Driving revenue & reach
I led a UX and growth team for a brand-new retail company to support their grand opening on a tight budget. In under 2 months we launched a design system, online storefront, and digital campaign, saw 9,000+ site visits, and witnessed a 283% post-web-presence increase in sales.
Starting from scratch
To get ahead of a quick timeline, planned to divide and conquer, recruiting an admin assistant, an illustrator, and marketing specialist. Even with the help, the biggest challenge would be tackling how to get masses of unique item inventory sorted, synced, and sold across in-store and online systems.
The strategy
I turned focus to auditing a mess of spreadsheets, and mapping the inventory journey from shipment, to staging, and sale, all while keeping an eye on the brand and ad campaign build.
Searching for a web system that could manage and sync sales between online and in-store, I recommended Wix for simplicity, and cost effectiveness.
Once our design system was integrated and inventory live, I monitored feedback, sales, and traffic data.
Critical shifts
Traffic climbed but online sales stayed flat, and customer feedback showed not only that they wanted to see varied-condition items before buying, but that the company was perceived as a 'clearance' outlet rather than comparable to bigger name brands. I shifted digital focus toward building confidence for in-person visits, while updating the brand color scheme and company name to move perceptions upmarket with the following changes:
- improved product descriptions and photography
- a new “Reserve” button
- a mobile-friendlier experience
- a swap of the highlighter yellow for luxury gold
- changing "closeout" to "home products" in the name
Wild success
The impact was substantial. Weekly sales increased by 283%, rising from an average of $6K to $23K, a result of many initiatives working together: improved brand perception, digital experience, and resonant promotional content.
Key lessons
Teamwork is dreamwork.
When you lean on specialists to focus on what they do best, you can accomplish more together, than what you can apart.
Be prepared for the unexpected.
I was surprised by how users interacted with the store in ways I wasn't initially looking for. It was a good reminder to see the value of user testing.
