Netflix Watch Lists

Curated recommendations for specific moods and occasions

Problem Scope

Despite Netflix’s big personalization efforts, over 25% survey participants still feel their experience isn’t personalized enough because it takes too much time and effort to find something worth watching.  

Lack of personalization was one of the top 10 reasons for canceling Netflix based on a survey we sent to over 350 Netflix current and ex-members.

Research Takeaways

People support and are loyal to brands that they feel value their time and goals.

A common reason people churn is how much time and effort it takes to find something good to watch. By curating their extensive library into watch lists, Netflix has the opportunity to show members they value their time and support.

Churning can be mitigated by investing in personal relationships.

People aren’t inclined to be loyal when it’s too difficult to get their basic needs (i.e quality content). Consistent “offenses” lead them to feel like Netflix is not putting enough effort into helping them get a better experience. Therefore, it’s so important that Netflix invests in stronger personal ties with members.

Ideation

We ideated many potential solutions to address the pain points and needs we found during research. However, we used an impact vs. effort matrix to narrow the project scope based on the ideas we thought were most feasible and desirable. 

The final concept was watch lists personalized to specific popular moods and occasions to improve the search and discovery process for both churners.

User Flow

We mapped out the user flows for the key features like how a user would search, save, and create watch lists as well as potential entry points to access the watch lists.

User Testing

After getting feedback from several people we recruited to test our prototype, we iterated on the designs based on which parts were still unintuitive or could use some more delight. 

Final Design

Netflix watch lists are curated recommendations for specific moods and occasions to help members discover relevant content more efficiently.

Reflections

Working with my team this semester has been a wonderful period of learning and growth. With more time, we would’ve liked to do concept testing before settling on a general direction to get a better idea of what solutions best serves the needs and pain points of the members.