Virtual home for IoT commerce
Team of 5 I UX research, service design, UI/UX/interaction I Samsung Electronics Corporate Design Center, Feb 2020 ~ Jan 2021
#Behavioral Economics
“Virtual Home for IoT Commerce” is a UX design which helps users simulate the IoT service package created based on diverse needs. User can learn advantages of each device and ultimately build a better IoT environment in a fun way. This project is based on behavioral economics, and I presented the paper about findings at IASDR 2021.

Project Goal

Many consumers do not recognize the need for IoT and consider it difficult. However, users’ environment can be improved with IoT technology. At this point, I wanted to make users understand the benefits of each IoT solutions and lead them to purchase.

Moreover, although IoT is beneficial when all devices are connected, it is not necessary to buy all IoT devices at once. This is because, devices that users already have owned can also make synergy with newly purchased smart devices. Therefore, this service aimed to let users know the correlated features among devices.

Virtual Home for IoT commerce is AR simulation service with diverse user scenarios. This service helps users to understand IoT concept and motivate potential users to purchase relevant products which makes a perfect fit with their house.

Design strategy

Novice users, our target customer, can learn about the benefits of each IoT devices through interactive packages and make actual purchase. Since IoT is beneficial when all devices are connected, users can realize the value by experiencing the synergy themselves.

To make helpful and interactive service, I brought the ‘Behavioral economics’ to the design field. Moreover, since the most important thing when making a purchase is how the item will go along at home, so ‘Virtual home’ provides ‘customized service’ in terms of style and features.

Applying behavioral economic’s theory into Design solution

1) Goal system theory

Cognitive approach applied to boost motivation : Goal based system architecture makes people to explore interconnected sub-goals, and means.

Implication: If IoT service prime certain goals to users, user will explore IoT services and products (means) proactively.

2) Awakening Curiosity

Users will be willing to explore more information if content triggers their curiosity.

Implication: If our service make UI in quiz form, users will explore difficult concepts with interest.

1. Various service package

According to Goal system theory, when IoT bundle is offered in ‘Goal based packages’, users will perceive them positively compared to simply suggesting list of products.

2. Awakening Curiosity

If there is something that motivates user’s curiosity, users tend to explore it actively. Story bubble is UI made to awake user’s curiosity.

3. Perfect fit to user’s environment

It is important for users to learn the synergy between virtual devices and existing ones.

Change Samsung.com (link)

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Design output

1. AR simulation package for everyone

We prepared packages and scenarios that recommend IoT devices for each users. Therefore, even for the same light bulb feature, different features and recommendations will be offered depending on user’s need.

The forms are as follows: ‘Theater package’ and ‘Accessibility package’.

2. Explore synergy of devices one by one

User can add devices to build their own set of customized automation. Whenever they add each device, recommended automation changes.

For example, if users only have a light bulb, all they can do is simulating automation of turning on / off. However, if a blind is added, combining the feature is possible: when the blind goes down, the light bulb gets dimmed.

3. Positioning devices, check the simulation in the real-home

When customers decide what to buy, the first thing they consider is whether this product will get along well with home interior. With that being said, Virtual home provides not only better interior but also different features.

User can virtually place their devices at their real home, and can link virtual devices with their owned devices at home to actually experience the synergies.

4. Simulating perfectly customized AR package at your home

Some people are suffering from safety issue and need customized care.

To meet such needs, this service allows everyone to easily get familiar to automated solution at home by reflecting their interest, physical ability, and environment.

5. On-offline experiences

Users can experience Virtual Home service at Samsung offline store. Based on the automation applied on the app, the simulations are actually prepared in real-world, with real-devices at retail shop.

Simulation Video

Application to Samsung’s official website (Link)

Design Process

Find opportunity & Market research

Analyze competitive IoT company : Google, Apple, Amazon, Ikea and elicit the insights.

Build service using behavioral economics

Using the theory of ‘Goal system theory’ and ‘Awakening Curiosity’, planned service structure.

