Case Study: CarMax boosts UX with live customer feedback using Ethnio

CarMax boosts UX with Ethnio through live customer intercepts and 25,000-employee-backed research

CarMax, a major automotive retailer, sought more authentic and immediate customer feedback to improve its website's user experience. Their challenge was that traditional scheduled research methods often felt artificial and failed to capture users in their natural, real-time interactions. To address this, they partnered with the vendor Ethnio to utilize its live intercept and screening platform.

The solution implemented was Ethnio's live intercepts, which CarMax calls "fishing trips." The design team randomly recruits carmax.com visitors in real-time, screens them via Ethnio, and conducts live, unmoderated interviews that are broadcast company-wide. This approach allowed CarMax to observe genuine user behavior, build internal empathy, and gain specific insights—like discovering customers preferred providing more detailed information in a finance app for greater confidence. While no specific metrics are given, the result was a deeper, more actionable understanding of customer needs to build a better user experience.

carmax.com