With the end of 2024 nearing, here’s an overview of everything we’ve been working on at Baymard, as well as what we have planned for 2025.
Core Theme Research Renewed
In 2024 we’ve conducted and published 35,000+ hours of new UX research.
First, this year we wrapped up two long-running renewal studies: Checkout and Product Finding. Both studies retested and verified our existing Checkout and Product Finding research, produced new Checkout and Product Finding guidelines, and expanded our existing guidelines with all-new examples, user issues, and design solutions.
1) Checkout Renewal Study Completed
Our Checkout Research has been revised and expanded with 4,000+ more hours of Checkout-only research.
This research included more than 200 qualitative user/site usability sessions and focused on 16 mass merchant and smaller sites: Etsy, Theo Chocolates, CVS, Best Buy, Stance, Hayneedle, Apple, Everlane, Container Store, Williams Sonoma, Overstock, Walgreens, Snowe Home, Wayfair, American Eagle, and Samsung.
Our Checkout research now includes 110+ Checkout-only guidelines.
Some of our new findings include Include All Order-Fulfillment Options in the Fulfillment-Selector Interface (50% Don’t), Provide a “Fully Automatic Address Lookup” Feature (55% Don’t), and Use Buttons or Buttons Plus an Open Text Field for Updating Cart Quantity (61% Don’t).
For more see our article describing the Checkout study.
For a full list of all our Checkout articles head over to our list of Checkout articles page.
2) Product Finding Renewal Study Completed
Our Homepage and Category Navigation, Product Lists and Filtering, and Search (collectively, “Product Finding and Navigation”) research has also been revised and expanded with 5,550+ more hours of Product Finding research.
This research included 219 qualitative user/site usability sessions and focused on 12 mass merchant and smaller sites: Staples, HP, Office Depot, Best Buy, B&H Photo, Newegg, GAP, H&M, AEO, Nordstrom, L.L.Bean, and Urban Outfitters.
Our Product Finding research now includes 160+ Product Finding–only guidelines.
Some of our new findings include Provide “Quick Views” for Visually Driven Products (50% Don’t), Make All Color Swatches Available in Mobile List Items for Visually Driven Product Types (57% Don’t), and Use “Visual” Filters for Visually Distinct Product Attributes.
For more on the Product Finding study, see our Product Finding launch article.
For a full list of all our Product Finding articles head over to our list of Homepage and Category Navigation articles page, our list of Product Lists and Filtering articles, and our list of On-Site Search articles.
3 New UX Research Studies in 2024
In 2024 we wrapped up work on 3 new industry-specific studies.
1) New “B2B Electronic Components and Machinery” Research Study
Our B2B Electronics Components and Machinery study included 2,500+ hours of research solely devoted to this industry.
The research focused on 15 U.S. and global manufacturer and distributor websites offering electronic components and machinery:
Manufacturer sites: Analog Devices, Microchip Technology, Microchip Direct, STMicroelectronics, STMicroelectronics eStore, TDK Corporation, and TE Connectivity.
Distributor sites: Arrow Electronics, CoreStaff, Digi-Key Electronics, Farnell/Newark/element 14, Future Electronics, Mouser Electronics, RS Components, Ltd., and TTI, Inc.
See the findings from our B2B Electronic Components and Machinery research study or explore our B2B Electronics Components and Machinery UX articles:
- B2B Electronics Sites: 2 High-Level Takeaways from 2,500+ Hours Testing
- B2B Electronics: Always Allow Users to Search Long Lists of Filter Options
- B2B Electronics: Use “Product Tables” to Display Product Listings on Desktop
2) New “Apparel and Accessories” Research Study
In 2024 we wrapped up 1,750+ hours of research on Apparel and Accessories sites.
We tested on midrange and discount apparel brands, including the following:
- Apparel sites: Express, Francesca’s, Gerry Weber, Levi’s, Madewell, UNIQLO
- Sportswear sites: adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Nicce, Nike, Puma
- Jewelry sites: All Saints, Catbird, Ted Baker, Pandora
- Footwear sites: Cole Haan, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Hush Puppies
See the findings from our Apparel and Accessories research study or explore our Apparel and Accessories articles:
- New Apparel & Accessories UX Research: 3 High-Level Takeaways from 1,765 Hours of Testing
- Apparel & Accessories Sites: Always Provide an Aggregate “Fit” Subscore in the Reviews (33% Don’t)
- Apparel and Accessories Sites: Prioritize Investment in Category Navigation and Curated Paths over Search
- If Providing Sidebar Filtering, Position the “Size” Filter near the Top and Expand It by Default
- Apparel E-Commerce: Visually Group and Clearly Label Size Filter Options
- 5 UX Best Practices for Apparel E-Commerce (94% Get One or More Wrong)
- 83% of Apparel Sites Don’t Provide Sufficient Sizing Information — 10 Best Practices on Sizing
3) New “Furniture and Home Decor” Research Study
Finally, in 2024 we wrapped our Furniture and Home Decor research study consisting of 2,500+ hours usability testing.
