Uncovering Conversion Leaks in a C2C Jewelry Marketplace
Sector: C2C Marketplace / Pre-owned Diamonds & Jewelry (GEMGEM)
1. The Context
GEMGEM is an early-stage C2C marketplace for buying and selling authenticated pre-owned diamonds and jewelry, with IGI verification at its core. I was approached to evaluate the platform as a Product Consulting engagement — conducting a full end-to-end audit of both buyer and seller flows, funnel analysis, and a 90-day product strategy.
2. What I Did
- Tested the complete buyer journey — homepage to checkout — across desktop and mobile
- Tested the full seller flow — landing page through listing submission
- Audited navigation, PLP, PDP, cart, checkout, and login flows for UX and trust gaps
- Analyzed provided funnel metrics for both buyer and seller funnels
- Benchmarked against competitors including Worthy, Louped, and OLX
3. Key Findings
Buyer Funnel
- 68% drop from product page to add-to-cart due to insufficient trust signals at PDP level — certification buried below the fold, no seller information visible
- Free shipping label displayed site-wide with no conditions mentioned — active miscommunication eroding trust
- Critical SEO issue: “New Arrivals” incorrectly tagged as
<h1>— directly impacting organic traffic acquisition - Filter scroll bug making it impossible to access filters when more than two were open simultaneously
- No PayPal payment option despite high US market adoption
Seller Funnel
- 79% overall drop-off from listing start to submission
- Biggest single drop: 53% at the final submit stage — indicating fee transparency and trust issues at the paywall
- Seller landing page optimized for authentication conversion, not listing conversion — misaligned user goal vs page goal
- Main listing CTA buried on the 3rd fold
- Photo guidelines insufficient — no dimension specs or format requirements, a primary reason for drop-off at image upload stage
4. The Impact
- Recommendations were reviewed and actioned by the GEMGEM team
- Identified fixes across SEO, trust signals, checkout UX, and seller onboarding friction
- Delivered a prioritized 90-day roadmap covering funnel fixes, SEO-first traffic strategy, and A/B experimentation framework
5. The Strategy
Days 1–30: Fix core funnel friction — form validations, seller CTA placement, filter bug, free shipping clarity, make-an-offer guidance
Days 31–60: SEO-first content and page code fixes to drive organic acquisition for both buyer and seller audiences
Days 61–90: Gather quantitative and qualitative data, then run A/B experiments on homepage and PDP to improve trust and decision confidence
