BestFrenBeauty

Introduction

The e-commerce skincare website, BestFrenBeauty.com, was in need of a revamp. There was not yet an online website, and several areas were missing. I was able to come to the rescue. I used several research methods to develop who our users were, and what the problems we needed to solve were. From these findings, I developed a website prototype that would address some of the major concerns and boost revenue for the business in the long run. 

Surveys

I started off my research by conducting an online survey. My results gave me insight into who our main users were, and I was able to see some patterns and commonalities. 

  • I found that 88.2% of participants either knew someone with a skincare routine, and/or had one themselves.

  • Product reviews were found to be the most important across the board, followed by price. 88.2% said reviews were the most important and 76.5% said price. 

  • A majority of the participants said they preferred purchasing gifts and skincare online. 

  • Most of the participants were females between the ages of 30 and 40.

  • Almost everyone said they have purchased products from Sephora.com in the past.

C and C Analysis

From my survey, I was able to gain insight into who our competitors were, and compared them all. I made a comparative and competitive analysis chart containing 8 website features. I found that Sephora.com had all of the features listed on my chart, followed by Ulta and Amazon. BestFrenBeauty had 2, which were testimonials and contact info. 

Persona

From my survey data, I was also able to develop one user persona. Her name is Jessica!

  • Jessica is a 30 year old teacher living in Boston. She is super positive and loves buying gifts for her many friends and family. She lives a fairly stress free life, and enjoys shopping online. Some of her biggest needs are shopping local, and product descriptions and reviews.

The persona of Jessica led me to one clear and concise problem statement. 

Problem Statement

Jessica needs a way to compare different products via reviews and descriptions so that they can make a more accurate and informed decision on their purchases. 

HMWs

  • How might we provide multiple present options for gift givers?

  • How might we provide accurate reviews by getting existing customers to voice their opinions?

  • How might we give incentive for people to keep coming back to shop at the website?

Card Sort Findings

I asked 6 people to group a set of different skincare items into categories.

All 6 people came up with these same groups.

  • Moisturizers

  • Toners

  • Cleansers

  • Masks

  • Gifts/Accessories 

I based my site map drop down items on these results. 

Next Steps

  • We want to add more products to the website, to give users like Jessica more options to discover and choose from.

  • On top of the reviews and descriptions, we also want to add product ingredients.

  • We want to add another drop down from the drop down moisturizer option, delving deeper into the different kinds. They will be able to search for moisturizers by serums, creams, etc.

  • We want to add a rewards program. This will give customers an incentive to keep coming back to accumulate points via purchases that will lead to discounts the more they shop.

  • In the order confirmation email, we want to leave the option to leave a review, and give them incentive to do so, such as a discount applied to their next order. This will dovetail to more revenue by providing customers with more details and reassurance when purchasing items.

Usability Test Takeaways

I conducted usability tests on 5 people with my original high-fi website prototype. 

Task: Find a moisturizing cream, add to cart, and purchase.

  • All of the participants were able to complete the task in under 60 seconds.

  • They liked being able to see reviews, and found the website easy to navigate.

  • They found the checkout page vague and hard to understand. This was later rectified in my iterated prototype. 

  • They felt it was easy to complete the task asked of them.

Research Takeaways

Reviews and descriptions are important for a lot of people. They don’t want to just buy a product blindly. They want reassurance and security before they purchase. We want to provide an array of product options, but we also don’t want it to feel overwhelming like some major websites such as Sephora can be.

Conclusion

This allowed me to use an array of research methods. I was able to connect everything together in the end to realize a common problem and solution. I also developed a clear understanding of our users. I was able to look at this through the eyes of both the consumer, and the business. I was able to come up with solutions based on concrete research facts that benefitted both the users and the stakeholders. I really enjoyed this one!

Project Overview

Role: UX Researcher/Designer

Tools: Figma