Designing for Tier 2 and 3 Cities

DESIGNING FOR THE TIER 2 AND 3 CITIES OF INDIA

Connecting with the Tier 2 and 3 cities of India is of growing importance.

THE PROJECT

Taking on one hand the major boom in almost every consumer-based industry and on the other hand the immense untapped potential that Indian consumers bring — it has become very clear that connecting with India’s tier-2 and tier-3 city consumer base of India is of utmost importance. The trend recently has been to accommodate these cities in app systems as a product and its need grows.

In this case study, I will be analysing 2 pairs of apps: 1mg, a medical delivery giant, and MedCords — its tier 2/3 market competitor; as well as BigBasket, a grocery delivery giant, and DealShare — its tier 2/3 market competitor.

NOTE: this page is easier to view on a PC.

What do these companies do differently that makes them more or less suited for a tier 2/3 audience?

THE QUESTION

These companies’ apps are different to one another, and I examined which features and experiences make each of these apps more suited to their intended demographic.

Companies intended for tier 2/3 audiences put more emphasis on their users’ native language.

FEATURE 1

When designing for a tier 2 or 3 city, the assumption that everyone knows English is not a fair one to make. It made sense, then, that both BigBasket and 1mg didn’t have their onboarding screens ask me for my language of choice, but that Aayu and DealShare did. While 1mg does have an option to change the default language to Hindi on their product pages, it isn’t an upfront priority. As for BigBasket, it took me a while to find how to change the default language, since I couldn’t see it right away anywhere.

Companies intended for tier 2/3 audiences have simpler, clearer layouts.

FEATURE 2

Users from tier 2 and 3 cities may be coming in contact with an eCommerce environment for the first time. The focus while designing should be on building trust and on familiarising potential first-time users to the environment by providing simple layouts and structures that feel reliable and comprehensible.

As can be seen in the above screens, the number of clickable buttons are fewer and larger in the case of MedCords’ and DealShare’s apps. There are fewer ads and the focus is on creating the simplest possible experience for a user to navigate and achieve whatever they set out to do.

The above screens are DealShare’s and BigBasket’s search to product flow. In this case also, the amount of information per screen is much higher for BigBasket’s screens. For example, on BigBasket’s search page we see product size options, delivery time, discount percent, price, the product category in the thumbnail, the weight in the thumbnail, an image in the thumbnail, and so on. On DealShare’s search page, we see half the information. And that’s only out of the features I mentioned.

Likewise for each of their product pages, BigBasket’s page is more full of information and buttons than DealShare’s is.

Also, as a small sidenote: it looks like DealShare accidentally has an ‘Add to Bag’ button twice, and that the solid button was meant to be ‘Buy Now’ going off of the product page screen.

Similar to the comparison between BigBasket’s and DealShare’s search to product flow, I compared 1mg’s and Aayu’s search to product flow. Although the major difference in the search is the presence of an ad in the case of 1mg’s app, the product pages are different for the both of them. The information in Aayu’s product page is more spread out and less condensed, and there’s much more white space. This again makes it much easier for a user to quickly scan the page and identify their end goal. While 1mg’s layout is also fairly clean and simple, it isn’t as intentionally optimised.

The same principle of simplicity carries over to the bottom nav bars as well.

FEATURE 3

The nav bars of Aayu and DealShare are less descriptive and more essential than that of 1mg and BigBasket. Aayu’s nav bar has the bare minimum necessities, with a focus (which is easy to grasp) on the best deals. A similar layout can be seen on DealShare’s nav bar. BigBasket and 1mg introduce elements other than the essentials, such as “stores”, “my list”, and “care plan”.

And as a final element to complement their simplicity, apps intended for tier 2/3 cities have a simpler style guide and user interface.

FEATURE 4

We see that Aayu and DealShare have simpler, more default fonts - since styling isn’t a priority as such. Their colour choices are simpler and are the more obvious, expected choice. This creates an environment that is subconsciously very easy to grasp, since there’s no secondary processing that needs to be done. This goes to show that the focus is on creating trust and a curating an experience that feels simple.

Apps designed for tier 2/3 cities have more explanations interweaved into the user experience.

FEATURE 5

When creating experiences that people will experience for the first time, it’s important to minimise any hint of ambiguity. This ensures that the experience is smooth, and hopefully will make users want to use the product again. It therefore makes sense to have prompts and tool tips that explain more complicated features to the users. It’s not essential if the assumption is that the users know systems such as yours already, but it does help in the case that they don’t — which is a fair assumption in the case of Aayu and DealShare.

Apps designed for tier 2/3 cities have less movement on their homepages.

FEATURE 6

Below are screen recordings of each of these apps’ (Aayu, 1mg, DealShare, BigBasket, in that order) homepages:

Movement on a homepage in moderation is useful to grab the user’s attention, but it also deters the user from their original goal. In tandem with all of the previous tendencies of products aimed for tier 2/3 cities making the simplest and most convenient possible products, it makes sense that movement is avoided, especially from the homepage — since that is the first screen a user has to interact with.

Closing Thoughts + Conclusions

FINISH LINE

That brings us to the end of this study! This case study is slightly differently formatted to the other ones, and it was a unique learning experience. Analysing patterns and drawing conclusions is something I haven’t done as a part of the other studies, and so this was very insightful for me. I’m not affiliated with any of the above products, and in case you would like to discuss this study with me, feel free to reach out!

As an endnote, I want to make it clear that I do not mean any of this as pretentious in any manner. Technology reaching more and more cities in India is a wonderful thing, and I hope for only the maximum convenience and ease of services for people in the same. Examining these apps is purely a matter of interest and passion to me.