Usability Evaluation

Midtown Comics Website

Evaluating the digital storefront of NYC's iconic comic book shop to identify friction in the comic book discovery and purchasing process.

The Challenge

Midtown Comics is a staple for NYC fans, but their online experience struggled with modern e-commerce expectations. Our team, the "UX Wizards," conducted a formal usability study to assess how effectively fans can browse, search for back issues, and manage pre-orders.

Research Goals

  • Evaluate the ease of finding specific comic book genres and characters.
  • Assess the efficiency of the "Site-to-Store" checkout process.
  • Identify major pain points in navigation and information architecture.
  • Measure overall user satisfaction using industry-standard metrics.

Project Details

ROLE

Lead UX Researcher

TIMELINE

May 2023 (3 Weeks)

TOOLS

Zoom, Google Forms, Sheets

TEAM

Sai, Rishika, Purva, Natasha

Methodology

Participant Criteria

Recruited 5 participants matching the target audience: Adults (18+) with basic comic book knowledge and online shopping experience. Excluded professional collectors and Midtown Comics employees.

Remote Testing

Moderated sessions conducted via Zoom with screen sharing. We utilized Observer and Evaluator sheets to capture behavioral data, verbalizations, and error rates in real-time.

Test Scenarios

TASK 1

Locate a specific comic series (e.g., "Spider-Man") and filter by release date.

TASK 2

Add a "Back Issue" to the cart and apply a site-to-store shipping option.

TASK 3

Navigate to the "Weekly Releases" page and find pre-order availability.

High-Level Metrics

80%

Task Completion

4.2

Ease of Use (1-5)

72

Avg. SUS Score

2.5m

Avg. Time on Task

Key Findings

01

Navigational Hierarchy Confusion

Users frequently struggled to distinguish between "Back Issues," "New Releases," and "Pre-orders" due to overlapping menu items and inconsistent labeling in the sidebar.

"I wasn't sure if a comic from last month was considered 'New' or a 'Back Issue'—the menu labels didn't help me decide where to click." — Participant 2
02

Filtering Friction

While the search function was reliable, the filtering system for specific publishers (DC, Marvel, Indie) was buried within a secondary dropdown, leading to 3/5 users "hunting" for the filter button.

03

Checkout Logic (Site-to-Store)

The option for in-store pickup was highly valued but hidden behind several clicks. Users expected to see "Pickup" options earlier in the cart summary rather than deep in the shipping phase.

Actionable Recommendations

1. Simplify Global Navigation

Consolidate redundant categories. Implement a "Shop by Format" (Comics, Graphic Novels, Collectibles) vs. "Shop by Status" (New, Pre-order, Back-issues) split to reduce cognitive load.

2. Visual Filter Indicators

Move primary filters (Publisher, Genre) to a persistent left-hand sidebar on all listing pages to allow for rapid narrowing of results.

3. Streamline Pickup Options

Introduce a "Click & Collect" toggle in the mini-cart. This transparency reduces checkout abandonment and caters to local NYC customers.

4. Accessibility Enhancements

Increase color contrast for active states and improve screen reader support for the dynamic "Weekly Release" calendar.

Reflection & Takeaways

Conducting this study reinforced the importance of qualitative observation over quantitative data alone. While the SUS score of 72 suggested a "good" experience, the struggle users faced with navigation (even if they eventually succeeded) indicated significant latent frustration.

If given more time, I would expand the testing to mobile devices, as many comic fans browse while in-store. This study served as a baseline for a future iterative design phase.