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Name Display

Discouraging anonymity in a marketplace to increase trust perception

Year

2022

Role

Product Designer

Platform

Web, Mobile

Team

PM, FE engineer, Designer

Work done

Redesigned how sellers choose to show their names on a marketplace from a binary approach to giving them more options that strikes a balance between disclosure and privacy.

Context

Anonymous sellers on marketplaces make buyers hesitate. The challenge was discouraging name anonymity that sellers on the platform were used to, while also respecting legitimate privacy concerns and not creating barriers for honest sellers.

Process

  • User research - Understanding buyer concerns about anonymous sellers
  • Trust analysis - Studying correlation between seller identity and transaction success
  • Privacy assessment - Balancing transparency with legitimate privacy needs
  • Incentive design - Encouraging disclosure through benefits and trust signals
  • A/B testing - Testing if the incentive design works
Seller name options interface

A/B test of incentive design. Instead of just asking if to show their name or not, present them with better options of how their name can be shown, benefits of doing so, with options for those with privacy concerns.

Seller name options interface

Sellers name are now displayed on listings

Seller name options interface

Now when buyers decide to contact them, they have a reference on who they are talking to

Key Features

  • Tiered seller name options
  • Privacy controls allowing sellers to choose disclosure level

Design Challenges

  • Balancing buyer trust needs with seller privacy concerns
  • Creating incentives for disclosure without penalizing privacy

Outcome

  • 83% of sellers in the B test chose to show their name, using any of the new options
  • Whereas in the A test, 90% decide for anonymity
  • We decided to release the new options, and remove anonymity entirely
Seller name options interface

We decided to simplify even further after the A/B test.