Discover - mobile search and browse feature

In 2020, our organization introduced

, a strategic framework with guiding principles to enhance our digital products. Aligned with this framework and our

strategy, it became clear that our legacy mobile app required a significant upgrade to meet the evolving expectations of younger customers. We began with exploratory research and

. Guided by this vision, we developed and released a

of Fidelity’s flagship app, bringing a refreshed experience to our users.

The 

(internally referred to as 

) provides a comprehensive suite of investment options, expert insights, and powerful tools to support smarter investing, saving, and financial planning decisions. As Fidelity’s most important mobile platform, it plays a central role in delivering a seamless and engaging digital experience to customers.

As early as our vision work, we developed an improved information architecture to better consolidate and organize the vast content, services, and resources from the legacy experience. In the new structure, Discover is one of the five primary navigation tabs, providing a dedicated space for users to search for answers and explore content through integrated journeys.

The Discover tab consists of two main parts:

and

.

feature allows customers to search for quotes, content, questions, or simply navigate the app. 

area displays a variety of interchangeable sections on the discover main page by utilizing important pieces of content from existing experiences.

Ultimately, this design encourages users to stay engaged within the experience and discover content and features they might have missed in the legacy tab-centric framework.

The hypothesis here is - people are pursuing a more personalized experience today, and that requires more detail and brings complexity in some way. However, people may not accept a high cognitive load at the beginning, especially for professional fields, so we should start with simplification. But by lengthening the timeline and transforming the experience gradually, we can proactively cultivate user habits and help them adapt.

The Browse feature is designed to encourage user engagement and action through three key principles: generating ideas, providing educational support, and enabling easy follow-through. By surfacing investment opportunities users may not have actively searched for, Browse sparks new ideas that lead to action. As users explore these ideas, they may require further guidance, making educational content essential for helping them make informed decisions. Finally, ensuring that relevant actions are clearly accessible near the information presented increases the likelihood of users taking the next step. Together, these elements form a continuous cycle, where new ideas lead to learning, followed by action, which in turn inspires further discovery.

2021 July release

After launching the beta experience, we gathered user feedback through our UX research team to inform future iterations.

We observed that the Discover tab’s interface did not align with customer expectations or needs. It mixed content for less experienced investors with content for seasoned investors, creating a disjointed experience that didn’t effectively serve either group. Customers missed previously accessible content like news and market data, often not realizing it was buried at the bottom of the section. Experienced investors valued features like market movers and customer orders but didn’t expect to find them after learning center links. Meanwhile, less experienced investors were unsure how to use these features, and some didn’t understand the ETFs & MFs sections.

Based on these insights, we decided to refine the structure to improve clarity and organization. This adjustment not only better meets user needs but also aligns with our initial direction and hypothesis of gradually shaping user habits while ensuring a seamless experience.

2022 April release

Before launching the beta experience, the search feature was limited to quote searches. Our goal is to enhance it by integrating existing web APIs and AI-driven search technology, enabling users to access a broader range of content, including funds, news, topics, and related questions, etc. Additionally, search results will be personalized to improve relevance and ensure a more efficient user experience.

Enhance auto-suggestions to provide a rich and comprehensive type-ahead experience, enabling users to quickly find relevant content during the input stage in most scenarios.

Content considerations include:

Introduce a tab structure to organize search results, integrating available web APIs as content sources.