Brand Page Redesign

Sector

E-commerce

Duration

3 Months

My Role

Lead Researcher & Designer

The Challange

To improve navigation and discoverability for brand-focused shoppers, as research showed over half of our customers prefer to shop by brand rather than product type.

Research

This research provided key insights that informed Otrium's strategies, allowing the platform to cater more effectively to different customer groups and their specific needs.

Research Methodology and Accountability

The research aimed to understand Otrium's customers and their shopping behaviors, focusing on those who have made a purchase. The methodology consisted of an online quantitative survey, structured with 55 questions and designed for a 10-minute completion time.

Target Group & Sample

The research targeted Dutch Otrium members who had made a purchase.
Due to insufficient reference data, no claims could be made about the representativeness of the sample for the broader population of customers.
The sample frame was based on Otrium’s customer base, with a random sample of 17% of Dutch members who had previously made a purchase invited to participate in the study.

Fieldwork

1,524 participants completed the questionnaire, with a maximum margin of error of 2.5% at a 95% confidence level.
Data collection was conducted from October 6 to 24, 2021.

Customer Profile

The analysis provided key demographic insights into the Otrium customer base:

Gender

Age Distribution

Frequency of Clothing Purchases (per year)

Customer Segmentation

Three distinct customer segments were identified, each with different preferences and behaviors:

Bargain Hunters

Prioritize price over brand and tend to choose clothing based on affordability.
Appreciate free returns on online orders and place less value on clothing brands.

Fashion Enthusiasts

Consider themselves fashion-conscious and value expressing their identity through clothes.
Prefer to purchase from well-known brands and have a small set of favorite brands.

Sustainable Shoppers

Place high importance on buying clothing made from sustainable materials.
Value brands that focus on sustainability and tend to avoid quick delivery options and free returns, as these practices don’t align with their values.

Problem Definition

Research revealed that more than half of our customers prefer to shop by brand rather than by product category (e.g., jeans or shirts). However, the existing platform made it difficult for users to easily navigate and explore the various brands available. This led to a suboptimal shopping experience, limiting customer engagement and reducing brand-specific sales. To address this, we redesigned the brand page to streamline navigation and enhance discoverability, catering to customers’ brand-driven shopping preferences.

Ideation

Tailoring to Customer Segments: The design ideation focused on creating distinct brand navigation pathways that cater to Bargain Hunters, Fashion Enthusiasts, and Sustainable Shoppers, ensuring that each segment finds relevant and appealing brands more easily.
Enhanced Brand Visibility: Considering that over half of the customers shop by brand, we prioritized showcasing top brands prominently on the page, with filters that help users discover their preferred or favorite brands quickly.
Sustainability Features: To engage Sustainable Shoppers, we incorporated clear indicators and badges for sustainable brands or eco-friendly product ranges, making it easy for them to align purchases with their values.
Designer Labels for Fashion Enthusiasts: We introduced a "Designer" label to highlight premium and well-known designer brands, specifically catering to Fashion Enthusiasts who prioritize branded clothing and style.
Expanded Filters: Given that the platform hosts around 400 brands, we added advanced filtering options for categories like footwear, sportswear and accessories, allowing users to quickly narrow down the type of brand they are searching for.
Personalized Recommendations: We ideated incorporating personalized brand recommendations based on previous purchases or shopping patterns, helping all customers easily find their favorite brands.

Design

After conducting extensive research and defining the core problems, we moved into the design phase with a focus on enhancing navigation and brand discoverability. The design decisions made during this phase directly stemmed from insights gathered during the ideation stage, ensuring that both user needs and business goals were met.

Design Decisions:

Brand Filters for Enhanced Discoverability:

We introduced multiple filters, including product type (e.g., Footwear, Accessories) and brand values, enabling users to search for brands based on attributes like Conscious (sustainable brands) or Designer (high-end brands). This customization not only allows users to filter brands by the type of products they offer but also caters to those seeking more meaningful shopping experiences aligned with their values and preferences. This streamlines the user journey, making it easier for users to discover brands that suit their specific needs.

Before

After

Featured Brand Exposure:

To meet business requirements and honor contracts with key brands, we designed dedicated containers and highlighted spaces for featured brands. This ensured higher visibility and increased exposure for these brands on the platform, in line with their agreements, while maintaining a seamless user experience.

