Designing for Retail: Eliminating UI for Mobile Optimization

Carrie Whitehead @Whitehead, @ZapposLabs

Zappos Labs: Inspiring the Future of Zappos

Experimenting with new ways for customers to shop, engage and connect online.

Zappos Glance

Stylist pick the best items based around trends and events.

Users discover through stylist picks or through what others are liking.

Glance is the friend you go shopping with.

Solve a Real Customer ProblemGet out of the office and go interact with

your customers.

Solve a Real Customer Problem

Image credit: http://www.websigmas.com/web-tech/usability-testing-to-build-a-performing-website/

Get out and interact with customers in the real world.

Identify and understand your audience – understand their needs.

Experience their behavior first hand.

Validate what you think you should do, and keep doing that as you build your product.

Zappos Glance

Launched a landing page to gauge interest.

Collected email addresses.

Did quick and dirty concept testing to help validate the idea.

Keep it Simple…and delightful, engaging, and useful.

Keep it Simple

Most of your initial audience will be casual users – you have to design for them.

They’ll arrive ready to back out – you have to get them to stop and take notice.

Tell them / show them what it’s all about – get them to convert.

Make it accessible and easy to use in the context of their use.

Keeping it Simple

Initially launched with only must-have features.

We always asked, “What can we take away?”

Adding a new feature can be useful, but it can also clutter up an interface.

Optimize for Mobile

Knew customers would be accessing from desktop, tablet, and mobile.

We designed the site to respond gracefully in all of these scenarios.

Our design and development teams collaborated closely from the beginning.

The team had a shared vision leading to quicker decisions.

Measure, Learn and IterateQuickly seek feedback and improve constantly.

Measure, Learn and Iterate

Just get it out there! Quickly capture user behavior and feedback.

There are many methods of measuring (usability, feedback surveys, A/B testing, surveys, web analytics).

Measuring too many things can be paralyzing. Stick to your core metrics and make decisions.

Listen to your data, but don’t forget to observe your customers.

Measure, Learn and Iterate

Our approach to refreshing the design was iterative to better understand insights.

We regularly look at health reports, initiate A/B tests, and seek user feedback.LAUNCH TODAY

Learn From Wins and Losses

Social Buzz

50/50 A/B Test

2% of people in test group clicked on tab

Those 2% performed well!

BUT, just having the tab there brought the entire group down

Glance

Performing well

Higher average order value

Good engagement

Lessons We Continue to Learn

Solve a real customer problem

Keep it simple and accessible

Measure, learn, and iterate

Thank you!

Carrie Whitehead @Whitehead, @ZapposLabs