Artsy
Auction Email System – 2019
This project was a comprehensive overhaul of Artsy’s auction email system.
The existing communication process relied on plain text emails, only partially automated, supplemented by a white-glove experience through emails and calls from our auction specialists.
In addition to those challenges, Artsy’s bidders regularly reported to us that they couldn’t figure out how to manage their active bids and registered auctions on the platform, preferring to rely on the emails.
To address these issues, the product team and I opted for a strategic redesign of the email system, creating a streamlined component system and template, which significantly enhanced the overall bidding experience.
Before
Inconsistent plain-text emails.
Components
The emails had a lot of conditionals. There are three different auction styles, with different rules, which affected the copy — for example, whether users are bidding in an online auction closing on a certain date, or if they are pre-bidding on an auction opening on a certain date for live bidding, where our online bidders compete with others present in a realtime auction room.
As part of a push for price transparency across the user experience, we also wanted to add Buyer’s Premium to the emails. BP typically costs around 20-30% on top of the hammer price, which can lead to sticker shock and bad feelings even for those who win their auctions.
I developed a mini design system for the emails, creating responsive components for the timing blocks, auction information cards, and lot information cards.
Final emails
By including a small image of the artwork, introducing hierarchy to the copy, and clarifying prices, urgency, and calls to action, the emails became much more engaging and effective.
These emails were wildly successful — they doubled the conversion rate from session to purchase. More bidders clicked through to the platform, and, twice as many bidders placed new bids that resulted in a successful purchase.
A good reminder that the product and user experience always extend beyond the interface of the website and app.