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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

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Mineral Springs Trading Co.

Plus: 
Lovely color scheme, simple checkout

Delta: 
No search menu, delivery fees, inconsistent card sorting

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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?

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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?

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Reiterate  Mid-fidelity
 

Rework the "Artist" section 

Consider the addition of Log-in for customer loyalty programs

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