Typical Mercari US ​user accesses app

1-2 x per week.

Typical Mercari JP ​user accesses app

1-2 x per day.

Outc​ome 1

Guided 2023 product roadmap and ​influenced launch schedule

• Focused strategy on features ​identified through this study as ​drivers of habit formation
  
• I​ncreased engagement measured as a r​atio of daily to monthly active users.
  

Outc​ome 2

Drove changes in positioning strategy, ​focusing on drivers of engagement

A few examples from the App Store:

• Luxury and bulky inventory no longer ​are featured prominently.
  
• It emphasizes finding deals through ​offers, beloved by our daily users.
  
• Mercari calls out the ratings system as a ​way to build trust, rather than buyer ​protection, which was not something ​universally favored by our buyers.
  

It​erative surveys

We surveyed users who had shown frequent ​engagement with Mercari (access 60+ days and 13+ ​weeks over past 90 days).

The results were analyzed by customer lifetime value ​and transactor type (buyer, seller, or both), to help us ​group findings by not only behavioral engagement ​but also by business value. I set a minimum sample ​size of 100 for each of the six segments.

The survey captured data about user motivations, ​what they find unique and enjoyable about Mercari, ​engagement with other apps, and demographics.

We later conducted a second survey, segmented by ​ge​nerations.

Diving deeper

I chose a few survey respondents from each of the ​segments to participate in an in-depth, seven-day diary ​study. Participants were asked to document any ​interactions they had pertaining to resale as they went ​about their week.

We weren’t able to onboard a specific diary study tool in ​time, so I set up a scrappy version utilizing a combination of ​fixed daily surveys and flexible, at-will uploads to individual ​participant Google Drive folders.

At the conclusion of the diary study, I followed up with each ​of them in a 60 min 1:1 interview. Stakeholders were ​extended open invitations to observe any interviews they ​wished, with time for debriefing to follow each session.

re​gression to the mean

Since we’re interested in our most engaged users, ​how do we ensure the measured behavior is real and ​sustained?

pe​rformance anxiety

How do we account for changes participants make ​in their behaviors as a consequence of knowingly ​being observed, or the Hawthorne effect?

ac​cessibility

How can we accommodate varying levels of ​familiarity with technology to ensure data integrity ​across participants?

an​alysis

How will I set up a feasible system for data collection ​that compiles information across various sources?

From Stories to Strategies

I used EnjoyHQ to review, tag, and code ​interview transcripts and diary entries before ​affinity mapping by theme. I pulled key ​themes into highlight clips to help ​stakeholders connect more directly with user ​voices, then included these clips in the final ​share-out deck.

In​vestment

Ratings

Trigger

Purchase FOMO

Va​riable reward

Variability in item ​scarcity and ​attractiveness, ​spurred by novice or ​casual sellers

An​ticipation

Dopamine surges

Action

Checking saved ​search to be the first ​to offer

Everyday, novice sellers dr​ive engagement

“What I love about Mercari is the naivete”

Through observation, we learned that ​novice sellers are critical to being able to ​make the most of Mercari because they ​create the experience of variable reward.

Connecting through commerce

“I don’t want to feel like I have to be ​besties with everyone on the internet”

From this study, we learned that our most ​engaged users loved being able to ​communicate with another everyday human ​on the other side of a transaction, as ​opposed to a bot, business, or foreigner. ​Our most engaged users also specifically ​mentioned they appreciate not needing to ​be “besties” or over-socialize on Mercari. ​They appreciate that interactions are ​purpose-driven and transaction-focused.