Shipping Transparency

Bringing shipping to to forefront of search and beyond allowing easy listing comparison and an increase in .

Compony: Trade Me

Release date: 2022

Platforms: iOS, Android & Web

Role: Lead Product designer

Visit website

79%

of surveyed buyers rated the new shipping information as “very” or “extremely helpful.”
85%

Pro seller adoption
+6.6%

increase in listing view-to-purchase conversion
+3.9%

increase in watchlist conversion

Summary

I led the Shipping Transparency initiative. This was a key part of our transformation into a new goods marketplace. By aligning multiple product, design, and engineering teams, I helped deliver a seamless, data-backed solution that improved buyer confidence and strengthened Trade Me’s brand perception in e-commerce.

The work resulted in clear, measurable outcomes:

+6.6% increase in listing view-to-purchase conversion.
+3.9% increase in watchlist conversion.
79% of surveyed buyers rated the new shipping information as “very” or “extremely helpful.”

My leadership role extended beyond design — I guided teams through complex technical constraints, unified the product vision across streams, and championed user insights to inform prioritisation. This initiative not only drove commercial growth but also demonstrated the value of design-led strategy at scale, contributing directly to my promotion to Lead Product Designer.

Background

Trade Me has long wrestled with its brand perception — many New Zealanders still associate it more with second-hand goods than a competitive e-commerce marketplace. Over the years, we’ve introduced new features and marketing campaigns to shift this perception, but the acceleration of e-commerce during COVID-19 heightened the urgency to evolve.

In response, I joined other senior designers in a design sprint to create a five-year vision for how Trade Me could transform into a more credible goods marketplace. We identified key challenges to address:

Making it easier to find and compare products by removing duplicates.
Meeting customer expectations for modern e-commerce delivery experiences — from search through to post-purchase.
Enabling simpler, more instant communication between buyers and sellers.

Through close collaboration across multiple teams, we secured long-term investment to deliver against this vision: “Best in range, delivered quick smart.” The work was divided into three major initiatives — Shipping Transparency, Product Details Pages, and Instant Messaging. My focus was leading the Shipping Transparency stream.

The Problem

Compete with the global industry titans by creating a best in class shipping experience.

To compete with global e-commerce leaders, Trade Me needed a best-in-class shipping experience tailored to a uniquely local marketplace. Our platform hosts thousands of sellers from individuals shipping locally to businesses offering drop shipping or even helicopter-delivered spa pools.

Customer research and competitive analysis confirmed a gap between what our members expected and what we offered. Buyers often lacked clear shipping information early in their decision-making process, leading to hesitation or abandoned purchases.

Shipping vision poster to be displayed around the squad to ensure we reference the outcome through all decissions

The solution

Bring forward crucial purchase decision information into search to make comparing and contrasting different listings quick & easy.

We aimed to make shipping information visible where it mattered most — at the start of the purchase journey.

Our solution brought key delivery details (costs and time estimates) directly into search results, enabling buyers to compare listings easily and make confident purchase decisions.

Behind this simplicity was a significant engineering effort — building a new shipping architecture that achieved 85% professional seller adoption. This foundation enabled consistent, accurate delivery information across millions of listings.

The outcome

We had a positive impact to purchase conversion through creating a better experience for our members.

We measured the impact of our changes through controlled A/B experiments and follow-up surveys. The results were clear and compelling:

+6.6% relative increase in Listing View → Purchase conversion.
+3.9% relative increase in Listing View → Watchlist conversion.
79% of surveyed buyers who noticed the changes found the new shipping information “extremely” or “very helpful.”
Only 1.5% found it “not so helpful” or “not at all helpful.”

These results validated our hypothesis that showing structured shipping information at search level builds trust and drives measurable commercial impact — improving buyer experience and conversion rates.

Accelerating my leadership growth

With multiple moving parts across product, design, and engineering teams, I took the initiative to provide cross-functional leadership and alignment.

I played a central role in shaping the design and technical direction early on — ensuring feasibility, user impact, and consistency across the marketplace experience. Drawing on my previous experience leading multi-platform initiatives (like the 2014 Shopping Cart redesign and the 2015 Book a Courier project), I helped keep the vision coherent while enabling autonomy within each team.

Through regular communication, design critiques, and collaborative planning, I ensured the pieces fit together seamlessly for both buyers and sellers.

The success of this project not only contributed to Trade Me’s evolving brand perception but also accelerated my own leadership journey — leading to my promotion to Lead Product Designer.