REDESIGNING PLUI'S WEBSITE
Children's Clothing E-commerce
IMPACT FOR THE BRAND
As the UX Design Lead, I transformed PLUI's e-commerce platform to overcome purchasing challenges and significantly reduce product returns. Harnessing user research insights, I designed a seamless, user-friendly shopping experience that streamlined the purchasing process, eliminated dependence on phone orders, and elevated customer satisfaction.
My Role
Responsible for the whole design process, from start to finish
Timeline
14 weeks (2022)
Tools
Illustrator, Figma, Balsamiq, WIX
CONTEXT AND CHALLENGES
PLUI, a children’s clothing brand, is experiencing several significant challenges with its current e-commerce platform. The website’s shortcomings are directly affecting sales, customer experience, and operational efficiency. These issues are particularly prevalent in the following areas:
The website's catalog is cluttered and poorly organized, especially with over 20 characters featured on the products. This makes it difficult for parents to quickly find items their children like, leading to frustration and abandoned searches.
As a result, conversion rates drop, and impulse buying opportunities are missed, which is crucial in the children's clothing market.
The website lacks clear sizing information or recommendations, making it difficult for customers to confidently select the appropriate size for their child, leading to frequent returns.
Without size guides, mistakes are common, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and lost sales due to the hassle of returns and exchanges.
The website lacks crucial features, forcing customers to place orders over the phone.
This manual process leads to inventory discrepancies because stock levels are not updated in real-time on the website. Moreover, customers are inconvenienced by having to call and wait for assistance, which detracts from the overall shopping experience.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Make it easy for users, including children, to browse and find products based on their preferences through simple exploration of character-themed items.
Provide reliable fit recommendations to help parents easily find the right sizes for their children, ensuring confidence in their purchase decisions.
Simplify the bulk ordering process with an easy-to-use option that includes real-time price calculations and efficient inventory management to ensure products stay in stock and orders are fulfilled on time.
FINAL SOLUTION
Optimized E-Commerce Platform for PLUI
Redesigned for simplicity, with a clear, step-by-step process that even children can easily follow:
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Choose the Product
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Pick the Character: Simple carruosell interaction to select the character.
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Review the p
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Complete the Purchase
BEFORE
NEW DESIGN
RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT STATE
Key Findings from Stakeholders Interviews
I conducted interviews with the brand owner, three new clients, and two distributors to gain a deeper understanding of the objectives for the website redesign, assess the current site’s performance, and uncover any challenges the brand was facing.
Alejandra Tamayo (PLUI Owner)
A designer entrepreneur with limited e-commerce experience.
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PLUI’s identity revolves around 20+ characters, but the cluttered website makes it hard for customers to find products linked to a specific character.
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The current interface lacks real-time stock updates, causing production and inventory issues.
Camila Berrio (Busy Mom)
PLUI's client:
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Struggles to find the right size for her daughter, Sofía, because the website only offers age recommendations, and Sofía is smaller than average for her age.
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Has trouble distinguishing between the brand's 20+ characters and often needs her kids' help to find the right one on the website.
Beatriz Lima (PLUI Reseller)
Owner of a children's store:
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Has to place phone orders because the website lacks real-time stock updates and an efficient reordering system.
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The website doesn't provide clear bulk purchasing options, so Beatriz has to negotiate each bulk order manually.
DESIGN DECISIONS
Kid-Friendly Navigation
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"I love how the wheel carousel shows all the characters clearly. It makes the experience fun and easy to navigate, helping me find my kids' favorite characters quickly."
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"The colorful visuals and playful animations make the site feel welcoming, and the fonts are easy to read."
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"The instructions are clear and straightforward, guiding me to the content I’m looking for without any confusion. It makes the shopping process smooth."
USER TESTING AND ITERATIONS
I conducted guided usability testing with six real customers to evaluate the redesign of PLUI's e-commerce site, focusing on how easily users could find products, complete purchases, and navigate the site.
During the sessions, I used a think-aloud protocol, encouraging participants to verbalize their thoughts while completing the task of purchasing a raincape for a child.
DESIGN DETAILS
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Implement a "Share with mom" button, enables Kids to save and share his favorite products easily.
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The hover animation for selecting characters or products is effective because it provides clear feedback, instantly indicating that an item is clickable, which makes navigation easy. It also boosts engagement by adding a playful, excited response when a character is selected, making the interaction more enjoyable.
User Testing Insights:
Design Corrections:
Size Information Chart
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"The title is clear and tells me exactly what to do next, so I always know what’s expected of me."
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"I love the model wearing the clothes. It really helps me visualize how the garment will look on my child."
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"The size guide is really helpful. It’s laid out clearly, so I can quickly compare my child's measurements with the clothing size."
User Testing Insights:
Design Corrections:
Bulk Order Pricing and Real-time Stock Information
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"I can see how much I save when I buy more because the price per unit goes down as I increase the quantity. Plus, the total price updates in real-time, so I always know exactly what I’m paying."
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"Real-time stock info helps me make better decisions because I know what’s available and can avoid ordering too much or running out of stock."
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"The 'Reorder' button makes it so easy to get my favorite items again—just click and I can instantly reorder from my past cart."
User Testing Insights:
Design Corrections:
Distributor Product Details Page
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"The product description gives me all the important details in just a few words, so I can quickly understand what makes the jacket special."
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"The 'Models' section features interactive icons for different styles, allowing me to easily see how the jacket looks on various characters, making it fun and easy to choose the right one."
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"The real-time price updates are clear and easy to read. I can also see stock availability for each size, so I always know what's in stock."
User Testing Insights:
Design Corrections:
EXPECTED OUTCOME
By simplifying the product catalog and creating a more organized, user-friendly interface, I aim to help customers find products faster, boosting conversions.
This approach is expected to increase conversion rates by 15% and reduce search time by 30%.
Clear size guides and recommendations will help customers make confident decisions, reducing returns and exchanges.
We expect a 20% decrease in return rates and a 10% increase in customer satisfaction with the introduction of size charts..
Real-time inventory tracking and an efficient ordering system will reduce phone orders, improving operational efficiency and preventing inventory discrepancies.
This is expected to improve inventory accuracy by 30% and reduce customer service calls by 25%, enhancing the user experience.
REFLECTION
Working on the PLUI e-commerce platform project has been a transformative experience, allowing me to apply and refine my UX design skills. Tailoring personalized solutions for a diverse range of users has deepened my understanding of user-centered design, prompting me to think not only about functionality but also about the emotions and preferences of each user.
The complexity of the project challenged me to adopt a holistic design approach, ensuring that the needs of various user groups were met effectively. It also fostered an environment of collaboration and idea exchange, where each challenge presented an opportunity for creative thinking. By focusing on intuitive navigation and personalized features, I was able to address users' diverse needs. Iterating on design strategies based on user feedback enhanced my problem-solving skills and emphasized the importance of flexibility and adaptability in creating impactful, user-centric designs.
This feature provides detailed size charts, measurement guides, and a virtual view tool to help parents make informed decisions, ensuring a better fit for their children.
Bulk orders display decreasing unit prices based on quantity, while real-time stock information helps store owners make informed decisions and prevents out-of-stock issues for PLUI.