Aerie is an intimate apparel, lifestyle retailer, and sub-brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Eagle and Aerie have planned to close more retail stores and switch their focus to online sales, as 70% of their business is now done online.*
I designed this app upgrade because I’m an Aerie shopper who must now use the app instead of shopping in-store. I created this project from inception to final design through research, ideation, and practicing UX design principles.
Duration: 8 weeks
Methods: Interviews, Wireframes, Prototyping, Testing
Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator
the Problem
How can we provide users, who don't have access to a local Aerie store, with a shopping experience that eases the transition between in-person and online shopping?
Aerie’s in-store shoppers may now have to rely on the mobile app to shop. I want to help American Eagle choose and implement which features to prioritize adding to their mobile shopping app.
first impressions
Assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
As an Aerie app user, I already knew a few things I’d like to be improved. However, I kept in mind that other users might not experience the app the same way as me, and I needed to do more research. I briefly wrote down my pain points because I was curious about comparing my thoughts with my user research later.
My next steps were to look at the competition’s shopping apps and then do user interviews. I wanted to familiarize myself with the standard features included in shopping apps before going on to user interviews.
*Unedited video capture of the original app
Comparative research
The competition lacks personalized recommendations.
I went on to analyze American Eagle and Aerie’s top competitors. I looked for features that helped users find items relevant to their style.
Each app had a discover page that included curated trends or new collections. I found an opportunity to expand Aerie’s “Discover” page. Now that I had done some preliminary research, I could finally prepare interview questions.
User interviews
Aerie shoppers’ favorite aspect of in-store shopping is gaining inspiration from coordinated in-store displays.
After performing a competitive analysis, I conducted six interviews with Aerie customers who have shopped both in-store and using the Aerie mobile app. I chose participants who are a part of Aerie’s target audience, females aged 15-25. In addition to watching my interviewees browse the app for a few minutes, I asked questions to find trends within shoppers’ views on in-store and in-app shopping.
My goal was to identify users’ positive and negative customer experiences while browsing the Aerie app and in-store shopping. While I collected this data, I was conscious that my research was limited in scope. I worked under the assumption that further research would yield similar results.
I look forward to conducting research on a larger scale in the future :)
Research Questions:
What was your last purchase using the Aerie app?
What was easy/difficult about using the Aerie app?
Did your local Aerie close? What do you miss about shopping in-store?
What are your favorite Aerie pieces? When do you wear them?
Have you had to make an online return? Can you show me what your experience was like?
Additional Objectives:
How might we improve recommendations when shoppers are exploring apparel to lead to more satisfactory purchases and fewer returns?
How might we gauge insights on users’ shopping experiences after the user completes the purchase?
How might we use this information the next time the user shops?
After interviewing shoppers, I was overwhelmed with the number of insights I received. Once I organized them on cards, I could group them into four main themes. I planned to use these themes later to develop an Aerie shopper persona.
Main insights
Context helps users make smarter shopping decisions.
Four key themes from the shopper’s answers served as a guide for upgrading & designing new features for the Aerie app:
Theme 1: Browsing
In-store shoppers gain inspiration and context from Aerie’s color and style coordinated in-store displays.
App users wish for more tailored recommendations or different ways to explore.
Aerie app shoppers like seeing accessories (jewelry, bags, etc.) mixed with apparel on discovery pages.
Theme 2: Decision Making
4 in 6 Aerie shoppers say they are less likely to purchase an item online when it has no reviews.
Shoppers want to ask questions about items before making a purchase, which could lead to fewer returns.
Shoppers who wish to avoid making returns would like as much info as possible so they can make better decisions.
Theme 3: Reviewing
Only 1 in 6 Aerie shoppers choose to regularly leave reviews for their online purchases.
Shoppers have ignored reviewing items despite American Eagle’s #AEReviewSweepsEntry campaign which aims to garner reviews in exchange for the chance to win a $500 AE gift card.
Figuring out how to review a purchase is hard to accomplish.
Theme 4: Returning
3 in 6 Aerie shoppers were unclear on how to start an online return.
Some customers shop with the intention of avoiding returns while others shop with the intention of making returns (etc. buying more than one size/color, or taking a risk on a style they are not sure they will like).
Shoppers want a more seamless return process.
aerie shopper Persona
When I started ideating after creating my shopper persona, I focused on the user’s goals. I wanted to incorporate a chatbot assistant to help the user accomplish specific tasks. I soon realized a more efficient strategy was to make a guide to help prioritize features that will simultaneously benefit both the business and the customer.
The shopper persona helped me create a Venn diagram comparing e-commerce business goals with Aerie’s shoppers’ goals. This diagram ultimately helped me decide which features to upgrade: the discovery page, product pages, and a new feature to collect insights after the order is delivered.
improvements & final product
Figma Final Prototypes
After creating my initial wireframes guided by the themes learned during my user interviews, I applied the ten general principles for interaction design. After testing and gathering feedback from my six original interviewees, I continually iterated my wireframe designs. Lastly, I applied AE’s design system to my wireframes to make a final high-fidelity prototype.
Discovery Page
Added function so users can favorite trends.
Added “view all” button to end of trend carousel.
Product Page
Added “more from this picture” pop-up. Double-tap shop icon to activate.
Included more recommended items to support further product discovery from the individual product pages.
After Delivery & Returns
After delivery pop-up
Added error prevention by including track package link in case package was not delivered.
Condensed the review process and Q&A to one page.
Return process
Added back button so user can edit return.
Added progress bar so users can track system status while inputting their return.
the Solution
Bring the shopper’s exploration process from Aerie’s retail experience to the app and improve upon it.
Discover Page
Encourage product exploration
Improve shoppers’ browsing experience by promoting new trends and curated collections
Evoke style inspiration and give customers more context to their purchase
Strengthen relationship with returning users with “Aerie’s Recommendations,” based on past purchases
Product Pages
Bolster product education
Product photography links help users quickly find matching sets and pieces
Garner more attention toward overlooked categories like accessories and shoes
Q&A section addresses users’ concerns before they make a purchase, resulting in fewer returns
After delivery Follow-up
Follow-up after delivery
Users get reminded to review and answer questions about their purchase after delivery
Capture data to help future customers make better decisions, resulting in fewer returns
In-app return process is simplified, whether returning in-store or by mail
Conclusion + Retrospective
What I would do differently next time.
I am very happy with the result of my first UX design project and appreciative of the lessons I learned along the way. Here are some of the things I learned:
Sometimes the plan changes- I went into this project thinking about incorporating a chatbot but had a change of direction after getting feedback that it might be overcomplicated. I learned that sometimes a simple change might accomplish a goal just as well as an additional feature.
Don’t be afraid to think out loud- I took this project as an opportunity to build better communication skills when explaining my thought process and designs. Discussing an incomplete idea could lead to a totally different solution.
In the future, I look forward to working collaboratively in a cross-functional team. In my next project, I want to focus on and explore finding a better balance between creative and practical solutions. My next challenge is to approach a project where I am not already a member of the target audience.
More Projects:
Matto App Upgrade
Refreshing & simplifying the Matto app to increase adoption and attract potential franchisees
My Resume
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