Digital travel platforms like Traveloka are useful for modern travelers. While the platform is widely used, some users experience difficulties with its Car Rental feature, especially when navigating its user interface. To address these issues, a study by Nyayu Dwi Tarisa Putri et al. (2024) was conducted to evaluate user experience using RealEye, an online webcam-based eye-tracking platform.
By tracking where users look, how long they focus, and what areas of the screen capture their attention, RealEye provides insights into user behavior that are difficult to capture with traditional usability testing methods.
How RealEye Was Used in the Study
The study aimed to identify pain points and areas for improvement in the Car Rental feature of the Traveloka website. Five participants, all students from Universitas Sriwijaya, were tasked with completing three specific actions on the Traveloka website:
Task 1: Logging in to the Traveloka website.
Task 2: Searching for the Car Rental feature, entering a city, and clicking "search."
Task 3: Using filters to select a minivan with a 5-6 passenger capacity.
To complete these tasks, participants accessed a RealEye-generated test link and were required to enable their webcams for eye-tracking calibration. Each task was limited to 20 seconds. RealEye tracked participants' gaze and recorded data on their attention patterns, areas of interest (AOIs), and emotional reactions. This setup provided data-rich insights into user attention and behavior.
Exemplary heatmaps and Attention and Emotion chart for one of the participants in task 2.
Results and Key Findings
The study revealed several insights into how users interact with Traveloka’s Car Rental feature. Here are the key findings based on the eye-tracking metrics:
Users Had Difficulty with Task 1 (Login Task) During Task 1, users were required to log in to Traveloka. Analysis of the heatmaps showed that users focused primarily on the “Login” button and the “Continue with Google” and “Continue with Facebook” buttons. This indicates that users were trying to identify the most convenient login option.
Attention and emotions: The analysis revealed high levels of "surprise", indicating moments of confusion.
Completion rate: Only 40% of participants successfully completed this task.
Task 2 (Finding the Car Rental Feature) Caused the Most Friction Task 2 required users to find and access the Car Rental feature. Heatmaps revealed that attention was scattered across the page, particularly in areas unrelated to the Car Rental feature. This suggests that users were unsure where to look for the feature.
Gaze activity: User gaze was fragmented across various areas of the page, especially the sidebar and header, indicating they were searching for the correct link.
Completion rate: Only 20% of participants successfully completed this task, highlighting a clear need to make the Car Rental feature more prominent.
Task 3 (Filtering Cars) Was the Most Successful During Task 3, users were asked to filter available vehicles by capacity and type. This task was completed successfully by 60% of participants. The heatmaps showed focused attention on the filter elements, especially the capacity and vehicle type dropdowns.
Completion rate: Task 3 had the highest completion rate (60%), indicating that the filtering process was more intuitive than the login or search processes.
Gaze on screen: Gaze time was high for this task, with users spending most of their attention on the filter options.
Implications for Traveloka's User Experience
The study highlights areas where Traveloka’s Car Rental feature could be improved to make the user experience more intuitive and efficient.
Improve Visibility of the Car Rental Feature Users struggled most with Task 2, where they had to locate the Car Rental feature on the website. The scattered gaze patterns suggest users were unsure of where to look, leading to high levels of confusion. This could be addressed by making the Car Rental option more prominent, such as placing it in the main menu or adding an eye-catching icon.
Simplify the Login Process The high level of "surprise" emotions during Task 1 suggests that users experienced confusion while attempting to log in. Providing clearer login options and emphasizing the most frequently used methods (like "Continue with Google") could reduce cognitive load and speed up the process.
Maintain Simplicity in Filtering Options Task 3 was the most successful, as participants quickly located and engaged with the filtering options. This indicates that the existing design for filtering options is more intuitive. The focus should be on maintaining this simplicity while ensuring that all filter options are easy to understand.
You can run a similar study!
Follow the steps below to start your own experiment with RealEye:
