A UX writing and heuristic evaluation of the PlayStation Store cart and checkout flow, identifying copy and usability problems and proposing revised designs grounded in PlayStation's core product principles.
Overview
This project focused on the cart and checkout experience on the PlayStation Store web app. The goal was to evaluate the current flow, identify friction points in both the UX copy and the interface, and propose revisions that aligned with PlayStation's product principles: Efficient, Secure and Trustworthy, and Clear.
The Problem
The main issue I identified was that users could accidentally add two editions of the same game to their cart with no warning. When both a Standard Edition and a Deluxe Edition were in the cart at the same time, the interface gave no indication that the editions overlapped in content — meaning users could spend nearly $100 on duplicate content without realizing it.
On top of that, the cart used a tiny unlabeled trash icon for removing items, buttons just said "In Cart" with no edition context, and there was no feedback when an item was successfully removed.
Process
I started by creating a UX content scorecard that mapped PlayStation's product principles to specific voice criteria: vocabulary, verbosity, syntax, punctuation, and capitalization. This gave me a consistent framework to evaluate the existing copy against and to guide my revisions.
I walked through the cart and checkout flow and scored each step on clarity, error prevention, and relevant information. The cart experience scored between 4 and 6 out of 10 across those dimensions, which confirmed the issues I had identified visually.
I mocked up the problem states and proposed revised versions for both the product page and the cart page. My changes addressed the most critical issues in the flow.
Key Changes
The biggest change was adding an edition warning modal. When a user tries to add a second edition of a game they already have in their cart, a dialog appears explaining that the Deluxe Edition includes everything from the Standard Edition, and gives them three options: Replace with Deluxe, Keep Both, or Cancel. This directly prevents the accidental duplicate purchase problem.
I also changed the button text from "In Cart" to "Standard Edition in Cart" so users always know which edition they added without having to open their cart. The tiny trash icon was replaced with a labeled "Remove" button for accessibility. And I added an edition comparison panel in the cart that shows exactly what is included in each version side by side.
Finally, I added a toast notification that confirms when an item has been successfully removed, addressing the lack of feedback in the original flow.
Outcome
These revisions brought the heuristic scores from the 4 to 6 range up to an estimated 8 to 9 out of 10 by giving users the right information at the right moment without slowing down the checkout flow. Every change was tied back to PlayStation's product principles and the voice criteria established in the scorecard.