UI / UX / GUI / interaction design

Design Service structure, user journey, wireframe of user journey, main GUI design.

Make working prototype and test

Verify the concept by designing the virtual simulation using ProtoPie and After effect.

1. Problem starts

According to Voice of Customer we investigated, the reason people don’t making IoT home is that they can’t understand the concept and benefit of IoT, and don’t know what to buy.

2. Market research

To find a opportunity, I researched IoT market of Google and Apple which sell IoT solutions in both offline and online store. Most of companies are just listing the items or providing general scenarios to the users. Since users’ needs is ‘learning merits of IoT products’ than checking basic feature of products, listing type of explanation does not work effectively in purchasing step.

1) Google : Categorize products according to product’s function. Emphasize discounted price of bundling.

2) Apple : Providing multiple IoT packages with general scenarios. Illustrated images are lacking of reality to the users.

3) Amazon : Providing various products at once. Giving each product’s feature individually in seperate page, with list view.

4) Ikea : Providing packaged IoT solution, but bundling way is just for marketing. It’s another way of listing products.

3. Applying Behavioral economics

Through market research and the voice of Samsung’s customers, I found that a new strategy beyond artistically designing a list of User interfaces is needed to sell multiple devices to customers. Through UX experiments, we confirmed that the strategy to apply ‘Goal system theory’ and ‘Awakening Curiosity’ to IoT devices could increase the 8% more buying of products.

2) Awakening Curiosity

Users explore more information actively when it has interesting visual cue or contents.

1) Goal system theory

Users’ main need can be built as a High goal, and it is composed of several sub-goals.

Goal System Theory (Kruglanski et al. 2002)

Curiosity and Information-Seeking (J Gottlieb. 2013)

4. Service structure : based on Goal based Bundling

‘ Device A + Device B’, add ‘Device C’ for higher goal

Through two weeks of intensive workshop, we found that IoT devices often have undetermined purposes of usage. This is because, IoT products can make different synergies how they are connected. For example, each product of a, b, c has the only 'one feature' when considering them as a each product, but the using way and expected value can be significantly different depending on how the products are combined (a+b = A, b+c = B, a+b+c = C).

1) Suggest Goal Based Bundling

‘Theme’ indicates goal, the usage situation of multiple IoT bundles. ‘IoT service’ indicates ‘Sub-goal’, the benefit of ‘bundle. Lastly, specific ‘IoT devices’ are interconnected as ‘Means’.

IoT theme package based on Goal Based Bundling

2) Service structure based on GBB

Based on Goal based bundling, I designed service package and each device. With synergy between devices, services make users proactively use IoT solutions than just listing products.

5. UI / UX Design

1) Partial service structure : Based on Goal based bundling, I categorized five users needs, and mapping the sub-goals and each devices to accomplish that goal.

2) User Journey : Built journey map considering design strategies : 1) various IoT package, 2) awakening curiosity, 3) check how it apply to reality.

3) User interface flow : To make users can easily understand the synergy of devices catered to their home environment, I suggested contents of bubble and UI for showing specific spec.

4) UI / GUI Design : Designed user-friendly UI using story bubble, to easily add or edit devices and check synergies. Clear and explicit story bubble’s GUI helps user to understand the benefits of IoT solutions.

Paper presentation _ IASDR 2021

I participated IASDR 2021 as one of co-authors in Dec 9, 2021

Design Patent

Display screen or portion there of with graphical user interface

The United States: 29778643 / Republic of Korea: 30-2020-0061049 (In progress)

Reflections

This project was a precious experience that applied behavioral economics to UX design, which gave me a great motivation about interdisciplinary study. Combining UX design, behavioral economics and IoT technology improved people’s lives into a better way and it convinced me to devote myself for them. If I have a chance, I would develop ‘Virtual home service’ with ‘AR core’ from front to the end.

Virtual home for IoT commerce