Bee Hive animation of Shedd Homepage
How an Eye Tracking Study Identified a Six Figure Monthly Missed Revenue Opportunity.
My team layered eye tracking, user testing and Google Analytics data to discover a high-value, under-performing segmentation of Shedd Aquarium's site traffic. I then designed a testing strategy to recover those losses and guide future research strategy.
Duration
01/25 - 05/25
Team
Conor Mack
Hridya Nadappattel
Saskia Suherman
Iris Sun
Tools
Figma & FigJam
Tobii Pro (Eye Tracking)
Google Analytics (GA4)
Looker Studio
Methods
Eye Tracking
Moderated Usability Testing
Surveys & SUS Testing
Rainbow Sheet Analysis
AB Testing
Problem Framing & Research
Problem Framing
How might we optimize Shedd Aquarium's ticket purchasing process for individual and family visitors to create a seamless, stress free experience that better supports their plans to visit?
“We want to understand how people are moving through the ticket purchase path and where they’re dropping off.”
2 of 9 beluga whales living at Shedd Aquarium
Research Questions (RQs)
Which steps in the flow have the highest and lowest friction, according to eye tracking metrics?
Furthermore
How does the design and structure of Shedd Aquarium's ticket purchasing process influence user decision making and completion rates?
How do visual design elements impact user comprehension and experience within the ticket purchase flow?
Hypothesis
If the price is clearly understood throughout the process, conversion rates will trend up.
Furthermore
If the ticketing process is structured with clear navigation cues and fewer steps, then users will make faster, more confident purchasing decisions, increasing conversion rates.
If visual indicators like progress bars and breadcrumb navigation are introduced, then user navigation will improve, leading to less confusion and more conversions.
Tools & Instruments
To evaluate these hypotheses, we employed a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods:
Overview
Information Architecture Analysis
Conducted an initial audit of Shedd's online ticketing flow to gain a general understanding of the process.
Eye Tracking
Conducted both a mobile and a desktop study of the funnel.
User Interviews
Participants ran us through their decision making process after the eye tracking study.
Google Analytics
Analyze GA4 data in Looker.
Rainbow Sheet Analysis
Team analysis exercise to track issues, categorize usability concerns, and prioritize areas for improvement.
SUS Survey
A System Usability Scale Survey was administered to gather quantitative feedback on perceived usability.
Deep Dive
For the sake of brevity, I keep the granular data and process out of my case studies. But do not fret, I would never keep the nerdy data from you all. Explore below or send me a message, I'd love to talk nitty gritty.
GA4 Findings (private due to sensitive information) ↗️
Our Findings
1.
Calendar Clarity
14/16 users experienced friction and confusion during the calendar selection process, often missing key information and looping back multiple times.
Gaze map and heat map showing prices aren't noticed.
I thought I saw the price change but wasn’t sure why. I had to go back just to double-check.”
Participants struggled to interpret the symbols and color-coding of the calendar, leading to repeated attempts to understand availability and pricing. Scanning loops were common, with users circling back to recheck dates and times. The lack of a clear visual legend contributed to decision fatigue.
“I didn’t understand what the colors were or what all the text about holiday periods meant."
So What?
Missed key information and scanning loops indicated high friction. Research participants also verbally expressed frustration, which directly impacted conversion rates, creating points of user drop-off and frustration. Confusion with calendar elements forced users into redundant navigation, prolonging their journey and increasing abandonment risk.
56% of users reported struggling to make confident decisions on the Calendar & Time pages, citing confusion with color and icon systems without a key or legend.
Eye-tracking analysis showed the highest fixation count in the flow(243,000ms across 624 fixations), indicating significant cognitive load as users tried to interpret the available options
Now What?
Reconsider both content and type hierarchy to make Shedd’s messaging more digestible and understood.
Introducing a visual key for calendar icons, as well as clearer color coding with upfront pricing, would reduce friction and improve the users ticket purchasing experience.
Take Away
Improving Hierarchy Improves Clarity
Gif showing how styling content can improve clarity.
2.
Navigation Issues
15/16 users got stuck due to unfamiliar navigation and lack of autonomy to move back and forth during the ticketing process.
Gaze map showing navigation stress
“I tried to go back to the ticket selection, but it wasn’t letting me. I ended up just reloading the whole thing.”
The rigid flow left users unable to move fluidly between steps. Many attempted to go back, only to find there were no accessible navigation buttons. Frustration with browser-based navigation caused drop-offs and session abandonment.
