ui design, branding
Isolde E-Commerce
duration: 6 weeks
tools: sketch, illustrator, invision
Process
Brand guide
Brand mission & values, logo, color palette, typography, alignment, writing style
user journey
Task: add multiple items to cart, finalize purchase
wireframes
Lo, mid- and hi-fidelity
user testing
User interviews to test the hi-fi mockup
prototype
InVision prototype
Introduction
Project Background
Why this project?
I was a member of fashion & cosmetics online community (message board).
I noticed many young women who claimed to be tired of skincare and make-up products available on the current market. They claimed that those products cannot fit their needs or when they can, they are expensive.
They started to order Korean cosmetics from Ebay sellers, therefore Ebay remains the biggest competitor for this project.
Consumer's reasons to turn to foreign cosmetics market
- RIGHT FIT – difficulty to find product in desired shade (for ex. foundation) or especially desired skin undertone
- PRICE – many times potential consumers could only find a product with desired shade or properties within expensive brand range, yet they want a cheaper price (especially women below 25 and students)
- CURIOUS – small percentage – curious, tested all common Western brands and now want to explore different product
- VISUAL APPEAL – Korean cosmetics have more appealing visual design / packaging, which is especially relevant for younger audience
- INGREDIENTS – women that I interviewed were conscious of products ingredients list and they check ingredients online for harmful substances. They use online analytics websites like CosDNA or similar. They want as much natural ingredients as possible. They expressed strong dislike for alcohol (ethanol) or perfume in the product.
- SPF – they want higher sun protection in their products which many Western brands still do not offer or they offer lower protection, rare to find SPF35 or higher. High SPF factor is the norm in Asian cosmetics product, often marketed in 50++ (or Asian equivalent PA) range.
- PRICE VALUE and value to quality ratio in Korean cosmetic products is seen as very good. Many of the women I interviewed were satisfied even with very cheap products (below 10 EUR range), because they offered them good quality for affordable price, which is surprising because in some cases they never used products of similar price from Western market.
Concerns / pain points
- LIMITED SELECTION – in Western market drugstores like Douglas carry very limited number of Korean products, marketed at higher price than in the original market. This is the main reason for buying from unofficial sellers.
- ORDERING – users were using word of mouth to recommend reliable Ebay seller to each other. Ebay seller provides cheaper price and shipping directly from Korea (consumers were conscious of fake products)
- RELIABILITY – How do we know if the product is authentic? It is impossible to check Ebay seller’s claim for authenticity.
- UNFAMILIAR BRANDS – which brand to try out was main question for all consumers. They were reading online reviews and message boards to gain understanding of the product.
- DELIVERY TIMES – ordering from Korea has longer delivery time than ordering from Europe. However, European resellers of Korean cosmetics have higher prices are very limited product offer.
Consumer needs
- AUTHENTICITY – customers want to buy from certified source. They were all aware of fake products therefore using word of mouth to find reliable seller. Official point of sale would resolve this problem.
E-commerce solution
It is necessary to assure user the shop is using authentic product. Providing authenticity proof through dedicated icons/labels to clearly communicate the message to the buyer. Make sure to clearly state Korea as country of origin.
- TRANSPARENCY – users clearly stated that it was important for them to see full ingredient list. They were conscious about chemical details about the product.
Insert ingredients list box below the product details. Should be clearly visible from product page.
- QUICK DELIVERY / “FREE” SHIPPING – it is important to offer flexible shipping methods, quicker than if costumer buys from Ebay seller. Also, many Ebay sellers offer “free” shipping (they calculate shipping cost into the product cost), which is great marketing strategy to attract consumer.
Stock products and ship directly from Europe. Use local shipping service.
Calculate shipping price into the product to market yourself as offering free shipping. For additional fee offer expedited shipping as well.
- COMMUNITY – because Korean brands are largely unknown in Europe, most users were using word of mouth/personal recommendation in order to choose product. Other methods included reading online reviews, looking at YouTube videos, etc.
Enable product review and include it in sitemap, in a visible place within product detail. My solution was to incorporate separate tab option for reviews cleary visible and accessible from product view .
- EASY TRANSACTION / PAYMENT METHOD – one plus of Ebay is that it offers 1-click buying option and allows user to use Paypal. Some users I interviewed were reluctant to share credit card details , and in case of non-German users giro payment is not available. Paypal proved to be among favourite payment methods and it was necessary to include it.
Mandatory to add Paypal as one of payment methods.
Make check-out as quick as possible, with adding only necessary data (name, address, payment details).