Espacio 1839

OVERVIEW

I redesigned the e-commerce experience for Espacio 1839, a small Latinx apparel brand trying to maintain operations during the pandemic

COVID-19 has taught many small businesses like Espacio 1839 how vital it is to offer a strong e-commerce experience in order to retain customers and continue business. As a way to give back, I conducted a redesign of Espacio 1839’s existing e-commerce website. ‍

‍Through research and collaboration with customers that met key demographics, I redesigned a solution catered to the needs within a niche cultural context while expanding on potential business opportunities.

CHALLENGE

Espacio 1839 struggled to attract online customers when in-store shopping was restricted due to COVID-19

After store hours were severely cut due to COVID-19 restrictions, customers were not significantly engaging with Espacio 1839’s online store. This low engagement threatened to wipe out their business since online sales accounted for less than 5% of the revenue that in-store shopping produced.

DESIGN + BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

How might we help customers feel more engaged when shopping online in order to expand customer base and boost sales revenue?

SOLUTION

An online shop where customers can explore Latinx cultural meaning in Espacio 1839's brand and products

Shop Curated Collections

The homepage offers curated product collections for shoppers who want to browse signature apparel that tie into important identity themes.

Discover Brand
Identity

Shoppers can build a deeper connection with Espacio 1839's brand identity by accessing key information about their mission, history and ways to give back.

Learn Cultural
Terms

The product page provides opportunities for shoppers to become familiar with Latinx terms shown in the brand's apparel.

APPROACH

Research

Define

Design

Evaluate

Market Research
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis

Target Users
Problem Statements
User Flow
Design Principles

Sketches
Wireframes
Iterations
Prototype

User Testing Results
Next Steps

INITIAL MARKET RESEARCH

Nearly 40% of consumers make in-store purchases once a week compared to just 27% who do the same online

Even though online shopping may be easier than going to a store, many different factors are driving shoppers' decisions to make the trek out to a store such as avoiding delivery fees and accessing products instantly.

Most importantly, however, consumers are seeking memorable retail experiences' over simple purchase transactions.

USER RESEARCH

I uncovered 3 major pain points shoppers experienced on Espacio 1839's existing online store while conducting user testing interviews

These user interviews were conducted via Zoom with a panel of participants that identified as Latino.

Topics included the significance of identity driven apparel brands Like Espacio 1839 and existing barriers towards their online shopping goals.

😔

1. Lack of brand information

2. Limited product description

3. Poor browsing methods

"I wish I news more about this brand to get excited about supporting their business."

"I'd like to learn more about the cultural meaning behind all of these products."

"I'm overwhelmed that I can't find specific products that I'm looking for or might be interested in."

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Other online retailers only addressed some of the pain points that our shoppers needed solved

TARGET USERS

I catered a solution towards existing customers (millennial shoppers) while also tapping into a newer customer base (gen-z shoppers).

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Using insights gathered from user pain points, I solidified a few guiding questions to focus my design process

INITIAL DESIGN

I began to explore target screen solutions by conducting a series of quick design studio sessions

ITERATIVE DESIGN

The insights that I gathered from testing my prototype on users led to several important design iterations

V1 - Shop by Collection

V2 - Shop by Collection

Final - Shop by Collection

Used placeholder for shop by collection banner and existing product photos for new arrivals

Moved shop by collection banner above new arrivals based on user testing feedback

Made shop collections full page with description, progress bar, and shop by category section below

V1 - About Us

V2 - About Us

Final - About Us

Used imagery found during research phase to highlight the brand in about us section

Streamlined text in the about us section to reduce cognitive load observed during user testing

V1 - Product Page

V2 - Product Page

Final - Product Page

Used placeholder text for the cultural definition within product photos section

Integrated phonological spelling into the cultural term definition image on product detail page

Introduced stronger branding into cultural term definition image and a recommended items section

FINAL PROTOTYPE

The final prototype accomplishes two main user goals while shopping: Discover brand identity and learn cultural references.

Link to Interactive Prototype

RESULTS

I evaluated the final prototype with a series of task-based usability studies involving a range of new and returning shoppers

In addition, I surveyed participants to gain qualitative data connected to key performance goals set out at the beginning of this design sprint. All participants were able to accomplish a series of benchmark tasks on their own. Here are a few highlights from the survey results:

92%

90%

100%

agreed this shopping experience promoted cultural engagement

of returning shoppers learned something new about the brand

of shoppers would recommend this online shop to their friends

REFLECTION

It was very empowering to design a solution that could help a small business face challenges during a pandemic.

It was very interesting to explore how designing in a Latinx cultural niche could present opportunities for reimagining the way traditional e-commerce experiences are constructed.

Here are a few key takeaways from my experience:

Designing for multiple types of users

Building memorable user experiences

promotes a more accessible solution and facilitates business goals by tapping into a wider market base

through clear story telling is what ultimately drives conversion rates in e-commerce and beyond