BLUR is a new gender-neutral clothing store set out to provide anyone and everyone fashionable garments, regardless of body type. They want to stand out from the competition with an outstanding online presence and by utilizing modern technology to address common retail customer concerns.
Brick-and-mortar shops have been heavily impacted by the pandemic over the past few years. Now, both in-store and online experiences must interact and strengthen each other. BLUR was seeking ways to create successful online shopping experiences that make them stand out.
BLUR has a limited online presence and all of their products are uniquely catered to everyone, regardless of body shape.
Study current trends and aspects of successful e-commerce experiences and learn what online shoppers truly need beyond the basics.
Through user interviews, we were able to explore and discuss major goals for online shoppers. We learned meaningful objectives and discovered what truly mattered when it came to an enjoyable online shopping experience.
All participants frequently use filter options to narrow down their searches
All participants emphasized that knowing accurate sizing is a key enabler to making purchases
All participants would like to see innovative solutions to help build confidence in their purchases
Melissa's persona and empathy map was created after analyzing our insights—her mindset was the key to focusing our efforts on the true problem at hand.
With the persona's frustrations and goals in mind, I proceeded to understand user expectations and how they would navigate BLUR with a user flow and task flows.
Creating a seamless shopping process from homepage to checkout will help establish trust with customers—hopefully building customer-loyalty over time.
A secondary task was concepted in hopes of being an innovative solution to a common retail shopping pain point. If successful, this would be a key feature that sets BLUR apart from the competition.
I followed a traditional e-commerce navigation experience for customers to easily purchase clothes or explore peripheral content / business offerings like a virtual fitting room.
Scanning QR codes has become a familiar action to many users. This seemed to be the best option to lead users into the mobile Virtual Fitting Room feature.
I've added plenty of opportunities for customers to explore more information about BLUR's mission and how its Virtual Fitting Room technology works.
Since the mission and technology is very niche and new, I wanted customers to feel empowered to learn more.
I made sure that all product photos show details up close and is shown on different body types. My research results emphasized this importance when it comes to online shopping.
Some participants expressed that height and weight are measurements that they would feel more comfortable inputting themselves. I developed a new screen for these user inputs.
Most participants expressed concern about the data being taken since it has to do with images of their body. I included even more areas of opportunities to reinforce a sense of security for the customers.
Among several positive validations of the overall navigation and impressions of the UI, a new area of focus was discovered after conducting usability testing. This area revolved around data privacy and sensitivity when it comes to data on their body measurements.
Blurring the lines of fashion is no easy task—that's why the branding needed to be uniquely crafted in a way that catches people's attention. It's simple, yet edgy. It makes you stop and stare. It piques your interest and ultimately draws you in.
My usability test participants found the overall shopping experience familiar, which allowed them to fully enjoy BLUR's unique fashion concept and the website's experience.
Although research participants expressed strong interest in a virtual experience, new concerns about data security and technology arose. Newer experiences come with unfamiliarity, which then comes with hesitation.
Users loved the idea of being able to guarantee a perfect fit. I need to further test and explore new key areas:
