Enable fashion shoppers to find alternatives effortlessly
Overview
Background
Splashup’s mission is to empower online shoppers to effortlessly discover alternatives through the power of machine learning. In our initial stages, the team developed a Chrome extension to gather early feedback. However its usage was limited, as most users prefer shopping on their mobile devices rather than desktops. The extension, while functional, failed to add significant value to our users' experience.
Objectives
Collect user feedback from the Chrome extension design
Gain insight into online clothes shopping behaviours
Identify opportunities within product discovery phase of the sales funnel
Outcome
Gained actionable insights through qualitative research methods
Designed mobile-first MVP responsive web-app
My Role
I was the lead designer, collaborated with founder team in a fully remote setting
My Process
Research - Understanding shopper’s preferences and behaviours
Design - Identify opportunities in the discovery phase of the sales funnel
Design - Lo-fi & usability testing
Design - Hi-fi prototyping
1. Research - Understanding shopper’s preferences and behaviours
I needed to collect user feedback from the Chrome extension design that was launched earlier. I interviewed 12 online shoppers, all female aged 25-35 based in Australia.
Key questions that I asked them:
What was your overall impression of Splashup chrome extension? What did you like and what can be improved?
Arrange these attributes (brand, review, price, style, service) into order from most important -> least important
Describe how you normally go about buying clothes.
What device do you primarily use to shop for clothes online?
Key insights and themes from the interviews:
Users like the chrome extension concept however question its value when comparing with Google and “Similar Item” recommendation on retailers like The Iconic
Marketing emails with special campaigns entice shoppers to visit retailers.
Style is number one priority. Followed by brand and price.
They use mobile phone as a primary device to browse and buy clothes online.
From the interviews I was able to portrait profile of 2 main architypes
2. Ideation & wireframe - Identify opportunities in the discovery phase of the sales funnel
How might we:
I did research on other tools existing on the market and analyse the pros/cons. This exercise is competitive landscape understanding. By the end I drew a conclusion: There’s no platform specialising in fashion discovery that is mobile-optimised, and able to perform both semantic as well as visual search. This is a potential opportunity for Splashup to fill the gap and create values in the discovery phase of the sales funnel.
Mobile-first strategy
Armed with user insights, we initiated the design process for a mobile-first web app. Our primary focus was on creating an intuitive interface that prioritised alternative suggestions based on user preferences, clicks, and views.
User flows mapping
3. Lo-fi & usability testing
4. Hi-fi prototyping
We developed an interactive prototype within Figma, simulating the actual user journey and showcasing how recommendations would dynamically adapt based on user actions.
We learned that It is best to build and launch the app in order to effectively gain user feedback, as the quality of the experience based on the recommendation generated from user’s preference. An interactive prototype wouldn’t suffice in this case.
Learning
Adaptability is key:
Recognising and adapting to user behavior is crucial. Our shift from desktop-centric to mobile-centric design was instrumental in aligning with user preferences.
Real-world testing matters:
While interactive Figma prototypes are valuable for design validation, the true quality of the experience depends on real-world usage. Building and shipping the app was essential for gaining actionable feedback.