ShopThing - Live shopping events

ShopThing: Design Case Study

Project Overview: ShopThing is an innovative app designed to help users purchase luxury goods at online live events with up to 70% discounts. The app aims to revolutionize the way consumers shop for high-end items by leveraging the excitement and urgency of live shopping experiences, combined with the appeal of significant savings on premium products.

Objective: To create a user-friendly, engaging, and efficient app that enhances the online luxury shopping experience by offering real-time interaction, exclusive discounts, and a seamless purchasing process.

Problem

Many people love buying luxury goods but find them too expensive. Traditional online shopping for luxury items can be boring and lacks the excitement of in-person shopping. Plus, there aren’t many opportunities to get significant discounts on these high-end products.

We wanted to understand the luxury goods market, find out who our target customers are, and see what competitors are doing.

• Surveys: We sent out surveys to potential users to see if they were interested in live shopping events and buying luxury goods at a discount.

• Interviews: We talked to people who shop for luxury goods to learn about their preferences, pain points, and shopping habits.

• Competitive Analysis: We looked at other platforms like Net-a-Porter, Farfetch, and live shopping apps like NTWRK and Popshop Live to see what they offer and how we can stand out.

1. User Research:

   • Objective: Gather insights into user needs, preferences, and pain points to inform design decisions.

   • Methods:

     • Persona Development: Created detailed personas representing different segments of the target audience based on survey and interview data.

     • Journey Mapping: Mapped out the user journey to identify critical touchpoints and potential areas for improvement.

     • Ethnographic Research: Observed users as they shopped for luxury goods online to understand their behaviors and motivations.

       

2. Usability Testing:

   • Objective: Ensure the app is intuitive and easy to use, minimizing friction in the shopping process.

   • Methods:

     • Prototyping: Developed low-fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes to test different design iterations.

     • A/B Testing: Compared different design elements (e.g., layout, color schemes, button placements) to determine which versions led to better user engagement and conversions.

     • Task Analysis: Asked users to complete specific tasks (e.g., joining a live event, purchasing an item) to identify usability issues and areas for improvement.

• Heuristic Evaluation: Conducted expert reviews of the app to identify usability issues based on established UX principles.

• Cognitive Walkthroughs: Evaluated the app’s user interface to ensure it supports users in achieving their goals without confusion or error.

• Feedback Loops: Implemented continuous feedback mechanisms within the app (e.g., post-purchase surveys, in-app feedback forms) to gather ongoing user insights.

Working with PM's

• Objective: Foster collaborative problem-solving and innovation in the app design process.

• Methods:

  • Brainstorming Sessions: Brought together cross-functional teams (designers, developers, marketers) to generate ideas and solutions for enhancing the app.

  • Affinity Diagrams: Organized user research data into themes and patterns to identify key insights and priorities.

  • Prototyping Workshops: Rapidly created and tested prototypes based on user feedback and workshop outcomes.

Post Launch

By staying deeply involved in the post-launch phase, I helped ShopThing maintain its competitive edge and adapt to the evolving needs of its users. This hands-on approach ensured that the app continuously improved and expanded, offering a superior shopping experience in the dynamic landscape of luxury e-commerce.

Following the official launch of ShopThing, the startup environment demanded constant attention to design issues and the addition of new features. As part of the core team, I played an ongoing role in this dynamic process:

• Continuous Design Improvements:

  • Actively monitored user feedback and analytics to identify usability issues and areas for enhancement.

  • Regularly collaborated with the development team to implement design tweaks and fixes, ensuring the app remained user-friendly and efficient.

• Feature Expansion:

  • Worked closely with stakeholders to prioritize and design new features based on user requests and market trends.

  • Created new design screens for additional functionalities such as personalized recommendations, advanced filtering options, and loyalty reward systems.

  • Ensured that new features seamlessly integrated with the existing design, maintaining a consistent and cohesive user experience.

• Me + Agile = <3 (but sometimes boring for designers :D):

  • Embraced an agile workflow, allowing for rapid iterations and continuous deployment of updates.

  • Participated in regular sprint planning and review sessions to align design updates with the overall development cycle.

  • Engaged in cross-functional team meetings to ensure that design considerations were effectively communicated and implemented.

Impact

• App saw 74% increase on events posted and 109% increase in products posted

• Our biggest multi-shopper event sold over $1.6 Million in GMV + 10 More events this year over 250K in GMV (Thanks to updated live events)

• One of our shopper managed to sell $308,000 in GMV, with one-day event

• As I joined team I worked on Apple Pay integration, new filter, package protection feature, Preloved mode which accounted 33% of total profit for the company <3