Matching scan paths for insights into the usability problems of online supermarkets

• Main Author: See Tho, Wai Loon
• Other Authors: Theng Yin Leng
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Library and information science::Archives and records management::Business records management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/65406
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The online supermarket trend is growing in popularity with more users turning to grocery shopping on the Web. The usability problems of page clutter and confusing category terms are some of the reasons users cannot navigate efficiently to find target products in online supermarkets; resulting in lost sales and decreased stickability. The aim of the study is to investigate the usability of online supermarkets for FairPrice Online (http://www.fairprice.com.sg) and Prime Online http://www.primeonline.com.sg). The study recruited 14 participants to conduct user testing of two online supermarkets. Eye-tracking methodology accompanied by post-task questionnaire survey was used. The measurement items for the study were number of fixations and scan paths. Results indicated participants had higher number of fixations when there were usability problems. Scan paths were qualitatively analysed by matching the sequence of patterns to an expected scan path and confirmed through self-reported data. The usability problems were identified as confusing subcategory terms and complex hierarchy relationship of product grid for FairPrice Online and no visibility of expected product category links and page clutter for Prime Online. From the scan paths, recommendations were provided to improve the usability problems that were identified on the online supermarkets. Overall, the matching scan paths successfully provided insights into the usability problems of online supermarkets.