The study included 16 U.S.-based retailer websites: Article, Ashley Furniture, Bed Bath & Beyond, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Burke Decor, CB2, IKEA, Joybird, Lamps Plus, Parachute, Pottery Barn, Raymour & Flanigan, Room & Board, Serena & Lily, The Company Store, and Wayfair.
See the findings from our Furniture and Home Decor research study or explore our Furniture and Home Decor articles:
- New Furniture & Home Decor UX Research: 3 High-Level Takeaways from 2,500 Hours of Testing
- Furniture & Home Decor UX: Always Provide a “Dimensions” Image
- Furniture & Home Decor UX: Always Include Contents and Quantities in the List Item for Sets and Bundles
- Furniture and Home Decor UX: Deprioritize “View in Room” Augmented Reality (AR) Features
Baymard’s 10 Most Popular UX Research Articles in 2024
The 10 most popular UX articles for the year are:
- Checkout UX 2024: 11 Pitfalls and Best Practices
- The Current State of Homepage and Category Navigation UX: 76% of Sites Have Mediocre-to-Poor Performance (12 Common Pitfalls)
- Checkout Optimization: 5 Ways to Minimize Form Fields in Checkout
- Mobile UX Trends: The Current State of Mobile UX (15 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices)
- Usability Testing of Inline Form Validation: 31% Don’t Have It, 4% Get It Wrong
- Mobile App UX Trends: The Current State of Mobile App UX (10 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices)
- Always Allow Users to Combine Multiple Filtering Values of the Same Type — an ‘OR’ Logic (15% of Sites Don’t)
- The Current State of Product List UX: 44% of Sites Have Severe Issues (15 Best Practices)
- Retain Data in Sensitive Credit Card Fields after Validation Errors (34% Don’t)
- Use Both Ratings Average and Number of Ratings When Sorting by User Ratings
2 New Product Updates
1) Weekly UX Videos Based on 150,000+ Hours of Deep Research
Each week we are publishing a new explainer video to our new Baymard YouTube Channel based on Baymard’s extensive UX research library. We’ll cover everything from industry-specific insights to the common UX problems impacting your user experience.
Watch free UX videos on Baymard’s YouTube Channel
2) New Baymard Figma Plugin
In late 2024 we launched the new Baymard plugin for Figma. With our brand-new free plugin, you can instantly add UX Best Practice Cards to any Figma or FigJam project, helping you to inspire confidence in your designs with a click.
The cards cover a broad range of use cases and component types, making them highly versatile for various design projects.
Whether you are justifying the placement of a button or explaining the structure of a product page, Baymard’s evidence cards make it easier to communicate your design choices with stakeholders.
Head over to the Figma store to install
13 New UX Benchmarks Published in 2024
In 2024 we also conducted 13 new UX benchmarks, adding 35,000+ new best practice and worst practice examples illustrating how leading sites stack up against the 650+ UX guidelines available in Baymard Premium.
You can browse parts of this dataset for free in our public E-Commerce UX Benchmark and in the Page Design tool.
You can see the new UX benchmarks in detail here:
- Online Grocery
- Electronics & Office
- Home & Hardware
- Order Tracking & Returns
- Mass Merchant
- Luxury Goods
- Vitamins & Supplements
- Food Delivery & Takeout
- Travel Accommodations
- B2B Electronic Components & Machinery
- Digital Subscriptions & SaaS
- Apparel & Accessories
- Furniture & Home Decor
8 New Team Members and Hiring
In 2024 we welcomed 8 new colleagues to Baymard — and we have more hiring plans for 2025.
If you want to join Baymard in 2025, or know of someone who’d be a great fit, then sign up for our job email alert to get notified when Baymard is hiring (max 4 emails per year).
First Half of 2025
Looking ahead to the first half of 2025, we will be conducting 6 new UX research studies, dedicated to:
- ‘Product Page’
- ‘Accounts & Self-Service’
- ‘Health & Beauty’ sites
- ‘Telco’ sites
- ‘Insurance’ sites
- ‘Loyalty’ programs
In the first half of 2025 we’ll also release new UX industry benchmarks for:
- Furniture & Home Decor
- Apparel & Accessories
- Online Grocery
- Travel Transportation Booking
- Digital Subscriptions & SaaS
- Merchandise & Print-to-Order
- Online Learning
- DTC/Small Catalog
You can see a full breakdown of all changes on our Roadmap & Changelog page.
We’re looking forward to 2025.
- Christian, Jamie, and the entire Baymard team
Getting access: our research findings are available in the 650+ UX guidelines in Baymard Premium – get full access to learn how to create a “State of the Art” e-commerce user experience.
If you want to know how your desktop site, mobile site, or app performs and compares, then learn more about having Baymard conduct a UX Audit of your site or app.
