Helping a small, local business thrive in the midst of a pandemic
Using UX research, analyses, usability testing, and iteration to help redesign an eCommerce website for Careful Critics
DURATION
2 weeks for design and concept strategy, ideation, and iteration
1 week for visual design and iterations
TEAM
Solo project
MY ROLE
Researcher
UX designer
TOOLS
Pen and paper
Figma
Optimal Sorts
DELIVERABLES
Wireframes
Hi-fidelity prototype
O V E R V I E W
A Great Good Place for Books is a small, indie bookstore with an eCommerce website built and managed by their very own staff. Through a stakeholder interview, UX research, and usability testing, I gathered data about the business’ goals and constraints, user behavior, and created a low-fidelity prototype. The challenge was to create an informative and seamless shopping experience for Careful Critics.
T H E C H A L L E N G E
Even before COVID-19, many local retailers have struggled to stay in operation because of rising rent prices and competition from eCommerce giants like Amazon. Ultimately, the challenge was to make GGP stand out from the rest of their competitors and provide an informative shopping experience for Careful Critics.
How might we introduce an eCommerce experience that reflects the brick & mortar experience that GGP curates to help them survive and thrive during the pandemic?
T H E S O L U T I O N
By spotlighting the GGP staff, their personalized book recommendations, tight-knit community, and an informative shopping experience for Careful Critics, traction and adoption will improve.
✨ Solution ✨
Our target user, the Careful Critic, values quality.
Key behaviors:
Thoroughly reading product descriptions and reviews
Not purchasing item(s) without item details
Writing comments and product reviews
GGP’s heart and soul lies within their tight-knit community and curated book recommendations
I had the opportunity to interview Mike Kelleher, GGP’s staff member and webmaster, via Zoom with a few of my colleagues, Glenda and Noah. Some key discoveries that I made about this small indie bookstore were that they:
have a strong, tight-knit community
take pride in curated and thoughtful book recommendations
work to preserve experiences that make a place worth living in
These key insights helped shape my whole design approach. GGP has so much heart and soul, but that wasn’t properly reflected on their website.
How might we leverage their community and curated recommendations to differentiate them from their competitors? 🧐
How do we compete with the eCommerce giants?
Giant eCommerce websites (e.g. Amazon and Barnes & Noble) do very well in their:
Great deals and price points
Efficient search menus, filters, and browsing
Simple checkout processes
Small indie bookstores (e.g. GGP, Powell’s, Book Passage, Omnivore Books, and City Lights) have personality and were fairly easy to contact, but may not have the most efficient online shopping experiences.
Solidifying the Careful Critic’s purchase decisions.
I focused on providing detailed and easily accessible product information, filters when browsing, customer reviews, and a simplified checkout process.
Through an informative and seamless experience, users could:
Browse through staff book recommendations
Complete the checkout process for purchasing a book
Users expressed pleasure in detailed work, faceted navigation, and product details.
3/4 users thought the task flow was intuitive and comprehensive
3/4 verbally expressed appreciation for high level of detail and information on product details
4/4 users were able to independently browse and purchase a book
Next steps
Reconsider “add to cart” process
Restructuring prioritization on certain flows (e.g. product details)
Add “continue as guest” option
A great good start in the right direction but many improvements to be made!
Through this two-week design sprint, I learned that being proactive and conducting lots of usability tests help build a stronger design. Understanding both the user’s and business’ needs, goals, frustrations, and pain points is critical.
Four weeks after completing the redesign, my colleagues and I reconnected with Mike to share our design ideas with him. I’m proud to say that we are now working with GGP to improve the online shopping experience for their customers! 🥳
Stay tuned for more of my great good journey ♥️
