Analysis and Design Research of Product Carousels on E-commerce Websites
Authors: Hugo Florestedt & Linus Ström
Summary
This study explores how to design the building blocks of product carousels on e-commerce websites to improve usability. Current research on web carousels focuses on whether carousels should be used at all. While this is an important question, it does not address how to design a carousel if one chooses to use it. This gap is evident in studies by Runyon (2013) and Keya & Murano (2022), which focus solely on whether carousels should be used, without considering how carousel design itself might impact study results.
Our study aimed to assist web designers in creating better carousels and provide future research with a foundation when designing carousels for their studies. The study examines user-friendly carousel design through a pre-study of e-commerce websites, web design theory, and user interviews. After summarizing and analyzing the findings, a conclusion is drawn on how carousel elements should be designed to maximize usability. The conclusion suggests that 4-5 items per carousel, with minimal text and clear page indicators, results in a more user-friendly design.
The full research paper is available upon request.