Little Feet, Big Impact:
Crafting a Customer-centered E-commerce experience
Project Overview
Client
Lucky Kids is a Dubai-based children's shoe brand, with 3 stores in key shopping areas.
Challenge
The brand needed to create a new website and update its brand image to promote sales in offline stores and to better explore its online business.
Outcome
After launching the redesigned site, sales of the brand tripled in one year.
My Role
I was independently responsible for UX/UI design and research for the entire project, working with the branding team, marketing team, and engineering teams.
Deliverables
Competitor Analysis
Personas
Research Report (with Sitemap)
Wireframes
Design Pages
Brand Guide
1.Frame opportunities
Booster for offline sales, window to brand image
For over two decades, Lucky Kids has established itself as a premier children's footwear brand in Dubai, with three strategically located stores. Despite its strong market presence, the brand's digital footprint, primarily dependent on an Amazon storefront, indicates a substantial opportunity for growth through an enhanced digital platform.
Stakeholders Meeting
In a collaborative effort with key stakeholders, including the CEO and managers from both the Amazon store and physical stores, we conducted a comprehensive review of the existing digital offerings. Our analysis identified critical shortcomings:
The corporate website currently lacks vital user engagement features such as email subscriptions and user accounts, failing to meet the needs of customers and employees effectively.
Over-reliance on Amazon for online sales restricts direct customer interactions and limits broader sales opportunities.
The disconnection between online and offline sales channels hampers cohesive brand messaging and effective promotion.
Following our strategic meeting, we decided to develop an independent e-commerce platform. The goal of this initiative is to improve our customer information management and broaden our sales channels. Simultaneously, we will conduct a thorough upgrade of our brand image to bolster our market presence and attract more customers.
👇 The initial website had issues with information architecture, accessibility, inconsistent design, and loading problems.
👇 The original website of Lucky Kids lacked e-commerce features, leading to a less-than-ideal user experience. The team had to depend solely on social media to maintain customer engagement.
Interviews with stakeholders
I conducted comprehensive interviews with stakeholders to understand the varied requirements for Lucky Kids' new e-commerce site, drawing insights from customers, employees, and corporate perspectives:
Customers emphasized the need for a streamlined online shopping experience that ensures service consistency across all channels.
Employees stressed the importance of prominently featuring promotions to attract customer attention to special offers.
The Company recognized the necessity for a digital platform that not only encapsulates the brand's essence but also facilitates seamless integration of promotions, both online and offline.
Competitor analysis
Armed with these insights, I conducted a two-dimensional competitor analysis:
Studied children's shoe brands globally to grasp how they craft and convey their brand messages;
Explored user habits and visual preferences in the UAE to tailor the design to local tastes.
👇 The main competitors' websites create a cohesive brand image using distinct brand colors and visual elements. They manage to keep their information layout clean and structured, even with a wide range of SKUs and product lines.
👇 E-commerce websites for children's shoes in the UAE emphasize showcasing special offers prominently. Given that Arabic is read from right to left, the website's layout must be designed accordingly.
Key insights from the analysis
With a vast range of children's footwear and numerous SKUs, an organized categorization and efficient filtering system are crucial for improving user experience.
Consumers in the Arab region are particularly responsive to promotions, underscoring the need for effective integration of promotional content on the website.
Gift-giving is an important factor in product line planning, reflecting its role as a major purchasing scenario.
2.Understand Users
Different age groups, same pain point
I partnered with the Amazon store manager to delve into the online customers' buying habits and pain points. This collaboration resulted in the creation of two customer personas, providing valuable insights into the online customer experience and key design considerations.
Understanding Lucky Kids' diverse target audience (0-18 years), I divided them into three distinct age groups with unique traits. Working with product managers of the brand, I developed specific personas for each segment. These personas now act as valuable guides for customizing marketing and product strategies to meet the varied needs and preferences across the broad spectrum of children and teenagers.
Identifying pain points
In generating Lucky Kids' three user personas, a common challenge was identified: the difficulty in selecting the correct shoe size. This arises from diverse suppliers, different sizing standards globally, children's rapid growth, and varied shoe style fits.
Solving this involves a comprehensive strategy, touching on product development, logistics, and how we design our services.
