exist on twitch, i incorporated the shop flow afterwards based on the guerilla test i performed.
i used this task flow after i figured out the issue streamers had with monetization. this solution would allow viewers to browse a streamer's profile for whatever products they had. i created a seamless checkout experience as well for users to efficiently purchase products after browsing the store.
with these low fidelity wireframes, i started out with a guerilla test to decide between which version to use. the only difference in each version was where exactly the shop would be located.
in the first version, i placed it in the existing tab carousel on the profile page. clicking on the shop page would have a list of items.
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in the second version, the shop page is placed in the area where the social media links are. clicking on it will open up a full shop page.
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- 100% of users chose the second version over the first version
- one user suggested doing a combination of both versions, having a shop tab of featured products and also having a full shop button
- 0 critical errors
for the mid fidelity wireframes, i tried to keep the same consistent theme twitch had in their existing screens. i made sure to replicate the screenshots and the sketches from the low fidelity wireframes.
for this iteration, i added in fake shop data and made sure to use their purple theme color as minimal as possible to keep the same vibe as their existing screens. i incorporated their stream tags as shop tags for different categories and was overall happy with how it came out.
- determine if the user can navigate from the streamer profile to the full shop page
- user can add item to cart successfully
- user can finish check out process successfully
- no pain points during the process/flow
the first task was to add one of the specific streamers' "featured products" to the cart. after successfully adding the item, the second task was to go to their full shop page and add a different item to the cart and proceed to checkout.
- interviewed 4 participants ranging from ages 22-28
- 3 women, 1 man
- all texas residents
- 1 in person interviews, 3 on a video call
- 100% of users were able to add a featured product to the cart
- 100% of users were able to navigate to the shop page
- 0 critical errors
- 100% of the users were able to proceed to checkout
- 100% of users commented on the UI and ease of use
the usability test originally started with 1 task– adding an item from the shop tab to the cart and proceeding to checkout. i received positive feedback from my first 2 users, deeming the usability test to be successful. wanting to explore more options for this shop feature, i decided to add in the “featured products” suggestion for when streamers are on a livestream, users are able to view items they are currently using and purchase. this feature would be helpful for viewers who are interested in specific items for their own gameplay, as well as drive up revenue for streamers whenever viewers purchase their equipment.
i added new screens to the first iteration and to update the usability test so now there are 2 tasks. the 1st would be to purchase a specific item from the featured products section on the livestream and the 2nd one would be to purchase a specific item from the shop page.
one of the users noted making the text less bold for shop item titles as it was a little too harsh on the eyes. they also suggested adding in reviews for the items so users could see what other people had to say about purchasing things.
after the feedback from the usabilty test, i went ahead and implemented the suggested changes. i added in the new "featured products" button and screens that link to the popup page. i also reduced the text size and made some of the shop titles less bold so it's easier on the eyes. i also included a star rating review for each item to make it more reliable for users to see what reviewers had to say.
being able to create a new feature, especiallly for twitch was extremely fun! i enjoyed figuring out pain points, and being able to make new discoveries during the research portion really helped me broaden my thought process and discover more of what actually was an issue versus what i thought was. even during the usability test, i was able to recieve more feedback after adding new additions and i believe that really helped with the idea that we can always be evolving and iterating a product to make it better for users.
i believe this shop feature will help streamers with revenue. they will be able to add their own and affiliate products that will drive more users to follow and purchase items.
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