<aside> ⭐ Competitive analysis for UX design gives businesses valuable insight into developing more effective product strategies. With UX competitive benchmarking and visual competitive analysis, we gain a better understanding of the market that a product will compete in.

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Without a UX competitive analysis, you may struggle to identify the reasons why users would choose your product over your competition.

Competitive analysis UX is one of many research methods used to improve the user experience of websites, apps, and software. If you want to solve usability problems or identify the strengths and weaknesses of your products, start by looking at your competitors.

At its core, competitive analysis UX provides an overview of the current state of the market. You get to examine and compare data related to your products and the competition’s products in the marketplace. Businesses typically use visual competitive analysis and other techniques to highlight issues with their products or make better decisions about their product strategies.

A typical analysis includes an overview of the current landscape for the product. This may involve a detailed look at the various products, companies, and prices. The analysis also includes research into user demographics. However, the focus of the analysis is the user experience (UX).

Performing a competitive analysis in UX design helps companies identify competitors’ strengths and weaknesses relative to their own business, product, and design. The insight designers gain through competitive analysis research helps you develop better products and more effective UX designs. Learning more about your competition helps businesses to:

• Assess where your product or design stands in the market
• Define any gaps in the market
• Know the strengths and weaknesses of your competition
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of your products
• Have evidence to back up your design changes
• Helps you solve usability issues
• Enables you to develop your go-to-market strategy

Performing a competitive analysis should be one of the earliest research steps in the UX design process. Competitive analysis should begin before working on a new design and continue for the project’s duration since new competition may emerge and market conditions will continue to change throughout the design process.

Steps

To get started on your UX competitive analysis, define your goals, access the competition, and start comparing products with these steps:

1. Outline your goals and define your product. Ask yourself, why are you doing this competitor analysis and what do you hope to achieve? Be specific in your goal and design focus to keep your analysis on track.

2. Compile a list of your direct and indirect competition. Create a table with 5 to 10 direct and indirect competitors. Categorize them based on priority in this order:

• Direct competition: These companies offer the same products and services at similar price points to satisfy customers’ needs.