Case

Rakuten Travel Simplifying Complex Search & Decision-Making

Challenge

Rakuten Travel is one of Japan’s largest booking platforms, offering thousands of accommodation options across the country.

However, the booking experience was complex:

• Overwhelming number of options

• Unclear search and filtering logic

• Difficulty comparing and selecting the right accommodation

The core challenge:
How might we simplify decision-making in a high-complexity travel platform?

My Role

I led UX design initiatives focused on improving search, discovery, and booking experience:

• Defined user flows across search → listing → selection

• Conducted user research and behavioral analysis

• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to align product direction

• Designed solutions to reduce friction in decision-making

Key Insight

Travel booking is not just a search problem — it is a decision-making problem.

Users evaluate multiple factors:

• Price

• Location

• Reviews

• Convenience

The real problem:
Users are overwhelmed by options, not lacking them

Strategy

1. Reduce cognitive overload

Too many choices increase friction.

Solution:

• Simplify search inputs

• Improve filtering clarity

• Structure results for easier comparison

2. Improve information hierarchy

Users scan quickly and compare options.

Focus:

• Highlight key decision factors (price, location, rating)

• Reduce unnecessary information

• Make comparison easier at a glance

3. Build trust through clarity

Travel decisions require confidence.

Research shows unclear offers and information reduce trust and conversion

Solution:

• Clear pricing and conditions

• Transparent information

• Consistent UI patterns

4. Align UX with business impact

Better UX → better conversion.

Rakuten has historically worked to make UX contributions more measurable and tied to business outcomes

Design focused on:

• Reducing drop-off

• Improving search success rate

• Increasing booking confidence

Key Design Decisions

• Simplified search flow and entry points

• Reorganized listing layout for faster scanning

• Prioritized key decision-making information

• Reduced friction between discovery and booking

Impact

• Improved usability of search and booking flows

• Reduced cognitive load during decision-making

• Increased clarity and confidence in user choices

• Contributed to a more scalable and structured UX system

What This Demonstrates

This project highlights my ability to:

• Design for complex, large-scale platforms

• Simplify high-density information into intuitive experiences

• Balance user needs with business goals

• Improve decision-making through structured UX

Action - Details

Result - after in person usability testing

The SUS score at 8.3 point with over 80% improvement.