Client Project
A new age of
online shopping
Engaging US customers for European live e-commerce iOS app Allo
Introduction
Allo is a new live stream e-commerce iOS app.
In Allo, Shoppers can find unique and high-quality products directly from independent designers at a live event.
London-based start-up Myfactori plan to launch in the US in January 2022 is therefore the CEO asked us to research United States users and design the prototype in 3 weeks.
They want us to discover the best way to connect US shoppers to European designers through Allo. Also, focus on the niche market of independent designer businesses. Therefore, we researched target users who love shopping but not from well-known big brands.
Our prototype of Allo App
Problem
“How do I trust someone I’ve never even heard of before?”
Users who prefer independent designers often feel concerned about product quality, shipping, return policy, and payment security. Especially when they purchase from international sellers. They are looking for information to find the shop's reliability.
Hypothesis
If we provide social opportunities between sellers and buyers. It will enable buyers to establish trust with sellers to minimize common online shopping concerns.
Allo users are seeking trust.
Establish trust through storytelling.
Build trust through communication.
Maintain trust through reliability.
Result
80% of users were satisfied with Allo’s shopping experience.
We achieved that 80% of potential users were satisfied with this new online shopping experience at usability test and they said can trust and enjoy the new shopping experience.
Duration
Three Week Remote Design
Client project, May 2021
Client
Myfactori / Allo
Team
Kyle Barry
Madeline Lipkin
Mieko Kawasaki
Tool
Figma
Miro
Optimal Workshop
GoodNotes
Method
Survey, User Interview, Competitive & Comparative Analysis, Affinity Mapping, Persona Development, User Flow, Task Analysis, Site Map, Design Studio, Heuristic Analysis, Wireframing, Usability Testing, Prototyping
My role
We work together for all phases as a team. I took the lead in the design phase.
I successfully created a low-fi and high-fi prototype in 2 days with Figma.
Research
Created survey and interview plan
Conducted 3 interviews
competitive and comparative analysis
Synthesis
affinity mapping
persona
user flow
heuristic analysis
Design
sketch
wireframe
prototype
usability testing
design guide
annotation
Our Approach
1. Research
To discover US niche shopper's needs in 3days, we conducted a survey and interview and researched competitor's live stream app.
2. Synthesis
From research, we found 2 types of shopping habits for independent designers. Therefore we analyzed data and created personas.
3. Design
To gather a wide range of idea in 1day, we started with design brainstorm sessions. Then, I combined all ideas in wireframe and polish to prototype.
4. Deliver
To deliver valuable information in the best format, we gathered all data in 1 document, and the client can easily search and scan data.
Research
Understanding potential Allo users.
Survey
59 participants ( 3days / Optimal Workshop survey )
The US online shoppers on the online fashion community
We tried to find out ...
Who is buying from independent designers?
What items are they buying?
Which mobile devices do users use?
Interview
7 interviewees ( 45 mins each / 1 on 1 interview )
The US online shoppers who prefer independent designers
We tried to find out …
Why do users prefer independent designers?
What are users concerned with online shopping?
How do users share their experiences?
Synthesis
Who is buying from independent designers?
64% of users are age 18-35
67% female 32% male
What do Allo’s users want for the online shopping experience?
Users want unique items they can only find from independent designers.
Users find extra value or emotional attachment when there is a story behind an item.
Users prefer to share and ask about shopping experiences with one qualified person, not for the public.
Design
How did we consolidate research data to design in Allo?
Ease of using
Accessibility
Users can customize the screen for the live event. For example, on/off comments, mute, subtitle captures, and voice recognition.
Search products
We discovered that search by a product is not standard in competitor live eCommerce app. But most of the users answered they need time to consider before purchase, so we believe adding search products in the Allo app will increase sales.
Building trust
Store profile page
Users feel extra value when the store has a unique story behind the products. Also, to increase reliability, we added positive rate information on the store profile page.
Communication tool
We designed several communication tools to access stores. Such as direct messages to store, confirm FAQ, and submit questions or comments on a live event. We believe these tools will help users to build trust in stores.
Design Guide
Allo team shared their brand guide idea with us. Unfortunately, there is not enough contrast for accent buttons and tab colors, so I adjusted saturation and brightness while keeping the hue, making it accessible, and proposed new brand colors to the Allo team. CEO of the Allo asked to use the face type "Inter" so I made a typography hierarchy.
Refining design
What users think about Allo’s experience?
We conducted a Usability Test with 5 Users over 2 rounds in the remote. We gave them tasks to complete.
Tasks :
Attend Livestream, view FAQ, ask questions, purchase the item
Find a new store page, read the designer story, follow
Send them a DM
Sign up for notifications for any upcoming stream
Result :
4 Users completed all tasks.
1 User couldn't complete 1 task “follow”
What worked?
Intuitive navigation
Various ways to discover the answer
Personalized search
“Positive feedback” percentage
What didn’t work?
Tag placement and function
Date information on upciming streams
Visual intensive layout
Common wording
Result & Deliver
The Allo Vision come to life
Conclusion
Result
We achieved that 80% of potential Allo users are satisfied and 100% of users are interested to use the app when they release it.
Next steps
After the handoff, our client’s internal product designer will be taking over our research and prototype, and we look forward to seeing the final result on their app
Allo internal data scientist team will add the function of the customization onboarding process. That will add another value to this app.
Key takeaways
Qualified users are hard to find, and adaptability and is key
I constantly helped and reminded the team to focus on the problem we want to solve. Users are great to talk about their situation and pain but not a designer
If I could do it again...
I want to have more iteration and testing at the wireframe phase next time. Due to the short sprint, the quick jump to high fidelity from the paper sketch worked out, but I think we could be better.
