Declining Traffic,Lower AOV, & fewer repeat customers signalled friction, our goal was to share potential problem areas based on assesment.
Client:
Academy Sports
My Role:
Product Designer
Year:
2023
Team Members :
Product Designer , Business Stakeholder, Program Manager, Data Analyst
Academy Sports is a leading destination for sports and outdoor enthusiasts, offering a vast range of apparel, footwear, and gear. Known for its commitment to quality and affordability, the brand has built a strong presence both in physical retail and online shopping
Declining traffic, lower AOV, and fewer repeat customers signalled friction in Academy Sports’ mobile shopping experience, prompting a UX audit for optimization.
For Academy Sports, the focus was primarily on UX auditing and research rather than new design initiatives. Our goal was to identify usability gaps and optimize the shopping experience, particularly for Mobile Web channel, to improve Conversion, Increase average order value (AOV), and Improve customer retention.
The primary users of Academy Sports + Outdoors' mobile web platform are shoppers looking for affordable yet high-quality sporting goods, outdoor gear, apparel, and accessories. They prioritize value and seek competitive pricing while making their purchases.
Why are we conducting this UX audit?
What specific problems are we trying to solve?
How do UX issues impact business metrics like conversion and retention?
What does success look like for users and the business?
Who are the primary users affected by these challenges?
What is the scope of this audit?
How do these UX issues impact customer loyalty?
Are we losing customers to competitors due to a better experience?
What pain points are preventing users from completing purchases?
Our initial audit focused on evaluating these key areas to uncover usability gaps, accessibility issues, and interaction barriers that negatively affect the shopping experience.
Product Discovery & Navigation
Autocomplete
Users of the Academy Sporting Goods website unable to find what he/she is looking for in search bar
Image Search
Some users want to find products on e-commerce websites by searching for images rather than text, but the websites lack an image search feature.
Navigation Clarity
Unclear categories hide high-interest content and lack urgency, loyalty, or cross-sell cues—limiting user engagement and conversions
Search Relevance
Users of the Academy Sporting Goods website unable to find what he/she is looking for in search bar
Natural Language Processing
Some users want to find products on e-commerce websites by searching for images rather than text, but the websites lack an image search feature.
Filters & Sorting
Thematic Filters
Based on categories selected provide relevant filters.
Visual Hierachy
Important filters are buried below the brand and other not so important filters.
Tap Area for Dropdown
Dropdown icons are not clearly visible and to prevent mis clicks, ensuring a smoother selection experience, especially on mobile devices.
Alphabetical order
Avoid alphabetical order and instead focus on most popular order or deals etc.
Matching results
Showing the number of matching results per filter helps users make smarter choices. It sets clear expectations and reduces unnecessary clicks or frustration
System Status
Highlight selected sort option with a checkmark (✓) or bold text
Recognition rather than recal
Once users exit this menu, there’s no easy way to recall what sorting is active.
Clear All
The "Clear All" button seems inactive or only applies to filters, not sorting
Product & Product Listing Page
Thumbnails
Minimal thumbnails, no zoom or alternate views
Image Resolution
even though pinch and zoom exist the images does not support the resolution when scaled
Price & Discount Display
Placing the discount and final price next to each other reduces cognitive and physical effort, aligning with Fitts’s Law
Add to Cart/Buy Now
CTA below the fold becomes just another element on a long page, rather than the primary conversion goal. If users miss it, they may assume the page is informational, not transactional
Buy Now with Apple Pay
Many users interpret “Buy Now” as a universal one-click checkout — not tied to a specific service.
Add to Cart closer to first fold.
both buy now and add to cart are farther away from first fold which just adds interaction cost. reduces decision speed.
Filter & Sorting Status
The “Sort & Filter” action doesn't show currently applied filters or sort method.
Filter bar disappears when scrolling
both buy now and add to cart are farther away from first fold which just adds interaction cost. reduces decision speed
Empty & Error States
No empty states or errors when filtering.
Pricing Format Uniformity
Price is shown as $19⁹⁹ with superscript cents. Doesn't distinguish full price vs. discounted price
Checkout
Edit Cart or Back to Shopping
Minimal thumbnails, no zoom or alternate views
Consistency & Standard
Use clear language like: “Extra 5% off with Academy Credit Card – Learn more” and show a tooltip or info icon.
Repetitive Pricing
Creates redundancy and possible confusion for users.
Aesthetics & Minimalism
The page is visually busy with 5+ CTA buttons, promo modules, and credit card ads.
Dominant CTA
Make Sure You Get the Best Price” button is red and looks like a warning or final CTA
Visual Hierachy
Proceed to Checkout” and “Klarna. Express Checkout” appear close together without hierarchy
Multiple Font weights
Multiple font weights and colors make the section slightly heavy on the eyes, especially for mobile.
Calculated at Checkout
Calculated at checkout” for taxes leaves users uncertain about their final cost
Cart Summary Pricing
Calculated at checkout” for taxes leaves users uncertain about their final cost
With the problem areas identified, it was time to dive deeper. The declining traffic, reduced AOV, and fewer repeat customers weren’t just numbers—they were symptoms of underlying usability challenges. To diagnose the friction points, we needed a data-driven approach, blending quantitative analytics with qualitative user insights.
Competitor benchmarking showed that leading retailers offered smoother filtering, faster checkouts, and more intuitive mobile layouts. Academy Sports’ experience, while feature-rich, needed refinements to keep up.
To validate our UX audit, we began analyzing Adobe and Google Analytics data. As we correlated the behavioral metrics with our observations, we found that the data strongly aligned with the UX issues we had identified.
Product Page Bounce Rate
Loss in revenue due to Out of Stock
Conversion Rate
Armed with data-driven insights, we set out to transform Academy Sports’ Soft Goods mobile experience into a seamless, engaging, and conversion-friendly journey. The navigation was restructured to make product discovery effortless, while filters were refined to provide more relevant results. We streamlined the checkout process, eliminating unnecessary steps and integrating clearer CTAs and flexible payment options to reduce drop-offs.
