Shopper Engagement | My Best Fred

Swatches + Samples

How Might We

Empower in-store guests to easily and quickly visualize how various home finishes look together to increase purchase confidence while driving sales, mobile conversions, and design associate engagement?

Work

UX, Product, Service Design

Company

Wayfair

Year

2022-23

By combining physical and digital elements in signature shoppable stations that generate lists, and streamline project takeaways.

TL;DR

Lead the Swatches & Samples program for Wayfair omni channels using In-Store mode app.
Facilitated key stakeholder workshops.
Brainstormed & developed app & suite features.
Participated in user interviews.
Advocated user-centric approaches.
Created unique visuals for the suite as a whole (illustrations/product app icons).

Getting to know my surroundings

My my domain at Wayfair was to Define Design Services for all omni channels. Starting with AllModern and Joss & Main stores (15k+ sq ft) with the ultimate goal of scaling up to large format Wayfair stores (150k+ sq ft). The initial high-level strategy work was handled by an outside agency and while they did a great job of identifying where some aspects of the design consultation work would happen—the overall Design Services strategy work (especially platform translation) was lacking, not to mention very little to go by in terms of data or user insights. We were starting from scratch.

Process Overview

This blueprint was used to communicate our product approach to features/updates/changes to stakeholders outside of product design.

In-Store Mode Audit

The in-store mode featured a code scanner to get to the product page. I wanted to leverage this feature to scan codes on the back of samples and automatically create a list to separate and group samples by project type.

Swatches & Samples Opportunity

01. In-store mode app

Utilize the same code scanner using the in-store mode app to create dedicated swatch lists.

02. Automatic lists

Rather than have swatches in a list with other products, automatically tag them so they are grouped and located in specific project lists e.g., living room or kitchen remodel.

03. Streamline & Track

Keeping track of swatches and minimizing associate involvement will contribute to meeting key business goals.

Wayfair's HomeBase design system empowerment

Prototype for user testing

Deeper Project Dive

Style & space planning is hard.

Guests want to customize style and space (e.g., changing the floors and wall colors, choosing the right finishes for furniture to fit their lifestyle) and interact/change the layouts and items. These capabilities help customers envision what items will look like in their own space, giving them the confidence to purchase high-cost, high-consideration items.

Expanding the swatch/sample program to all Wayfair and Specialty Retail Brands physical retail formats (15k - 150k+ sq ft) will allow guests to assess and compare materials physically in their space.

I was tasked to identify ways of using tech to solve functional challenges and reduce common home retail experience friction points in the design process. This work would help create a seamless and frictionless experience for our guests by creating opportunities for them to flow between online and in-store and within the store, based on their needs, while minimizing associate time and ensuring swatches were always available for guests to take home.

Business Goals:

Provide tools that enable customer decision-making through a review of options.
Increase the confidence of design combinations to increase sales.
Connect physical swatches to in-store and online options.

The Team: Dorai F. (Design Manager), Evan C. (Product Manager), Micaela L (UX Researcher), Laura W. (Business Partner), Jonathan S. (Software Engineer), Balazs I (Software Engineer), Joseph B. (Associate Facing Design Manager).

My Role: Design Lead responsible for defining and envisioning the guest-facing in-store swatches & samples experience.

Style & Space Planning Project Triggers

Large Projects

70%

Purchase (or building) New Home

Updating or Repurposing a Room

20%

Change in household makeup e.g., recent empty nester.

Need to Replace Major Item

10%

Replace heavily used furniture (couch)

Challenge

Visual

Ability to see multiple items together in their own space/environment before commitment.

Situation

01. Journey

Guests may interact with all or a few touchpoints while looking to customize their space in-store.

02. Framework

Customers have emphasized different tools offer different benefits depending on both their journey phase & primary need (style vs. space planning).

03. Focus

In-store Explore & Plan is where this work will focus.

Swatches & Samples are Essential

Reinforcement

Nearly 60% of respondents wanted to get help with being able to gather + visualize ideas.

Nearly half to these respondents also wanted to physically assess product materials.

Surprisingly, less than 20% expected to see realistic renderings of their space.

Swatches & samples will be an important part of the in-store shopping experience for guests who want to remodel or renovate their space. Currently, guests and associates must order swatches via the brand site (AllModern and Joss & Main physical locations).

Current: Virtual Only

Physical Retail Exploration

We Go Above
and Beyond

Learn More

Process Timeline

Success for Physical Retail Means..

We'll measure foot traffic, online traffic, app engagement, repeat visits, and participation in-store activations.

Omnichannel Engagement

Increased Sales

Increased Guest Acquisition

Positive Brand Building

Personas, Visits, Mindsets

In-Store Mode Audits

Nike has one of the best in-store modes in retail. Leveraging location services, the entire app changes when a customer enters the store

In-Store Renovation Audits

Samples are provided by an associate.

App Minimum Viable Product

• Scan swatches while using 'In-Store' mode app.

• Automatically create lists.

• Ability to share (via code or email).

• Merge, edit, and delete swatches.

• Edit list names.

• Add sample details features like 'family-friendly.'

• See similar materials.

• Track inventory.

• Allow customers to take away swatches.

MVP Feature Suite Proposal

Digitizing Samples

Scanning and adding swatches to Storefront is a time-consuming process.

Samples are scanned one at a time at HQ and are edited to closely match the original.
The legacy process means not all samples are tagged equally.
Swatches library has millions of digital samples, making it impossible to surface categories like 'family-friendly' since it's highly likely that a family-friendly swatch may not be tagged and mislead the guest.

Learnings

Project Planner

Currently using 3d party software (DesignFiles) for project planning and can not integrate into the self-serve process for purchasing.

Scanning Dashboard

This screen adds one step to getting to the scan feature. Guests can exit to search and find their list under their profile.

Sample/Swatch Detail Page

The legacy process of adding samples to Storefront has created inconsistent data. Standardizing this would take a significant effort of editing millions of samples.