Designer and Conscious Labels:

A key design addition was the introduction of "Designer" labels for high-end and well-known designer brands, as well as "Conscious" labels for sustainable brands. These labels help visually differentiate premium and eco-friendly brands, catering to fashion-conscious users and those seeking sustainable options, providing clarity and enhancing the shopping experience for specific customer preferences.

Conscious Brand Filter

Responsive Mobile Design:

With around 85% of Otrium's customers accessing the platform via mobile web, apps, and tablets, we prioritized optimizing the brand page for mobile. We ensured that filters and brand navigation were intuitive and easily accessible on smaller screens, enhancing the overall mobile shopping experience and catering to the platform's predominant user base.

Integration of Ideation Decisions

The decisions made in the ideation phase were seamlessly integrated into the design. We focused heavily on improving the brand discoverability and ensuring that the design matched the diverse shopping habits of users.
Filters were carefully designed based on user research, which showed a strong preference for filtering by brand type and product category.
Based on research identifying three key user personas—fashion enthusiasts, bargain hunters, and conscious shoppers—we optimized the brand page for mobile to cater to these diverse needs. Filters and brand navigation were made intuitive and easily accessible on smaller screens.
Additionally, insights about fashion enthusiasts led to the prominent placement of the "Designer" label on premium brands, ensuring this segment could easily find high-end options, while the "Conscious" label catered to eco-conscious shoppers.

Delivery

Documented Design Specifications: Thoroughly documented all design decisions, including the layout, filters, and labeling systems, ensuring a smooth handoff to the development team and alignment with business objectives.
Collaborated with Development Teams: Worked closely with developers to guarantee that the designs were implemented seamlessly, especially focusing on mobile optimization given the platform’s predominantly mobile user base.
Quality Assurance: Conducted design reviews during the development phase to ensure adherence to high-quality standards and to verify that the features, such as the filters and brand labels, functioned intuitively on all platforms.
Launch and Monitoring: Successfully launched the redesigned brand page, continuously monitoring user engagement metrics to ensure the intended improvements in navigation, ease of use, and brand visibility were achieved.

Outcome

Increased Brand Engagement: The redesigned brand page led to a noticeable increase in user interaction with brand-specific filters, contributing to higher visibility for both premium and sustainable brands.
Improved Mobile Experience: With over 85% of users accessing the platform via mobile, the mobile-optimized design significantly enhanced the shopping experience, resulting in a 20% increase in mobile session duration and a reduction in bounce rates.
Streamlined User Journey: By implementing user-centered filters and labels such as "Designer" and "Conscious", we successfully catered to the needs of fashion enthusiasts, bargain hunters, and conscious shoppers, making it easier for users to find the brands and products that aligned with their preferences.
Higher Sales Conversion: The enhanced accessibility, clarity, and introduction of brand filters by product type allowed users to focus more easily on brands that matched their interests. This improvement contributed to a significant uplift in overall sales, particularly in premium and sustainable categories, by driving better product discovery and creating a more seamless user journey.
Positive Feedback: Both users and stakeholders praised the redesigned interface for its simplicity, effectiveness, and alignment with the platform’s goals, solidifying the new design as a success in both usability and business impact.

Learnings

Translating Research into Actionable Design: This project underscored the importance of transforming user research into clear, actionable design decisions. By closely analyzing user behavior and preferences, we were able to create a more intuitive and accessible brand page that catered directly to the needs of fashion enthusiasts, bargain hunters, and conscious shoppers. The ability to filter through brands based on key attributes, such as product type, premium designer labels, or sustainable practices, was a direct response to these insights.
Catering to Diverse User Groups: The biggest challenge—and learning—was identifying how to address the varying needs of different user groups through a single design solution. By simplifying and customizing the search and filtering options, we ensured that each user group had a tailored experience without compromising the overall usability of the platform. This reinforced the idea that personalization can be achieved without overwhelming users.
Simplifying Search and Filters: A key takeaway was the significance of building a bottom-up solution rather than enforcing a top-down approach. Instead of forcing users to adapt to preset filters that didn’t align with their needs, we designed the filtering system based on user behavior and preferences. This allowed us to create intuitive, personalized filters that reflected how users actually shop. By putting the user's goals at the forefront, we simplified the process, saving them time and enhancing their overall experience on the platform.
Personal Growth: For me personally, this project highlighted the value of continuous iteration, user-centered thinking, and the power of a well-designed, data-driven approach. Being able to collaborate with stakeholders and translate complex user needs into straightforward, effective solutions was both challenging and rewarding.