UX Research and App Design

AE Dressing Room

Wireframes

Presentation

Summary

Graduate Level Project

Online shoppers face the obstacles of not being able to hold the clothing they purchase in their hands, to try them on, to stand in front of a mirror to determine whether or not they are going to make a purchase. They have to rely on product descriptions and customer reviews to visualize the feel, and sizing charts to understand the fit. With accurate measurements an online shopper could be able to get the “fit” of an item. But many shoppers do not have accurate measurements or they rely on store sizes, which vary from brand to brand. This, the problem of online shoppers having accurate measurements, was the first problem we addressed. The second problem of, how do you convey feel, when you can’t actually feel something, was the second we addressed.

With proper instruction, users can use their mobile devices to obtain accurate body measurements. Using this technology, we believe that American Eagle online shoppers can gain buying confidence, by knowing what their measurements are to determine which size they should purchase. From interviews and surveys we learned that customer reviews are a means by which many online shoppers determine the feel of an item. By taking accurate measurements and combining and comparing this information with other users and giving them a platform to share purchases they made and liked, our hope is that online shoppers will gain confidence to place orders. This is AE Dressing Room.

Users are instructed to “scan” or “input measurements”, if they know their own measurements. With these measurements, users build their profile. Once their profile is built, users can then see suggestions from American Eagle about which clothing might be a good fit, review what others who have similar body types and measurements have purchased, or review and rate their recent purchases. Through their profile, users can search for other users who have similar profile measurements (shown in %, not actual measurements) to see what they have purchased. Users will also be able to review recent orders as they try them on at home, sharing this information just like they would if they were in the store trying clothing on with friends.

My Role

I was the lead on a three person design team for this project. I was solely responsible for the wireframes and analyzing the user research. Being the team lead required me to keep the project on task and focused, provide clear and effective communication to my team, and encourage collaboration among team members. As team lead I was tasked with presenting the project to the stakeholders.

User Research

We conducted two surveys for our user research. The focus of the first survey was to help us understand habits of online shoppers, pros and cons of online shopping, and what factors online shoppers consider when purchasing an item of clothing. We had 8 respondents, within the 16 – 35 age range.

When asked what shoppers dislike about online shopping we received the following responses (selected):

“Most of the time clothes don’t fit so the returning process is annoying”

“Don’t know if it will fit”

“Not being able to try on clothing”

When asked, “What are the drawbacks for online shopping? Specifically clothing. What could be done to overcome the drawbacks?” We received the following responses (selected):

“Sometimes cheaper in store, need better measurements”

“Can’t actually try the items on. Free return/replacement shipping.”

“Things that do not fit well — Easier returns maybe”

When asked, “What could make your online shopping experience easier?” We received the following responses (selected):

“If all the sizes were the same”

“Measurements detailed”

From the results of the first survey we started to focus on the “problem” of helping online shoppers know and understand their measurements, to help make confident choices while shopping online. We determined that the “fit” of clothing is something an online shopper could determine with accurate measurements. While “feel,” being a tangible thing, we used our second survey for focus more on how or if users would be willing to take or have their measurements taken, and then pair that information with suggestions (by American Eagle or other AE shoppers).

Our second survey was to help us determine if users would actually be interested in using technology that took their measurements and then if they would be interested in receiving suggestions from the clothing company and other shoppers. We had 48 respondents, from under 18 to 60 years old. The majority of our respondents were: under 18 (12.5%) and 18-24 (41.7%). These two age groups making up 54.2% of the total respondents. We tried to get respondents from various age groups under the assumption that parents might be shopping online for their children. 79.2% of respondents were female and 20.8 % were male. Of the 48 respondents, 38 responded with a comment about fit, feel, sizing, or measurements when asked what the most difficult part of online shopping.

When asked, “How do you determine whether or not you are going to make an online purchase without trying an item on?” Almost all of the responses mentioned one (or more) of following three words: Size (charts, measurements, fit) 22 responses, Reviews (or comments) 7 responses, and returns (easy, free, to/in store) 16 responses. These are some of the responses we received (selected):

“I would look at the size chart as well as possibly try on something else in the store that would be similar”

“how it looks on the models, and the reviews. Or if I’m desperate”

“Customer reviews, ease in returning clothes, cost”

“I always read reviews if available. Otherwise, you just take a chance and I use free shipping/free returns because 50% of the time the items get returned.”

