EXPLORATORY
Spotify Advertisement Design to Improve User Experience (UX)
Overview:
With over 574 million users and more than 236 million ad-supported listeners as of 2023, Spotify has become one of the most widely used music streaming platforms in the world. Its free tier offers users access to a vast library of music in exchange for listening to intermittent advertisements.
However, this model presents a challenge: while ads help sustain the platform, they often interrupt the listening flow, especially when irrelevant, poorly timed, or placed in jarring locations. These disruptions negatively impact the overall user experience, causing frustration, reduced session time, and, in many cases, decreased user retention. Striking the right balance between monetization and a smooth, engaging experience is a key UX challenge.
Role:
UX Research, UX Design, Storytelling, Visual Design, Data Visualisation, Data Analysis, Prototyping, User Research, Design Thinking.
Problem Statement:
Advertisements are crucial to Spotify’s free-tier revenue, but they often disrupt the listening experience and reduce user satisfaction. Removing ads isn’t viable without affecting business goals, making it essential to design ad experiences that minimize disruption while maintaining engagement and platform sustainability.
Tools
Figma, LaTeX, Miro, Rstudio
Comprehensive Visual Design of Entire Study
Procedure:
To evaluate the impact of ad placement on user experience and engagement, users were exposed to three versions of the Spotify interface:
A version with no ads
A version with standard ad placement
A version with ads placed using UX design principles focused on relevance and reduced disruption.
After each session, users were asked to recall the content they listened to and complete a short survey capturing both quantitative ratings (for satisfaction and retention) and qualitative feedback on their experience. This helped assess not just how much they remembered, but how they felt about each variation.
Result:
The non-ad version consistently ranked highest in both satisfaction and retention. However, the UX-designed ad experience showed notable improvement over the standard version :
30% increase in content retention and a 50% boost in user satisfaction
User feedback highlighted that relevant, well-placed ads felt “less intrusive” and “more natural,” indicating that thoughtful UX design can significantly improve user satisfaction while driving business growth.