Open for Vintage_Why would someone pay more for an old Prada handbag than for a brand new one?
The challenge
Open for Vintage is a luxury vintage fashion e-commerce based in UK. My role was to help them to create and build a prototype that could facilitate them to get the second round of funds needed to develop their business.
This project was both a brand and a UX design challenge. On one hand, there was a need to differentiate OFV from a myriad of other vintage fashion stores, and on the other hand, we needed to create an engaging shopping experience that could help the brand to achieve its objective to become the reference brand for vintage fashion.
Phase 1: Research
The first step of the process was to gather data about consumer purchase behavior to identify the main issues to address when optimizing OFV shopping experience.
Through this research we learnt that:
64 %
of consumers tend to use
smartphones for online shopping.
58 %
get their inspiration to buy new clothes online.
73 %
answered that the main criteria for purchasing apparel is price.
Important factors when buying luxury brands
88 %
Consider quality the main factor when buying luxury fashion
73 %
Consider style the second factor
when buying luxury fashion
28 %
Find important that the brand
is a trendsetter
55% of British women believe
they are more likely to purchase
clothes when shown on a person.
75% of British younger people say that they are more likely to buy brands involved in social or environmental issues.
Main concerns about online shopping
Products turn out to be poor quality
39 %
Cannot see, touch or try on before purchase
37 %
Shipping and delivery
costs and times
30 %
These findings became the base for the work to be done:
-
Mobile First. Data shows that a majority of customers use their smartphones to shop and this is a growing trend. We needed to design with mobile at the forefront of all decision-making.
"Me and my friends mostly use Instagram and Pinterestto get fashion inspiration"
Monica, 33 years old. Accountant, Madrid
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To create an engaging experience. While increasing sales is the driving force of any e-commerce, OFV is committed to creating an experience that goes beyond shopping. We want people to read our content, share our stories, subscribe to our newsletter, share their experiences, etc., as a way to build a successful brand in vintage fashion and thus, indirectly, increase sales.
"I am more inclined to buy fashion pieces when showed on a person rather than on a flat background"
Ann , 48 years old. Doctor, Liverpool.
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Product Search Optimization. From performing a search from wherever you are on the site, and to make this search as straight forward as possible were the key issues when redesigning the site. We also develop a trouble free filtering system adapted to the specific needs of a Vintage fashion ecommerce. Likewise the PDPs offer plentiful information about the product to help convert customers to add to bag, but also to minimize returns.
Personas
Based on the research carried out previously and to help me understand OFV's users needs, behaviors, and expectations, I created 3 different personas.
We also created possible scenarios to check existing user's journey when looking for specific items and tested it with different users.
Through a process of sketching, testing and iterating we finally reached the prototyping phase, where both the UX design and UI Design converged with the brand identity that I had been developing at the same time.
In the mobile version of the platform you
can search for products via a burger menu,
but also the main interface of the home page gives the possibility of browsing through the extensive catalog of products
in a more engaging way.
Through a series of curated collections
created periodically to lead our users to
specific products.
Through a burger menu you can access the whole listing of product categories. Data showed that the most popular products of the e'commerce are watches and bags, so we include these two categories on the first level of the menu.
I also optimized the filtering process according to our users needs and preferences.
The check-out process is crucial for all e-commerces. I broke the long process into stages, I also included a "Check-out as guest" option not only for new users but also because often people who have an account forget passwords; and it will be easier for them to check out as guests than to recover their password on their mobile device.
