TEAM
2 x Product Manager
2 x Product Designer
Content Designer
MY ROLE
Research Strategy
User Research
UX Flow
DURATION
2 months
THE PROBLEM
The content creation trap
At Zalando Preowned, a secondhand marketplace where sellers send in preloved items and Zalando handles all product content creation—we faced a critical challenge:
Creating product content for each unique item was draining the business. We needed a scalable content strategy that maintains quality while reducing costs.
IMPACT
The new content approach increased profitability by driving up the assortment being sold and decreasing the operational costs.
50%
reduction in content creation cost (€3 → €1.5 per item)
2x
increase in sell-through rate (how fast the inventory moves)
18%
increase in customer satisfaction (product images & information)
MY APPROACH
Mixed-methods research design
The solution would touch both sides of the marketplace. Therefore, we needed to understand the entire content ecosystem and how each content types affect the end-user experience.
I designed a 3-phase study to explore this spectrum:
Phase 1: Understand buyers
Can buyers trust different content sources? What drives purchase decisions?
Phase 2 : Understand sellers
How much effort are sellers willing to invest? Where do they struggle?
Phase 3 : Design & test
Based on insights, design solutions and validate with users
PHASE 1
Understanding buyers: Online 1:1 interviews
What content do buyers actually need?
I ran online interviews with 6 participants, testing different content concepts to understand what builds confidence vs. creates clutter.
What content drives purchase decisions?
Can user-generated content (UGC) work for secondhand?
What's the minimum viable content to prevent returns?
Key finding
Historical product photos created dangerous confusion about item condition.
Participants consistently thought they were buying new items when shown original brand photos (taken when the item was new), creating unrealistic expectations about actual condition.
Design implication
Surface "Preowned" messaging prominently at first glance (not buried later).
Make the condition description unmissable
Clear disclaimer "This shows how the item looked when new. Actual item condition: [Good/Fair/etc.]"
PHASE 2
Understanding sellers: In-person 1:1 interviews
How much effort will sellers invest?
I conducted in-person interviews with 6 sellers, observing them actually create content for items they wanted to sell.
How much effort are sellers willing to invest?
What content can sellers realistically provide?
Where do they struggle in the selling process?
Key finding
Category selection was overly granular, overwhelming sellers
Sellers were willing to put in more effort for expensive items.
Design implication
Reduce category options dramatically. Use smart suggestions based on item photo/brand instead of forcing sellers to classify.
Don't ask for equal effort across all price points. Tier the content requirements: high-value items get detailed flows, low-value items get express flows.
WHAT THE RESEARCH REVEALED
Synthesizing insights into a strategy
After two phases of research, the path forward became clear:
Phase 1 showed: Buyers need clear condition information.
Phase 2 showed: Sellers naturally invest more effort in valuable items and want quick flows for low-value items.
PHASE 3
Designing & testing solutions
Armed with research insights and the content provider framework, I worked with the design team to create and test solutions for the buyer group.
The focus was kept on buyer group first as this would inform what kind of content information we collect in the seller flow.
Based on finding: Transparency builds trust
I collaborated with design and content teams to identify different ways to surface the information to the buyers on Product Detail Page
Iteration through testing: Unmoderated copy testing
60 participants tested the English and German UX Copies
Tested different transparency and trust signal wording
REFLECTIONS
Takeaways
Collaboration with product teams creates better outcomes
This was my first project working closely with product and design throughout the entire process, not just handing off insights at the end. By collaborating from synthesis through testing, research directly shaped decisions. This showed me how embedded research creates clear business impact and measurable user outcomes.
Multi-stakeholder research requires finding natural alignment
I was designing research for different user groups with conflicting needs—sellers wanted speed, buyers wanted detail, operations wanted efficiency. Early on, I treated these as separate research studies. The breakthrough came when I started looking for overlaps. The solution wasn't forcing behavior—it was designing with natural motivations.