Design a social shopping feature at an eCommerce platform. How will you launch the MVP?

Lack of quality reviews on products 

• Lack of social proof 

• No incentives to add reviews 

Must Have 

Product images are low-quality there is a lack of standardization

could Have 

Product descriptions are in plain text and are difficult to find relevant data 

must Have 

A lot of offline research is done especially in the electronics category which moves the users to other platforms 

must have 

Items are out of stock quickly sometimes sellers cannot keep up with the demand 

won't have 

Product discovery often starts with a manual search. There is a lack of personalization and recommendations 

won't have 

Shopping is a very siloed experience which makes buying experience boring and decision-making longer and harder 

must have 

Lack of tools/equipment/knowledge to build more robust product information 

won't have 

Lack data on customers, and they do not know what the customer want’s/needs 

won't have 

COD is the preferred mode of payment but also has the highest return rate 

won't have 

#

Need 

Feature 

Impact 

Effort 

Downsides/Counter Solutions

1

Lack of quality reviews on products 

1. Lack of social proof 

2. No incentives to add reviews 

Rewarding users for submitting and sourcing reviews. (e.g give flipkart coins)

H 

M 

We may end up with a lot of spam/fake reviews 

Review guide per category - these will assist customers in providing more relevant reviews 

H 

L

-

2

Product descriptions are in plain text and it are difficult to find relevant data 

Incentivize sellers to create videos of products 

H 

H

Low ticket items may not see traction 

Enable sellers to source local talents like photographers, content writers, and videographers to create robust product details and descriptions 

H 

H

It May be too expensive for small sellers they may not be interested in spending more 

3

A lot of offline research is done especially in the electronics category which moves the users to other platforms 

Enables sellers/brands to create unique affiliate programs 

H 

H 

– 

Embed explainer videos on product detail pages 

H 

M

It May not work for all categories and the initial cost of creating these videos may be really high 

Embed review videos of the top items in the category by cost, features, etc

H 

M

–

4

Shopping is a very siloed experience which makes buying experience boring and decision-making longer and harder 

Live stream selling 

1. New launches 

2. Sale items 

H 

H 

–

Introduce group buys for certain categories 

H 

M

Group buys for certain categories like groceries may work but not for all