Transformed ADT’s call-based sales model into a seamless ecommerce experience.
Designed ADT's first end-to-end ecommerce experience, enabling customers to research, customize, and purchase home security systems independently without requiring a sales consultation.
Objective
Enable customers to confidently purchase home security systems online without agent assistance.
My role
• UX Design
• UX Research
• System Design
• Prototyping
• Delivery
Tools
• Figma
• Usertesting.com
•Miro
Team
• Design
• Marketing
• Engineering
• Product
The challenge
For decades, nearly all of ADT's sales happened over the phone. Customers had to speak with an agent before purchasing, an approach that no longer fit digital-first expectations. The goal was to maintain the trust and personalized guidance of phone consultations while enabling self-service.
Early research revealed the core problem: customers were abandoning not from lack of interest, but from decision paralysis. They couldn't visualize how systems worked in their homes, didn't understand which features they needed, and felt overwhelmed by technical specifications without context.
Meanwhile, competitors with simpler DIY systems were capturing market share through instant clarity and checkout. ADT needed to translate decades of consultative expertise into a self-guided experience without losing the trust behind professional monitoring.
My role and approach
I led the design of the quiz experience and product detail pages, working with a senior designer who owned checkout and a mobile team. My focus was the highest-friction part of the journey: moving undecided customers from "I think I need security" to "I know what I need and why."
A significant constraint: the backend wasn't built for ecommerce. Product configurations, pricing logic, and installation scheduling were designed around agent workflows. We partnered with engineering to create new APIs that could support self-service while maintaining accuracy.
Guided quiz: Turning paralysis into direction
Early testing showed customers stalling immediately. When asked "What do you need?" they didn't know how to answer. Professional monitoring? Motion sensors? The terminology itself created barriers.
I designed a lifestyle-based quiz that reframed technical choices as everyday decisions. Instead of listing camera specs, we asked "Would you want to check in on pets or kids while you're away?"
The quiz built a mental model of how security systems work while delivering a recommendation that felt personalized. Progress indicators showed users they were three questions away from clarity, not drowning in an endless questionnaire.
But the first version failed on mobile. We'd prioritized rich visuals that loaded slowly and required excessive scrolling. Completion rates on mobile were significantly lower than desktop.
We stripped out decorative imagery, simplified phrasing, and optimized load times. Mobile completion rates improved to match desktop, and quiz completers became 3x more likely to purchase than users who skipped straight to browsing.
Product Detail Page: Turning Complexity Into Storytelling
Once customers knew what they needed, they still had to understand what they were buying. The existing pages were spec sheets with minimal explanation. Research showed customers comparing ADT to competitors would leave because they couldn't answer: "Will this camera work at night?" "What happens if my wifi goes out?"
I redesigned the page around benefit-driven storytelling. Instead of "HD camera with night vision," we showed "See clearly whether it's noon or midnight" with expandable details explaining how the technology worked in plain language. Professional monitoring became a core differentiator, showing the value of 24/7 response teams versus app-only DIY systems.
The layout prioritized mobile with key information above the fold: total monthly cost, what's included, and installation options. Expandable sections let curious customers dig deeper without overwhelming those ready to move forward.
Stakeholders initially worried simplified language would lose credibility. I showed them session recordings where customers glazed over jargon but engaged with benefit-focused copy. The shift was about meeting customers in their context, not dumbing anything down.
Checkout: Simplicity met complexity
The checkout posed a unique challenge: ADT required installation scheduling before order completion. Customers weren't just buying a product. They were committing to a technician visit, a date, and a three-year monitoring contract.
I designed a streamlined flow that made this complexity manageable. Installation options appeared upfront with clear trade-offs: professional installation with same-week availability versus self-installation with a discount. Pricing remained visible, with monitoring fees and equipment costs separated so customers understood monthly versus upfront commitments.
Each input was optimized for mobile: large touch targets, autofill support, smart defaults. Confirmation messaging reinforced the decision: "Your system will be installed on [date]. A technician will call 24 hours before to confirm." This specificity built trust that generic confirmations never could.
What we learned and what changed
Three months post-launch, we discovered customers who used the quiz were converting, but those who skipped it and browsed directly were abandoning at higher rates. The new product pages assumed a baseline understanding that quiz users had built but browsers lacked.
We added contextual education to the browsing experience: comparison tables explaining monitoring tiers, tooltips defining terms like "cellular backup," and a simplified quiz entrypoint after 30 seconds of browsing. This honored different shopping styles rather than forcing a single funnel.
We also found installation anxiety was a bigger barrier than price. Customers worried about technicians being late or being upsold on-site. Adding installation guides, technician bios, and a "what to expect" video measurably reduced last-minute drop-offs and support calls.
Impact
Launched ADT's first self-service ecommerce experience, enabling customers to research, configure, and purchase without agent assistance
Established online as a significant revenue channel within six months, with mobile representing nearly half of conversions
Quiz users showed 2x higher average order values by understanding their needs rather than defaulting to entry-level packages
Measurably reduced installation-related support inquiries through proactive education and clearer expectation-setting
Created scalable infrastructure that enabled faster product launches. The video doorbell bundle launched in weeks rather than months.
The infrastructure we built (quiz logic, product configuration APIs, installation scheduling) became the foundation for future products. What started as a modernization effort became a blueprint for how ADT meets customers in a digital-first world, not by removing the human touch, but by translating it into experiences that guide, educate, and build confidence at every step.