ShopWest4th.com: Bringing the in store experience, online

The project goals were to increase social engagement, sales of West 4th boutique shops and create a customized experience for each shopper.

Who was your user?

Model from Kit and Ace

Josie Nicbecca is a Consultant in her early 30s living in Vancouver. She loves to browse and do her research online prior to purchase. She doesn’t always know what she wants, but knows it when she sees it. She wants to shop local products as they tend to be more unique and well made. But the price of artisanal can sometimes discourage her from doing so. She tends to purchase new clothing once every month or two.

She’s motivated to purchase by style, necessity and price. Brands aren’t as much of a concern to her. She’s inspired by street fashion, what’s in-stock, Pinterest/Instagram and blogs as well as her friends.

She’s frustrated when items don’t meet her expectations, which comes from not being able to try items on online. Most stores also don’t offer a true multi-channel experience. Because authenticity is important to her, she needs social proofing prior to purchase.

What’s Josie’s story?

When Josie was a teenager, she loved shopping and trying on clothes. Now that she’s older, she’s too busy trying to juggle work, personal development and a social life to even go shopping. But one day, Josie gets a wedding invitation from an old friend. Because her friend’s style is so eclectic, she feels obligated to find a dress that’s unique and one of a kind. But she’s in the middle of a huge consulting deal, how is she going to find the time to go try on clothes? She was a bit nervous about the whole thing, until she comes across an article on a cool new web app from her favourite fashion blog. The new shopwest4th.com site that brings the in-store shopping experience online.

What hurdles did you encounter?

The e-commerce store was meant to incorporate all shops, services and restaurants along West 4th — from fashion, baby, gifts, outdoor and active lifestyle, home decor, groceries and more. With such a large collection, it was easy to lose focus or try to go too grand for a 2-week project.

How did you get over them?

I did some research into what types of products were most/least likely to be purchased online. A 2014 study by Walker Sands found that clothing and apparel was in the top 3 types of products most commonly purchased online. Because of this, I decided to focus on Clothing and Apparel over the other categories.

What approach did you take away from your design? Why?

Research:

As a screener, I focused on those between their 20s to mid 30s that were comfortable shopping online. I sent out a more generalized shopping habits survey through Survey Monkey that explored how, why and when people shopped, their motivators and inspiration, preferences for shopping online vs in-store. For further insight, I interviewed 5 different participants that had varying levels of commitment towards online shopping and shopping locally. It was really important for me understand how I could bring the instant gratification and tactile experience of shopping in-store into an online space.

I conducted research on the organization, online shopping habits, showrooming and existing virtual reality technology. This enable me to make the most educated decisions on what to focus on, feasibility of my ideas and back up my choices with facts and statistics.

Planning:

The purple shows the journey our user flow Josie takes through

I found it really helpful to do two different Use Case, one for the personalization of Josie’s account and another for trying on clothes virtually. The Use Case was essential to help me build out the Site Map and User Flow. It was also helpful to write out all the aspects (site map, categories, content titles, etc.) of the web app I knew I had to include.

Initially, I spent too long trying to flesh out the perfect Site Map and User Flow. It got to the point where I had to physically close the app and move on.

Design:

For the actual design, I looked at the font ShopWest4th was currently using and found a secondary font that would complement it. The initial sketches were very quick because I knew I would eventually refine my ideas during the digital prototypes.

Testing:

The participant I chose for my usability testing was someone that fit my persona. My participant found it extremely helpful when I set up context in the beginning on who my persona was, what problems she faced and her goal for the web app. It helped me re-affirm the flow and also fill in the gaps where I could improve upon. It emphasized the importance of language and copy writing during your prototypes.

What was the problem?

Local shops are predicted to lose $1.6 billion in retail sales to American-owned giants and online sales. The majority of Canadian independent retailers have a very poor online presence. My persona had 3 main problems: Not being able to try on clothes online, lack of multi-channel experience and authenticity and expectations not being met.

When asked if there was an in-store experience our users would like to see online

“I can’t try on clothes online”

A lot of customer frustration and returns happen when expectations don’t meet up with reality. During my affinity diagram, I asked the question “Is there an in-store experience you would like to see online.” Almost 40% of my interviewees stated virtual change rooms or the ability to see how clothes looked on them.

Lack of multi-channel experience

For my domain research, I looked into Showrooming vs Webrooming. Despite all the buzz around Showrooming and online shopping, The Nielsen Survey (2014) found that 60% of consumers browsed online prior to making an in-store option. In 2013, Accenture conducted a poll of 750 consumers in the US and found that 89% of consumers felt it was important for retailers to allow them to shop in a way that’s most important to them. Digital and physical channels should complement one another oppose to competing. Despite almost half of consumers expecting the experience to be same, only 16% of retailers offered the same pricing online and in-store. Only 19% offered the same product assortment. This gap lead to an inconsistent experience that often irritated customers.

Authenticity and expectations not being met

When asked “What’s the worst thing about shopping online?” Respondents said the fear of what they ordered not living up to the pictures and description online. The potential of scammers and cons out there was another huge concern.

What was the solution?

Virtual change rooms: The in-store shopping experience into a digital landscape

Bring the in-store experience, online

Virtual change rooms are no longer just science fiction. The Xbox Kinect uses The Mall and Swivel that allows users to try on clothes virtually. The Oculus Rift and Snapchat’s face tracking technology are two other technology examples of how technology is changing the digital landscape.

In the virtual change room at ShopWest4th, Josie has the option to switch and compare her outfits. Another aspect of in-store shopping that my interviewees and respondents desired was a live customer service representative. This is where the customized recommendations and live chat comes in.

Create a true multi-channel experience

Allowing in-store stock check with the option to reserve and pick up in-store allows Josie to shop in a way that is most convenient for her. The front page of the web app also highlights the in-store and online price and stock guarantee as one of its three value props.

Social proofing

Detailed reviews, user submitted photos and a ShopWest4th community. Having users vote on how accurate the clothes are to the pictures and feedback on the fit and sizing helps to inform potential buyers.

What would you do differently next time?

An important lesson I learnt was that the UX process is constantly evolving and to not expect perfection the first time around. Ultimately plans will evolve with design and testing. Overall, this was a great first case study while in school.