How do they value price, ethics, quality, and style?

I wanted to learn what aspects of clothing were most important to customers to inform my design and the hierarchy of information on the site.

This data was particularly interesting, as even those users who who the most interested in sustainability ranked style and quality above ethics.

What else is out there?

I conducted competitor research of two modern, sustainable clothing companies: Everlane and Unspun. This exercise helped me identify what features may expect to see when shopping online. I was also able to identify where there were gaps in competitors’ experiences, where Out West could offer more value.

This exercise helped me understand potential strengths and opportunities for next phases. I know that customer photos, reviews, and detailed product information go a long way to build trust with customers. The trustworthy information on competitors’ sites justifies the higher ticket price of sustainable items.

Real models make it easier to visualize (and commit to) online purchases, but competitor’s fail to represent the sizes and genders of more customers. Finally, while sustainability is a value proposition for both retailers, it is not part of the key customer journey.

Areas of Focus for Next Steps:

Profiling our target audience

It’s clear that our shoppers have clear needs when it comes to purchasing clothing—and these extend further than the clothing’s sustainability. The majority of shoppers are motivated to purchase clothing based on it’s fit and style. Out West caters to a diverse audience, so I created a basic persona to reference our customers' essential needs, motivations, and frustrations.

Exploring with some sketches

I did some preliminary sketches to determine how I will incorporate styling assistance, fit assistance, model selection, and sustainability features into my website. I want to meet my users’ needs for wardrobe building, inclusivity, and sustainability. At this stage, I also created a site map with my persona in mind. This includes the following pages:

• • an inviting landing page with browsable navigation
• • a category page to explore offerings
• • a styling page for users to build their wardrobes
• • a product page with reviews and model selection

Note: I did not include my about page in these designs with additional sustainability information. Though important to some users, it is not part of our customers' primary journey.

Refining the Vision

I moved to mid-fidelity wireframes, determining how I will meet users’ expectations for inclusive and easy shopping experiences. This step helped me make the process feel as real as possible. I focused on the content, UI, and interaction design. While browsing is dominant on mobile devices, I decided to focus on my desktop experience, as it is the primary device shoppers use to seek details and complete purchases (Digital Commerce 360).

Developing Visual Design

I kept the visual design simple, as I wanted the users’ focus to be on the garments themselves. To demonstrate the site’s interaction in testing, I needed to use real garment photos to show changes in size and color. All photos used are from Big Bud Press.

I began to refine my prototypes, but before finishing, I needed to put my high-fidelity wireframes in front of real shoppers. I wanted to test the overall speed and ease of use for customers. I tested the site with 5 users from our target audience using usertesting.com.

Though I tested a few more elements, my primary takeaways center on fit and styling because they were the most interactive elements on the site, and had the largest impact on users' goals.

Usability Insights:

1. Terminology used to describe clothing styles was not understood by all users.

2. Even when searching for clothing in a specific style, users opted to use the Apparel drop down, rather than the Shop by Style features to find what they were looking for.