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Mom and Pop Artisan E-commerce Platform
Mineral Springs Trading Co.
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Time
2-week sprint
Methods
Agile
Lean
Team
Solo
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Client Brief
Mineral Springs Trading Co. brick and mortar store, circa 2017, was founded by the Kolbe family in the small mountain town of Berkley Springs, West Virginia. Based on the principles of "frivolities and essentials for an art fueled life", Mineral Springs offers 100+ unique items for its customers. From beauty and bath products to children's books to cookbooks this little store is packed full of delightful gems that any thoughtful shopper would love to buy.
Mineral Springs Trading Co., currently, is at one location as well as utilizes an eCommerce experience, where orders are bought and shipped direct-to-customer.
What would be a successful outcome of this project?
As a UX designer, I was seeking to increase the speed to check out. People are having issues navigating through the site and finding products.
Where to begin?
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I interviewed 9 all-female with an average age of 45 about their shopping habits, lifestyle, and eCommerce experiences.
Following the Interviews, I created an Affinity Map
to decipher Key Trends
8 eCommerce shoppers, were given a contextual inquiry of the current Mineral Spring website.
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Persona
"I like handmade items. Particularly when the artist has a story behind them. I can support that"
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Amazon
Plus:
A search menu, discounted items, loyalty program, next day shipping
Delta:
Too many similar items to sift through, confusing navigation, supporting big corporation
Mineral Springs Trading Co.
Plus:
Lovely color scheme, simple checkout
Delta:
No search menu, delivery fees, inconsistent card sorting
Lockwood, Queens, NY
Plus:
Multiple views of items, search menu, highlight items of the week
Delta:
Delivery fees, items don't look artisanal/ manufactured, not very personable
Who are the competitors?
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Feature Identifier
What is the problem?
Alice
What about the designs?
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I utilized the "F" and "Z" page structure to keep the users engaged.
Through multiple hand sketching, Figma mock-ups, and usability tests here was the best solution.
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Home page
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Item page
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Your cart
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What was observed?
In each design phase, things needed to be eliminated or edited.
Users requested:
Top navigation with a card sorted dropdown was utilized for ease of finding items.
A search bar was added as an additional finding feature.
Responded positively to the clear pop-up box to indicate "what's in your cart" and a clickable way to add items, opt-out, and move to the purchase page.
Users did not respond well:
The format throughout the iterations was not exciting enough.
Did not need large photos/ banners on pages.
Did not like to scroll on the purchasing page.
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What's the next adventure?
Reiterate Mid-fidelity
Rework the "Artist" section
Consider the addition of Log-in for customer loyalty programs
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