“If it seems like it is loose fitting, it is usually a good bet”

“Depending on how much I like the piece of clothing and reading reviews if there are any”

When asked, “Would you be interested in using an app to take your body measurements to purchase clothing online?” 56.3% responded “yes,” and 27.1% responded “maybe.”

When asked, “if a retailer’s app was able to take your measurements and make suggestions of clothing that might fit, how likely would you be to make purchases from those suggestions?” On a scale of 1 to 5, (1 being not very, 5 being very likely), over half (62.5%) responded with a 4 or 5.

When asked, “if a retailer’s app was able to show you clothing other people liked who also had similar body measurements and types, would you be more confident in purchasing the item online?” 85.4% responded “yes”.

When asked, “if a retailer’s app was able to show you clothing other people liked and or purchased, who also had similar body measurements and types, would you be willing to share your profile and clothing selections with others?” 75% responded “yes”.

Tasks, Scenarios, and Personas

Kevin is a 22-year- old college student at Duquesne University. He is a Pharmacy major, so he is very busy with schoolwork. He is unsure of what size he would be in American Eagle jeans, but he does not have the time to go to the store to get fitted. Kevin would be interested in using AE’s app to figure out what jean size he would be. He does not know his measurements, so a scan function within the app that can measure Kevin by taking photographs would be helpful.

Angela: Angela is a 56-year- old mother who is shopping for her daughter, Nina, for Christmas. She wants to surprise Nina with new clothes from American Eagle for Christmas. She isn’t sure what Nina’s actual size is in American Eagle clothes, but she does indeed know Nina’s measurements. This app can help Angela figure out Nina’s exact sizes by manually entering her measurements.

Julia: Julia is a 15-year- old girl who is getting ready to go to high school. She wants to go school shopping before school starts, but isn’t sure about what the latest fashions are. She has no idea what trends high school kids are wearing. Julia just wants to fit in, fashion-wise. By using AE’s inspiration tab on the app, she can find the latest trends and make sure she is fashionable for high school. The tab can also help her find the exact outfits at American Eagle by including their name and make.

Toni: Toni is a 30-year-old mother with a newborn child. Toni has gained some weight since her pregnancy, so she needs to shop for some larger clothes. She knows her measurements and her new sizes at American Eagle, but wants to know how certain items of clothing will look on her new body type. In the app, Toni can enter her body type, weight, height, etc. and can see what people with her similar body type are wearing by using the “What Others Are Wearing” function.

Usability

Our methods of usability testing were fairly simple. The design of the Dressing Room feature was developed into a mostly-functional interface, capable of navigating through dressing room features, using the Axure RP Pro 7.0 prototyping tool. Users were set before the prototype and asked to perform a few of the tasks that online shoppers could carry out using the Dressing Room feature. The users were encouraged to “think out loud,” commenting any likes, dislikes, obstacles, etc. so that the team member observing them could take notes and work to improve the Dressing Room feature.

After several usability tests with people from a demographic similar to that of the survey responses, various parts of the Dressing Room feature were amended. Originally, the Dressing Room homepage lacked a way to navigate directly to the Dressing Room profile, for users who already went through the steps of creating a profile. After recommendations from a multitude of testers that this option be included, the Dressing Room feature was updated to include such an option. Other visual elements were also changed, as the original design was seen as “bland” by some testers. On the other hand, certain aspects of the original design were noted by testers to be beneficial. Many testers took note of the descriptions that were placed by some elements, such as buttons or text fields. While a few testers did describe this aspect as a bit cluttered, the descriptions were kept in the present version.

Conclusion

We see AE Dressing room as a part of the already existing AE App. Our goal in designing this function was to blend the experience of trying on clothes with purchasing clothes online. We wanted online shoppers to be able to see what might fit them best by providing them with the ability to take their measurements while online shopping. We see the “AE Suggests” and “What Others Are Wearing” as going shopping with friends and asking them for their input. The “Review Your Order” takes the moment of trying clothing on and lets you express if you like it or not. Originally, we included a button at which point a store associate could help with measurement taking. Unfortunately, this button confused users during usability testing. We removed the button, but still believe there could be a place for this function. We saw this function as a way to bring the digital into the brick and mortar store. Another design function that was thought of as a part of the “Review Your Order” was that, if the online shopper did not like the idea, a return receipt could be generated. Overall, our hope is that incorporating these functions would help online shoppers have confidence in their purchases and take some chances with style instead of size.

An aesthetic-driven UX Designer, with a compassionate, empathic approach to problem solving.

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