Problem

The store is a modern second-hand shop with women’s clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories for the environmentally and fashion-conscious customer.

However, an operational challenge lies in their handover process, which relies on a rather analog system. Customers are required to physically visit the store to drop off items, resulting in an average drop-off time of around 20 minutes and leading to long queues.

To aggravate matters, customers have the option to call in and book a time slot, effectively allowing them to bypass the queue. This has caused frustration among patrons due to the perceived unfairness in the process.

We were tasked with understanding, improving, as well as translating this process into a digital solution.

My Role

As a part of a team of 2, I held the roles of UI/UX designer and UX researcher.

Researcher

• Surveys, Secondary research
• Semi-structured interviews, Expert interviews
• Data consolidation (Rainbowsheet, MSRC, personas)
• Customer Journey Mapping

Visuals

• Ideate & wireframing (Miro, Marvel/POP)
• Prototyping: Figma

Approach: Research

To understand the user’s problems, we conducted two sets of research. One focused on understanding the problems of the handover, and another deep-diving into how to improve it during the digitalization process.

Approach: Design

The design solution was generated by iterating in three steps:

1. Ideate and create simple wireframes based on previous research and findings. Conduct a Design Critique with expert users (other designers).
2. Address identified issues and enhance the concepts by generating mid-fidelity wireframes that incorporate the brand’s look and feel. Perform usability tests involving both users and staff.
3. Refine the idea based on feedback. Develop a clickable high-fidelity prototype that encapsulates the brand’s unique aesthetic. Conduct usability tests with users in the intended setting (store).

Solution

The solution evolved into a high-fidelity prototype for an app tailored to the user, enabling them to find and accomplish their intended tasks within 20 seconds while also exploring additional features if desired.

We successfully achieved the sub-20-second goal through the conclusive rounds of user testing, and we presented our findings to the customer.