Key insights of design aspects
The design of the website needs to concentrate on two key aspects:
Providing thorough instructions for choosing sizes.
Making sure the processes for returns and exchanges are straightforward.
03. Define New Concepts
Functions and lucky elements
Clean Information Architecture
1.Age-Based Categorization
Products are primarily organized according to age groups. This intuitive structure allows customers to quickly locate products that are most relevant to their needs, simplifying their search process.
2.Gift Page
Recognizing the importance of gift-giving in the purchasing process, this dedicated area is tailored for those looking for suitable presents, making it easier to find gift-appropriate items.
3.Filter Options
To further refine the user's search, filter options are available, allowing customers to sort products based on various criteria like size, color, type, and price.
This feature is particularly useful in navigating the extensive range of products.
Feature Design
Size Guide
To mitigate return rates, address user experience pain points, and minimize lost profits, I developed a comprehensive size selection guide. This guide is designed to assist customers in making accurate sizing choices, enhancing their shopping experience, and reducing the likelihood of returns.
This guide offers detailed instructions and advice to assist customers in accurately finding the right size for their child, tackling a significant concern in buying shoes online. The size guide is available on every product page, providing users with easy access to size references while they shop.
We've also created tools that customers can print at home. These charts are designed to assist customers in choosing the correct size more effectively.
Lucky Element
Collaborating with our branding team, we spotted an opportunity to integrate Lucky Kids' fundamental themes of luck and fun into the website's design. Our aim was to strengthen the brand identity and boost sales through a web feature that reflects these ideas.
This inspired the creation of the 'Lucky Choice' feature. This distinctive addition to the website suggests a discounted item from the user’s selected age category at random every time they visit the shopping page.
The 'Lucky Choice' feature aims to engage users by adding an element of surprise and excitement, fostering spontaneous purchases and enriching the shopping experience. It not only reflects the brand's playful and fortunate essence but also introduces a dynamic, interactive dimension to the website.
4.Design Prototypes
Delightful, Future-Proofing Design
Reusable component library
When designing the UI for Lucky Kids, I focused on creating a reusable design system and component library. It guarantees uniformity and ease of access for future growth and app development.
UI design that emphasizes brand image
Moreover, I collaborated with the branding team to develop a collection of icons, gifs, components, and a system for visual imagery. These elements are in harmony with the brand's identity, improving the user experience and efficiently expressing its style and image.
5. Development and Update
Agile development and User Testing
Development Backlog
Once the design was finalized, we entered the Agile development phase. Here, I led the development process with the team, categorizing features into 'must-have' or 'good-to-have'. We scheduled complex features that required collaboration, such as the gift function, for later stages.
👇 Below are screenshots of the original website, the design version, and the live version.
Test and Iteration
After completing each feature, it entered a testing phase for fine-tuning and design modifications, ensuring seamless operation and compliance with accessibility guidelines. My role wrapped up with the primary development and testing of basic functionalities. After multiple testing sessions with users and stakeholders, I revised the design according to their insightful feedback.
Development & Launch
After my part is complete, the final development and launch of the site is handled by the development team. The finalized website can be viewed by clicking here.
Limitations of Digital Design in Achieving Optimal User Experience
6. Outputs and Takeaways
Having collaborated with the brand team to finalize the brand, my contribution to Lucky Kids concluded. Based on the client's feedback, following the website's launch, the sales of the brand tripled within a year.
Meanwhile, I've gotten great reviews from my clients:
“…working with you on this website has been incredibly enlightening. ...it’s opened my eyes to new information and perspectives that reevaluate many aspects of our business, uncovering several areas that need improvement as well as opportunities for future growth. I appreciate all the insights this collaboration has brought.”
However, as a freelancer involved in this project, my role concluded after handing over the design to the engineering team, which meant I did not participate in the post-launch iterations and updates of the website. Given the chance, I would employ tools like heat maps and user analytics to enhance design details and ensure optimal website performance.
Besides, this project underscored the critical importance of addressing high return rates and sizing selection issues. In response, I conducted further research into existing market solutions and discovered specialized plugins and tools designed to assist customers in choosing the correct size. Subsequently, I recommended these tools to the client to help mitigate sizing errors and reduce return rates.