A step towards Omni-channel experience: Nykaa’s Retail Portal
MY ROLE
As a product designer, I helped the team envision how Nykaa could get its retail location & brand search service on the e-commerce app. I led the redesign of the new location functionality at Nykaa’s mobile app/website. Targeted over 17 million users on digital platforms and directed them to physical stores by providing comprehensive and timely information about in-store offerings, brands, and events to promote services through in-store experiences.
TIMELINE
December 2019 - August 2020
METHODS & TOOLS
UX Strategy | User Interview | User Survey | UX Design | User Flow | Figma | Adobe Photoshop | Google Analytics
TEAM
1 Retail Marketing Manager, 2 Product Designer, 2 Graphic Designer, 2 Developer
Nykaa is India’s largest beauty e-commerce retailer, which aims to provide best in class omni-channel experience to its customers through its finely curated, authentic assortment of products and services across websites, apps, and 100+ retail stores.
PROBLEM
But. Where is the nearest Nykaa store?
Nykaa faced the challenge of providing a seamless in-store experience to customers by integrating its offline and online presence. The objective was to make the Store section easily accessible and user-friendly, allowing customers to find the information they need without any hassle.
SOLUTION
Created a dedicated In-Store section within the app/website that contains store listing, offers, direction and events information. This helped users easily find the information they are looking for and increase the visibility of in-store promotions, available brands and events.
Optimized search for nearest store location and added filter function for cities.
RESEARCH
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Analyzed two direct competitors - Sephora and Ulta Beauty. Ulta Beauty lacks detailed information about stores like events, offers etc, and Sephora doesn’t allow user to pre-populate the location
USER SURVEY
Interviewed 20+ store managers. We discovered that consumers frequently inquire about the availability of particular brands in the shop. We also discovered that customers felt disappointed if they missed any retail events.
EMPLOYEE INTERVIEW
Surveyed 500+ participants, analytics revealed that customers are seeking the closest store location in one tap. There is a need to add more details like brands, events etc. Online users also to register for offline events from a single platform rather than monitor their emails and notifications.
FINDINGS
According to customer survey results, 82% of retail customers wanted to know what events were taking place in Nykaa stores and an easier way to register events.
“Customers frequently come into our stores seeking for offers that have already expired. When we inform them that the offer has been withdrawn, we are put in an awkward situation. As a result of miscommunications, customers are not getting a good retail experience.”
-Store Manager
As the number of locations increased, our retail support team saw an increase in queries requesting basic store information, such as the time, location, brand availability, etc.
REVISED PROBLEM STATEMENT
Users have trouble accessing information about Nykaa retail stores on the app or website.
The online users were unable to attain the benefits and experiences of retail stores. The goal was to enhance user satisfaction by providing comprehensive and timely information about the in-store offerings, brands and events on the e-commerce platform. Nykaa has a very strong online presence with over 17 Million users and its aim was to direct these users to its multiple retail stores and expand its business model by providing services through in-store experiences.
OUR DESIGN GOALS
User to find nearest store location easily
A user-friendly flow designed to accomplish fundamental tasks.
100+ Locations and its information to presented efficiently
INFORMATION ARCHITECHTURE
Three primary tasks:
Store Locator: Incorporated a store locator feature that utilized location-based services to provide users with the nearest store information.
Brand Filtering: Allow users to quickly identify the stores that stocked their favorite brands, streamlining the purchasing process.
Store Details: Dedicated section for each store that showcased relevant details, making it easier for customers to make informed decisions.
STORYBOARDING
Storyboards provided a visual and narrative framework that enhanced communication, empathy, and collaboration. By using storyboards, we created more user-centered solutions, improved the overall user experience, and ensured that the final product meets the real needs and expectations of its users. Storytelling helped us to convey the value and impact of a design solution, making it easier to engage and persuade stakeholders. It facilitated collaboration between designers, developers, and other team members, ensuring that all perspectives are considered in the design process.
PRODUCT FEATURES
1
Ability to change the location
Giving users a functionality to search their nearest location, when users tap on retail stores button, the first thing they interact with is overlay card, which asks to enter their zip code, preferred current location or skip to move to all listings. Provided clear & concise Instructions instructions or prompts, such as “Enter your location” / “Use current location.”
Geolocation: Allow users to use their current location via GPS. Provided a button like “Use my location” for convenience.
Manual Input: Offer an option to manually enter an address or location for users who prefer not to use geolocation services.
Sorting and highlighting the nearest stores at the top
Prompt to enter Pincode or use mobile location
Real-time Feedback: Provided real-time feedback as users interact with the feature, such as confirming the location input or indicating if no results are found.
Interactive Maps: Integrated interactive maps that users can zoom in/out and pan. This visual representation helps users see the location in context.
Pins and Markers: Used clear and distinct pins/markers to indicate locations. Ensured these markers are easy to understand (e.g., different colors or icons for different types of locations).
Distance Indicators: Provided visual indicators of distance from the user’s current location to each search result.
Prominent Search Bar: Placed the search bar in a prominent location at the top of the page or app screen.
Filter options by city and brands
List view of all the location
Interactive map to zoom in and out
Interactive pin taking user to store details page
2
Giving users the service to filter stores through brands - Just below the location tab, users are given the ability to filter stores by brand names. The algorithm then creates a list of stores that carry that brand.
Filter Chips: Use filter chips or tags at the top of the search results to display active filters. This provides a quick overview of the filters in use.
Alphabetical Sorting: Sort the brand list alphabetically to make it easy for users to find specific brands.
Individual Filter Removal: Allow users to remove individual filters without resetting the entire filter set. Use small “x” icons next to each active filter for easy removal.
Search within Filters: Implement a search bar within the filter panel to help users quickly find specific brands, especially useful if there are many brands.
Overlay to enter the brand name
List of stores as per the value entered
Store list filtered as per the brand
3
Store-specific pages with details - Users could now tap on any store and receive additional details like address, store timings etc.
Highlighted top offers
Store details mentioned on store specific page
Top brands tab where all the available brands are listed
Store details mentioned on the side with scrollable feature
Used images to create a realistic impression of the store and give the user an In-Store shopping experience.
4
One tap registration for events - User Research indicated that a One Tap registration would be the most feasible solution for registering in these events as the users previously had to sift through their inbox to find that one email.
One tap event registration
Events tabs inside each location
RESULTS
Increase in user Interaction
Improved customer satisfaction score
Reduced retail support tickets
LEARNINGS
Different research methods produce different results
Through the course of this project, user research, especially requirements gathering, played an imperative role. As it was concluded from user research, the actual problem differed from what was assumed.
Obtaining feedback on lo-fi/sketches prototypes would have led to a better design and would have contributed to lesser lead time
Due to the short duration of the project, we could only test our final designs with our users. Obtaining feedback on our wireframes would have helped us identify the importance of various features we were trying to incorporate based on user research and would have given us a fair idea of what is working with our users and what isn't.
FUTURE SCOPE
Brand-specific offers
Add brand-specific offers for each retail store, making each brand listing clickable.
Allow users to book makeover appointments
Stores currently take makeup appointments on call, our scope is to add a button where customers can select a slot for the makeover and book it online.
Add more engaging content
Being a beauty and wellness brand, Nykaa has so much going on in-store, like makeup tutorials, celebrity tryouts, etc. The new Nykaa Retail can also contain highlights, videos, and news, to make the experience more interactive and immersive.