The challenge

Understand if Germany’s largest online vehicle marketplace, mobile.de, should start offering electric bicycles (e-bikes). If so, design and launch the experience, in 3 months.

The outcome

A comprehensive discovery that led to implementing e-bikes in a quarter. Resulting in:

• Over 25,000 e-bikes for sale, making mobile.de the largest marketplace for e-bikes in Germany

• A new sales channel and source of revenue for Dealers

• Buyers finding and buying e-bikes

• A new vehicle category for the first time in 17 years on mobile.de

• The beginnings of brand perception change. From outdated to modern and innovative

My role

I led the discovery and design of the entire consumer experience.

I was the go-to person for 5 other Designers when working together to bring the experience live.

The context

Germany’s largest online vehicle marketplace, mobile.de, (AutoTrader being the UK equivalent) became aware that some of their car and motorbike Dealers had started to sell electric bicycles (e-bikes).

Some Dealers indicated that they would welcome the selling support if mobile.de decided to offer e-bikes on the platform.

Identified as an opportunity, myself, a Product Manager and a Business Development Manager were asked to investigate the feasibility, viability and desirability of offering e-bikes.

Discovery

We started from nothing.

Given this was a completely new vehicle type for mobile.de, we had no prior data, no prior knowledge, and no understanding of buyer acceptance or Dealer acceptance.

Dealer depth interviews

One thing we did have, was the insight that some Dealers had started to sell e-bikes alongside cars and motorbikes. So we got in touch with these Dealers and interviewed them.

We asked them about their motivations, experiences and challenges when selling e-bikes. The interviews were enlightening. We learnt about:

• Differences and struggles when selling e-bikes

• How they are overcoming sales challenges

• User needs of e-bike buyers and how they differ to car buyers

Consumer interviews

With much needed insight into the problem space, we set about understanding e-bike buyers. We interviewed 10 recent e-bike buyers and 10 people actively searching for an e-bike. We spoke to them about their journey, struggles and learnings.

Amongst this, we had two key questions:

Question 1: Do consumers see mobile.de as a credible option to find and buy an e-bike from?

We found that users were open to buying an e-bike on mobile.de, with a few users stating how “it feels like a logical next step”.

Question 2: Would consumers buy an e-bike from a car or motorbike Dealer?

We found that consumers were willing to buy an e-bike from a car or motorbike Dealer, but, the Dealer had to demonstrate their e-bike expertise and credibility.

Surveys

To validate our qualitative findings, we launched quantitative surveys, completed by thousands of mobile.de users.

We were able to validate our findings on a larger scale, with broader demographics. As well as understanding feelings towards e-bikes being offered on mobile.de, and the main needs of buyers.

In addition to our own quant studies, we also purchased studies completed by market research firms. This gave us an unbiased view into the market and opportunities.

Concept testing

For the final part of the discovery I designed and tested concepts visualising an e-bike proposition from mobile.de.

User research participants had previously told us about how they thought mobile.de selling e-bikes was “a logical next step”. But what users say and what they do are different things.

Not all participants understood the idea of mobile.de offering e-bikes, but the majority did. It again came back to the dealer being able to demonstrate their expertise.

Pitch to leadership

The discovery process took 1 month, achieving:

• User and Dealer insights

• Market landscape and the gap mobile.de could fill

• User journey and opportunities

• Revenue expectations

• User and Dealer reach

The PM and I presented to the mobile.de leadership team. After everything we had learned and analysed, our recommendation was to implement e-bikes.

The leadership team agreed. 🎉

Prototyping, testing and iterating before build

The pitch to leadership was early Q4 2023. With the green light to build, we aligned with 5 other product teams on developing e-bikes throughout Q1 2024. With a fixed public go-live date of April 1st 2024.

This gave me 6 weeks to prototype, test and iterate upon various aspects of the e-bike journey. I needed to ensure our product was competitive from day 1.

Supported by a user research colleague we tested the full flow with numerous participants. Iterating upon different parts of the journey and testing again. Everything from copy, to entry points, to ideas that allowed Dealers to showcase their e-bike credibility.

Build

In Q1 2024, we began building.

I handed over various aspects of the user journey to the teams responsible for the particular journey stage. Together we ensured a competitive experience was delivered.

I led the design and coordination with 5 other Designers and product teams. Spending my time:

• Designing

• Making trade-off decisions

• Presenting, communicating and aligning

• Beta testing and iterating

• Launching

The mobile.de E-Bike experience

We launched on the go-live date. A new vehicle category on mobile.de for the first time in 17 years.

Filters and guidance

A range of filters so buyers can find the specific e-bike they require. Visuals and supporting information to guide the user.

Search and find

Further filters allow the buyer to drill into specifics and discover requirements they never knew they had. The search results provide key e-bike information and filter access.

E-Bike listings

Listing data tailored to what e-bike buyers need to know. Dealers have space to showcase their e-bike credibility.

Impact

Shipped in a quarter, e-bikes has been an internal success story. Leading to:

• Over 25,000 e-bikes for sale, making mobile.de the largest marketplace for e-bikes in Germany

• A new sales channel and source of revenue for Dealers

• Buyers finding and buying e-bikes

• A new vehicle category for the first time in 17 years on mobile.de

• The beginnings of brand perception change. From outdated to modern and innovative

The work also received a nomination for an internal Sustainability Innovation award.