Problem: Unorganized product categories and the lack of an online purchasing option.

Solution: Design a simple checkout to encourage online sales and enhanced product discovery.

Jump to a section in this case study!

Research: Explore & Empathize - user interviews, affinity map, journey map, and task analysis

Research: Identify & Humanize - problem statement, personas, and user flow

Design: Ideate & Design - sitemap, sketches, and wireframes

Design: Prototype & Test - results and takeaways

Explore & Empathize

Let’s walk through why I conducted each research method and some of the deliverables I made.

I conducted

• user interviews

• competitive and comparative analysis

• task analysis

I created

• journey map

• affinity map

• task analysis diagrams

User Interviews

I conducted 3 user interviews to understand how and why people shop online, specifically for their homes. I created an affinity map to organize those findings.

Assigning “How Might We” statements to these categories helped me to distill my interview data into more human and actionable insights. Here are some statements that jumped out to me:

• How might we create a more trustworthy customer focused website?

• How might we allow customers to buy from the website easily?

• How might we create a more refined browsing experience?

User interviews were an insightful first step in beginning to understand the motivations and behaviors of online shoppers.

Competitive & Comparative Analysis

Seaside Furniture is a small local business that has competition from local and national retailers. I analyzed Seaside against 4 direct competitors and 3 indirect competitors to understand what the competition offers to online shoppers. 

• Let’s look at the 4 direct competitors since this ended up being information that was more useful because it was directly related to online furniture shopping.

My main takeaways from this analysis:

• All of the competitors have an online purchasing method, and subcategories and navigation that make product discovery easier.

• 3 out of 4 competitors have product reviews and ratings

These features allow customers to have successful shopping experiences.

After I completed this analysis I realized how important it was to be aware of every step the customer has to take to complete whatever task the business intends them to. When it comes to online shopping, that task is making a purchase.

After user interviews and competitive and comparative analysis, I still wasn’t clear on the actual steps that the user would take to interact with these features in the first place. This led me to conduct 2 task analysis.

Task Analysis

I conducted 2 task analyses to put myself in the shoes of a potential customer. I chose this research method so I could empathize with what customers experience as they try to complete a common task. 

Seaside Furniture

This helped to validate insights from my previous research methods, and illuminate how the user was feeling throughout the process. Let’s look at some of the user’s pain points.

• The amount of products in the dining table category is overwhelming.

• I’m only interested in a round, white tables, I don’t want to sort through other options.

• Since there are no prices listed, I feel unsure about even reaching out to this store.

• Every other store I shop at online has prices listed, so it’s strange this site doesn’t.

• There’s no way for me to checkout, so I wish I didn’t spend time finding my dream dining table on this website.

Raymour & Flanigan

I conducted this task analysis to glean insights on the user’s experience using a competitor’s website. This was important for me to understand because local customers will quickly choose to shop at this store over Seaside Furniture if the shopping experience is better. The most insightful pain point is:

• I can’t refine my search by the shape of the table.

Each of these analyses uncovered areas of the purchasing process that were done well and created a pleasant experience for the user, and some areas that could use improvement because they confused the user or made it difficult to complete the task.

Journey map

Creating a journey map gave me a high-level visualization of the user’s furniture buying process on Seaside Furniture’s current website. It illuminated the user’s emotions and wherein the journey they were getting stuck and frustrated.

My research methods gave me the information and insights I needed to begin creating a defined problem and putting the “human face” on all of the data. 

Identify & Humanize

I created

• problem statement

• user personas

• user flow

The Problem

• Liana needs to feel comfortable and secure purchasing furniture online so that she can enjoy the convenience and variety online shopping offers. 

This problem statement is the foundation of my designs and solutions going forward. It reminds me of what problem my design solutions need to solve. It shows me where to focus my efforts. 

User Personas

I created two user personas to embody the Seaside Furniture online shopper. Putting a name and face to the research data and problem statement remind me that I’m creating solutions for a real person that will (hopefully) use and enjoy the website.

User Flow

After defining the problem and the ideal users I created a user flow to understand what steps, clicks, and decisions they have to make in order to make an online purchase. The path highlighted in yellow shows the user completing the task of buying a table.

This step in my process helped me to understand what exactly the user will have to do. By understanding what the user has to do, I can begin to brainstorm and create solutions that will directly impact and improve their experience.

Ideate & Design

I conducted

• card sort (I referenced my competitive and comparative analysis during this step.)

I created

• sitemap

• sketches

• wireframes

Card Sorting

I conducted a card sort to gain insights on the most logical way to organize the content and information on the Seaside Furniture website. 9 people organized the furniture categories and various other information into categories that made sense to them.

Card Sorting Results

This card sort showed me a number range of categories that could be included on the primary navigation. It also helped me know what products should be under what category.

Competitive & Comparative Analysis

I referenced a portions of my comparative analysis and the home pages of the 4 direct competitors to determine the best navigational and organizational scheme for the website.

Sitemap

The results from card sorting and competitive and comparative analysis determined my site map.

Sketches

With the website content and information organized it was time to sketch and think about what I can create to solve the Seaside Furniture customers problem (remember that problem statement?).

So what solutions will make the user feel comfortable and secure so they will make a purchase? I decided to:

• refine the furniture categories so that they can quickly find what they are looking for 

• create product description pages that have more pertinent information with a cleaner design, so they can scan for what they want to know and not be overwhelmed with text 

• create an easy and secure checkout process so they can purchase with confidence.

Prototype & Testing

I created an interactive prototype, using the grayscale wireframes I created, to test how potential customers use the improved website. I wanted to gain insights into how users interacted with the improvements to the website. I tested 3 users.

The task and scenario: You’re ready to buy a new dining table. You’re looking for one that’s round, made of wood, and white. Find this table on the website and purchase it.

Results & Takeaways

• Each user completed the task in under 3 minutes, vs not being able to complete the task at all (see the Seaside Furniture task analysis for reference).

• Show price details, like tax and shipping cost, earlier in the checkout process, so customers feel more “in the loop” throughout the process.

• Add business contact links on confirmation page incase customers need to contact the business quickly after they’ve submitted their order.

• Add more filter options to refine search results and make it easier for shoppers to find their desired items.

• Make reviews and ratings more prominent on the product page so it’s easier for customers to find the information they need.

What I Learned

• For E-commerce businesses like Seaside Furniture website usability is extremely important. 

• Increasing the usability of a website decreases shopping cart abandonment, and increases conversion rates. It also increases the credibility of the business, which makes shoppers feel more confident and safe completing a purchase.

• The redesign I did for Seaside Furniture is based on research I gathered throughout my UX process. This redesign was intended to make the website more functional for users.

• The most challenging part of this redesign was the navigational and organizational scheme. The website has thousands of items, so thinking of the most common and logical way to group them was a little challenging. Looking at other online furniture stores really helped me make the decision on the scheme that ended up being tested.