UX Research and Design | Furniture e-commerce site
My Role:
Content Audit, UX Audit, User Interviews, Information Architecture, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Web Development
Collaboration with: Marketing specialists, Customer Support, Sales Representatives
Results: ​
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82% increased B2C conversion rate
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27% increased B2B conversion rate
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5x increased number of product models purchased through the site
Process
Project Background
POOFF.RU is one of the first soft furniture production companies in Russia. They have been working with B2B and B2C customers since 2008 and launched their first e-commerce site in 2015. The company's product range has been growing due to the high demand for bean bags of all shapes and sizes and they currently have more than 50 models in stock.
The challenge with the previous site was the difficulty of maintaining it up-to-date as any change required the developer's support. As a result, the site became very outdated and brought only 15% of all customers. It also didn't reflect the Brand voice and look which is fun, young and happy.
Goals for redesign
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To increase the conversion rate for both B2C and B2B customers
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To create a clear and structured category system that helps users find what they want quickly
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To increase sells for a broader range of furniture models
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Align site with the Brand voice and strategy
Business specifics and constraints
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E-commerce site to be appealing and informative for B2C and B2B customers
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A wide range of products and a variety of specifications created a complicated category system
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Lots of updates and changes in the product range, specifications and prices happening every month
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Need to establish a Brand image that would reflect the company's experience and create trust
Brand voice and look
To find out how the initial site aligned with the Brand it was important to agree on the Brand voice. I've facilitated a workshop with POOFF.RU stakeholders and as a result, we had a list of main Brand adjectives of how they want customers to perceive it:
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FUN
MODERN
YOUNG
TRUSTWORTHY
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To discover how users were feeling about the initial site I've conducted a 5-seconds test to get the first impression​. I've discovered that associations users were saying were definitely not aligned with the Brand:
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Part of initial site 1st page for 5-seconds test
Word cloud from 5-seconds test
Analytics and Hypotheses
To understand the current customer's behaviour I've started with collecting the data that was already available:
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Interviews with stakeholders
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Analytics (Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrics) - conversion funnels, click maps, screencasts
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Search engine keywords
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Analytics for page visit for search and direct visitors
Clicks and link maps for the previous site
Some Findings and Hypotheses:
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Around 60% of visitors dropped out instantly => the first page might be not engaging and informative enough
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Lots of pages people didn't visit at all => the site structure and/or menu names might seem too complicated and confusing
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Visitors click around a lot to find photos of the products, delivery options and the variety of products and then leave => visitors didn't trust the company enough because of some empty pages and no clear way to order
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User Interviews
To get insights about customers I've conducted 5 interviews with B2C customers (those who had at least 1 experience of buying bean bag through the internet). I was interested in their experience for ordering a bean bag online - how they decided to buy a bean bag instead of other furniture options, how chose an online store, what was the ups and downs of choosing a model and buying experience etc.
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As for the B2B customers, I conducted 2 interviews with stakeholders in companies who rented POOFF.RU bean bags for their events regularly. The goal was to find out how they choose a company to rent, why did they choose POOFF.RU, what did they value in working with them and if they used their site at any point.
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Research question for B2C
How do people make a decision to buy a bean bag online?
Research question for B2B
How do stakeholders make a decision to rent bean bags from a particular company?
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Part of the interview coding process (in OptimalWorkshop)
Main findings for B2C:
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The instant first impression is very important and if people don't like the site at the first glace they would most probably leave
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Trust is a very important issue due to high risk with internet purchases in Russia
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People look for confirmation that they can trust the company (reviews, other clients, experience)
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People value transparency throughout the whole process - prices, specifications, delivery and payment options should be visible and clear
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People expect easy check-out process and responsive customer support
Main findings for B2B:
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The main criteria for choosing POOFF.RU are the previous experience with renting for events and participation in TV shows
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Customers value openness to their ideas - making specific bean bags design/sizes for events
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Wholesale prices and producing a high number of products in a short period of time is one of the main procurement demands
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Customers often have unexpected situations when they are in need of extra bean bags, specification changes etc. and they expect flexibility
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Customer don't go to the POOFF.RU site as they find it not informative
Customer Journey Map
Based on the discoveries from User Interviews I've created Customer Journey Maps to represent B2C and B2B customers and conducted CJM Workshops with POOFF.RU stakeholders to agree on the possible solutions we would implement on the site. CJM Workshops gave ideas not only about the content we would have on the site, but also about the offline support services company should include to improve the customer's journey and answer potential concerns.
Example of CJM for B2C customer - Buying a bean bag flow
Content Audit and Information Architecture
To create a Content Strategy I had several focus areas:
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During the overall Content Audit, I've discovered some content was outdated and some content that could create trust was absent => working with stakeholders I've collected the information and photos about company's history, events and TV shows company rented out their products and created a Content Table to track all items and changes
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During the creation of a product category structure, I needed to understand the users Mental Model for all the product categories that the company offered =>
1. I've collected and analyzed all products offered, confirmed the relevance and ensure it is up-to-date
2. Conducted an open card sort session with stakeholders
3. Conducted remote open card sort sessions with customers
A part of a remote Card sorting session (in Miro)
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The initial site navigation structure had several levels and confusing logic as it was built by adding new layers every time a change or update was needed => I've created a new navigation structure and tested with potential customers in several rounds with Tree testing. ​
Part of Tree Testing process (in OptimalWorkshop)
Brand indentity
To reflect the new Brand voice and look I've created brand Logo icons to be used on the site, social media and advertising.
I took the most popular products as a foundation, added colours and cartoon-like look with a recognizable brand label to create fun, young and modern look.
Wireframing, Prototyping and Usability testing
I created wireframes for each part of the site structure and conducted Usability Testings in several iterations to uncover the user's understanding and challenges with the general structure and layout.
During the wireframes testings, I found out, for example, that the initial idea of having all Products presented on the Home page is exhausting for users to scroll through, as they forget what they liked and had to scroll up and down several times. Having a Catalog with main product categories that lead to pages with more detailed presented products proved easier for users and improved satisfaction.
After the wireframes testings, I created Prototypes using real photos and content for further testings.
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
Redesign Results
I've implemented final designs on the Tilda platform that makes it easy for POOFF.RU to edit any information and keep the site up-to-date.
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82% increased B2C conversion rate
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47% increased B2B conversion rate
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5x increased number of product models purchased through the site
Home page
Before
After
About page
Before
After
(New sections "Our clients","About our bean bags", "Delivery")
Client's testimonial
We were looking for a specialist that would be able to redesign our old website according to modern standards and improve its effectiveness. Elena did the research and offered a great new site structure, Brand logos and content recommendations. Elena put together a new site on the new platform that helped us significantly increase sales and partnerships. She took time to understand our business processes, was very responsive to our ideas and needs and proactively offered innovative solutions tailored to our business specifics.
Areg Galyan,
Director of POOFF.RU