Supporting women-owned brands with ethical & sustainable premium products.
Let's take a bird's-eye view
Confidants is an e-commerce site that showcases premium sustainable brands led by women entrepreneurs. Cart abandonment rates were 45% above the industry average. I spearheaded the implementation while collaborating with the C.E.O. to deliver measurable business impact, resulting in a 32% increase in completed purchases.
Research says...
“How do I get back? It doesn't give you the option. I guess I must redo it.”
During checkout, users needed to modify and save cart items easily. Usability testing revealed that 32% of participants failed these critical tasks- directly impacting conversion.
The business needs & our persona
According to the evaluation
“I can’t save my favorite items, so I don’t know what I’ve looked at.”
• The lack of "save-for-later" function resulted in loss of revenue (1)
• A rigid checkout flow prevented users from modifying cart contents, leading to a 32% cart abandonment rate (2)
The fashion maven
“When I shop, I want to know I'm making a difference by supporting ethical/sustainable brands”
The fashion maven can't save curated selections and abandoned purchases, driving a 42% drop in average order value. The checkout process blocked cart modifications, resulting in lost sales.
What they're: doing, thinking, saying
Let's look at the competitors
Leading retailers like Banana Republic and Barnes & Noble implemented the wishlist feature, validating the direct sales impact of save-for-later functionality.
Comparative
Target's mobile app flexible cart management, letting shoppers modify quantities and product variants seamlessly during payment flow.
What's the problem?
“It would be easier, and I would save time if I had items saved. I had to refill the information, and it wasn’t easy to navigate back.”
Digital users' navigation constraints caused a drop in sales due to two critical failures:
• The lack of a "wishlist" feature blocked customers from saving items
• A friction payment flow prevented cart modifications
Hear me out, this is what I'm proposing
Without implementing the wishlist and cart editing features, we saw a potential for significant revenue loss in the following:
• Cart abandonment: Abandonment due to the inability to save items
• Loss of revenue: A decrease in average order per customer
Customer Retention: A drop in repeat purchases
Risk indicators:
• Users exit at the payment stage 73% more frequently without cart modification options
• Quarterly revenue loss from abandoned carts in the hundreds of thousands
• Customers switch to competitors offering save-for-later functionality
Work it out!
Adding features to save favorites and edit the cart would reduce cart abandonment, driving an increase in conversion rates. These enhancements empower users to easily update their cart before proceeding to the shipping and payment stages.
Low-level wireframes
Iterate. Iterate. Iterate...and if needed..repeat
Through iterative design, I refined and validated both the hypothesis and the problem statement in greater detail. User testing revealed a clear need for additional CTA buttons and screens, leading to an improved and more seamless user experience.
Style Guide
Initially, I focused on designing individual icons, only to realize the need to go back and build components later. This will streamline the process and reduce unnecessary iterations in the future.
High fidelity frames
The final product received rave reviews from the client, and target users praised the seamless shopping experience and the convenience of saving items for later.
The prototype, along with the MVP
Usability testing, user flows, and research identified two MVP features that drive sales:
• Save items to favorites
• Edit the cart at checkout
• Save items to favorites
• Edit the cart at checkout
Confidants implemented the proposed "Add to Favorites" feature on their e-commerce site. This improvement reduced cart abandonment by 64% and drove an increase in conversion rates by 36%, showcasing both business impact and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Next steps
Given a larger scope, I would incorporate a "share finds with others" feature to further enhance user engagement and encourage repeat interactions.
Reflections & takeaways
This client project was a truly rewarding experience. The redesign led to a more efficient and enjoyable shopping experience for users, driving positive business results and enhancing customer satisfaction.
