› problem ‹
My team was challenged with designing features to potentially integrate into the existing Gilt mobile app.
brief
Broaden user base by offering social engagement
Foster social connections between users and brands
- Increase user engagement in order to drive sales
problem statement
Shoppers are more likely to interact with a brand if they trust it. Gilt users like to talk about their purchase choices and style thoughts.
How might we create a user experience that will instill trust in users, thereby increasing engagement and ultimately driving sales?
› process ‹
Double Diamond Process
My Roles
UX Designer
Researcher/Notetaker
Tester
[team of four]
DURATION
2 weeks
Tools
Sketch
InVision
Google Forms
› research ‹
Key Insights
Topic mapping showed us where users and business goals intersect.
“I don’t trust companies because I see right through their marketing tactics.”
User interviews helped us uncover user goals, needs, pain points.
Affinity Mapping helped us efficiently identify the key area of concern for the user:
TRUST
- Shoppers could “see right through” a brand’s celebrity endorsements and social media marketing tactics
- i.e.: sponsored Instagram posts
- Online shoppers do not trust that the pictures/descriptions they see online are an accurate representation of the product they’ll receive in the mail
- Online shoppers rely heavily on online product reviews because they are honest and “from real people”
- Gilt does not have a reviews feature on their mobile app or desktop site
- Users will show friends their prospective purchases before buying “to get their opinions on the items first
OVERALL: Users prefer user-generated content over content that comes straight from the brands or sponsors.
User Personas
Susan
social shopper
Female
27 years old
Homebody
Goals:
•Find style inspiration from trustworthy sources
•Conveniently shop on her phone during her commute
•Share her latest findings with her friends
Needs:
• Receive personalized style recommendations
• A user-friendly mobile shopping app
• A social fashion feature in a mobile app
Pain Point:
•Susan feels like she can't trust the products that are
recommended to her on fashion e-commerce sites
alexandra
window shopper
Female
30 years old
Adventurer
Goals:
•Get inspiration from outside sources to influence her
personal style
•Find items online that have accurate descriptions
Needs:
• Track outfits to buy over time
• Customizable style profile
Pain Point:
•Alexandra prefers shopping online but often feels like
the clothes she gets in the mail don't match what she
sees online, specifically with quality, size, and fabric.
› ideation ‹
We began ideating features that would best serve our user personas and our the problem of creating trust.
We also strongly considered the business goals to foster social connection and increase user engagement to drive sales.
Prioritizing Features
WHERE WE STARTED
WHERE WE ENDED UP → Prioritizing features using the MoSCoW Matrix
We used the MoSCoW Matrix to figure out what features were most important in our MVP. We decided to focus on:
- A comprehensive, customizable style profile so Gilt can get to know its users on a more personal level
- Style recommendations based on the style profile, with option to purchase, encouraging profitability
- “Favorites” feature where users can mark their favorite recommended styles (organized by “collection")
- Adding a chat forum between users so they can interact with each other about their style/purchase choices.
Why these features?
serving the user
The personalized style profile and accompanying recommendations work together to make users feel known, instilling their trust in Gilt and giving them a reason to engage in the app. The style profile is be designed comprehensively to make the user feel like Gilt can accurately recommend items to them.
The Favorites feature allows the user to personalize their experience themselves by creating “collections” of their favorited items, to then look back on and potentially purchase.
The open chat forum is intended to further instill trust in Gilt, providing users with a platform to discuss products, styles, trends, etc. with other users, instead of relying solely on the company’s own content. This forum would increase user-to-user engagement, which is an additional way Gilt can earn users’ trust.
Fulfilling Business Goals
Users can buy items directly from their Recommendations and Favorites through linked product purchase pages, encouraging sales and profitability.
When a product is mentioned in The Talk, it would link to purchasable product pages in order to further drive sales. This implicit feature would still ensure that users feel like Gilt is a reliable, trusted style source, and is not perceived as deceitful like other brands are.
Sketching Ideas and Wireframes
We conducted a design studio to collaborate on ideas for our features.
vv
Sketching ideas for the style profile and chat forum
› prototype ‹
demo coming soon.
› outcome ‹
Metrics & KPIs
- The Time on Task decreased by 25% from first paper iteration to last mid-fidelity iteration. (time it takes to complete the task)
- Task Completion Rate:
- First Round of Testing: 90%
- Last Round of Testing: 100%
- Final Error Rate: 0%
- 100% of users thought the design/interface was intuitive
- 90% thought it was easily memorable
- 80% thought it was easily learnable
Looking Ahead
- Conduct usability test on high-fidelity prototype
- Develop a fully functioning app with these features
- Did user retention rates increase?
- Do users purchase their “Favorite” items?
- Are users engaging in “The Talk”?
- Consider additional features to instill trust, i.e. real person stylist, direct message system among users
- Continue usability testing to measure overall effectiveness