“If none of these dates work for me, I can’t close the window. That’s annoying.”
So What?
The inability to move back and forth caused significant friction, especially when users wanted to check previous selections. This led to frustration, user drop-off, and a feeling of being trapped in a loop.
56% of users abandoned the flow at navigation dead-ends, citing lack of clarity and inability to change selections mid-process
Eye-tracking showed repetitive zig-zag scanning patterns as users tried to find navigational cues that simply weren’t there
63% of users attempted to navigate back during the process but found themselves stuck or forced to use browser back buttons
42.9% of participants encountered information overload during navigation, struggling to understand CityPass options and ticket types
Now What?
Implement consistent back navigation and a sticky stepper that shows current progress and allows for easy adjustments. This would restore user control and prevent dead ends in the purchase path.
Introduce persistent back buttons at each step to allow users to comfortably navigate without relying on the browser.
Create an interactive sticky stepper that visualizes progress and enables users to jump back to any previous stage confidently.
3.
Pricing transparency
15/16 users were confused by inconsistent pricing, and 94% were unclear about differences in costs during date and time selection.
Too many steps in the process before price is shown.
“I picked $38, but then the next screen says $41. I’m like… wait, what’s going on?”
Participants often missed critical price differences between dates and time slots, leading to confusion and hesitation during checkout. Eye-tracking data showed users scanning the screen without fixating on prices, indicating that pricing was not visually emphasized enough. This lack of clarity led to surprise costs during the final steps of checkout.
So What?
This inconsistency created friction and distrust in the purchasing process. Users reported feeling misled when final costs did not align with their expectations, leading to frustration and, in some cases, drop-offs. Lack of clarity not only confused users but also skewed funnel analytics by introducing “low-intent” visitors who simply entered the flow to check prices.
Variable pricing was surfaced too late in the flow, causing decision paralysis and drop-off
Eye-tracking maps showed that users fixated on price-related text for less than 1.5 seconds on average—insufficient time to comprehend variable pricing
94% of users did not notice price differences between date and time steps, contributing to unexpected charges during checkout
Eye-tracking revealed that participants scanned past prices without sufficient visual fixation, suggesting that prices were not highlighted prominently enough
Now What?
Display dynamic pricing upfront in the user flow to reduce surprises and increase trust. Integrating this transparency earlier will allow users to make quicker, more informed decisions without unexpected surprises.
Implement a dynamic price calendar directly on the “Plan Your Visit” page, showing the full range of pricing before users enter the purchase path.
Use hover states, visual aids and tooltips to explain price variations, holidays, and peak times as users interact with the calendar.
AB Testing
Test Surfacing the Price Earlier in the Flow
The hypothesis was simple. If users saw the full cost of admission before entering the purchase pathway, conversion rates will go up.
2 screens, the control and the variant, side by side showing visuals of proposed AB test.
Goal
Improve price visibility early in the journey to reduce funnel noise and increase purchase clarity.
Timeframe
30 days
Key Metrics
Secondary Metrics
Control
Variant
Audience
Continuing Research Strategy
Whether this A/B test confirms or challenges our hypothesis, it opens the door to more intentional, insight-driven optimization.
If it went well…
A successful result signals that transparency drives both confidence and cleaner analytics.
Price calendar interactions (clicks, opens, scroll)
Drop off from calendar page
Average session duration for non-Chicago Residents
If it didn't go well…
Explore other ways to address transparency.
Consider more testing of both navigation and the steps with high points of friction.
Continue to use qualitative data to help identify blind spots.
Wrapping it up
Conclusion & Impact
Navigating the ticket purchase flow presented clear challenges for users, impacting not just their experience but also Shedd’s revenue potential.
The team after our final presenting to Shedd, go team 🌊 KelpDesk 🐠
My role as a Product Designer focused on uncovering the friction points within navigation and price visibility through rigorous research and usability testing. I identified a six figure monthly revenue opportunity by optimizing the user flow and improving price transparency. Rainbow Sheet Analysis and GA4 Insights confirmed that users encountered significant barriers during the calendar and checkout process.
Key Impact
"From the bottom of all our hearts here at Shedd, thank you for your hard work and the materials that you have shared with us! We are excited to begin discussions of next steps for our purchase pathway, taking into consideration some of the analysis your team has done, and we were impressed with the depth of thought you put into your research and proposals."
- Shedd Aquarium in response to our deliverables