Made Sustainably
A sustainable product aggregator, connecting customers to the eco-friendly versions of things they already buy.
Who
UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer
What
Responsive Website Design + Branding
When
Spring 2021 (4 Weeks)
Overview
Made Sustainably is an Instagram aggregator focused on sharing eco-friendly alternatives for frequently used products. The creator was inspired to start the page when she was at a loss for how to give back and do more to help the planet. She realized she could have an impact, without much extra time or money, through small purchase changes. With a rising quantity of eco-friendly products on the market, researching these options and replacing them for what she currently purchased could make a difference. As her knowledge grew, she wanted to share her learnings with others. And so the connector brand, @MadeSustainably, was born.
With a little over 3K followers and high social engagement, the creator wants to grow the brand’s reach. A responsive website would allow her to better organize product information and directly route visitors to the sites they can purchase from. In addition, the client requested help with branding to align aesthetic for all channels.
Research
Goals
1 Understand online shopping habits: General, discovery, search, and purchase
2 Determine level of importance for a product to be eco-friendly, or for the purchaser to know more information about product before purchase (who made it, materials, etc.)
3 Identify experiences and indicators which typically add to brand trust and loyalty
4 Understand content organization preferences when searching for a new item to buy (lists, keyword search, links, purchasing platforms, etc.)
E-Commerce Stats
(2020)
7.1M Online retailers (WW)
2.05B Online shoppers (WW)
$4.2T E-commerce sales last year (WW)
$600B E-commerce reveue (US)
Competitor Analysis
Once research on the projected growth of e-commerce was complete, I worked on a competitor analysis, focusing on five brands, a mix of both those sustainably focused and product aggregators, all with an emphasis on educational content.
Competitor Feature Trends
5 / 5 offered keyword search
4 / 5 offered curated product lists
3 / 5 linked out to external site for purchase vs. on-site ecommerce
5 / 5 supported on-site reviews, internal/staff reviews, or both
Interviews
Following the competitor analysis, interviews were conducted with 8 individuals who matched 1 of 4 provisional personas.
Key Interview Findings
- All participants shared the intention to shop more sustainably
- The most common reasons for not shopping sustainably were time, cost, convenience, aesthetic, and lack of knowledgeable resources
- Curated lists were most helpful in discovering new product
- If sustainable facts are broken down into smaller snippets, the information is typically easier to digest and retain
- All participants said they identified more often as the consumer vs. the researcher or leader when purchasing a product online
- All participants' shopping habits are heavily influenced by Instagram. Other common sources included targeted ads, and recommendations from influencers and friends
- Recommendations through word-of-mouth and reviews are very important.
Survey
In addition to 1:1 interviews, I conducted a survey, with the intent to better understand participants’ motivations for shopping sustainably, or not.
Survey Results
- 22 responses
- 86.4% of respondents said they shop sustainably to some degree.
- With the exception of 1 person, the remaining participants said they only knew a few eco-friendly product options
- The top hindering factor for shopping sustainably was cost (72.7%), followed by lack of convenience (27.3%) and resources (22.7%).
- 54.5% shop from a brand's actual website (higher than I expected), with 31.8% from a large e-commerce provider, and 13.6% from a small e-commerce shop.
- 63.6% said top preference for product recommendations are curated lists (higher than I expected), followed second by a keyword search source (22.7%).
Define
Meet Sophie.
Our primary persona, Sophie, is a young adult whose sustainable living intentions don't always align with her current reality. Whether it be cost, convenience, influence, or lack of resources, she often surrenders to fast consumerism. She believes if even a couple of her pain points were solved for, she would make sustainable choices more often.
Ideate
Utilizing research and Made Sustainably's typical product coverage as guidance, I built the information architecture for the site. As the brand is an aggregator, their mission is to educate and connect users with eco-friendly products, directing them where to buy. Because of this, e-commerce was not included in the infrastructure.
Site Map
Task Flow
User Flow
Design
Brand
Tagline: Connecting you to the eco-friendly versions of everything you already buy.
Message: Made Sustainably is all about slow, small, and realistic purchase shifts which will allow you to have an impact over time. The products we recommend help you make a difference without the extra time or money typically required to do so.
Keywords: Digestible, Inspiring, Approachable, Smooth, Friendly, In-the-know, Trusting
Test
Desktop wireframes were prioritized in order to begin testing. Because Made Sustainaby is an aggregator vs. e-commerce company, my primary UI design goals were to highlight product educational content and make external purchase options really clear.
User Testing Results
- 25 Participants
- 5 Flows Tested: Keyword search, Navigation to subcategory browse page, Navigation to product detail page, Saving a product, and Selecting an external site for purchase
- 100% Completion Success
- V1 Maze Score: 90 / 100
What went wrong? Why?
Of all tasks in the prototype, the first 2 had the highest misclick rates. These tasks involved keyword search (35% misclick rate) and selecting a product subcategory (23% misclick rate). Potential reasons for this include 1) Unclear prototype instructions in Maze, 2) Participants' online product discovery habits, or 3) UX Design. Further testing will be needed to either raise confidence in the existing design or iterate.
What can be improved?
High Priority Revisions
- Simplify the product detail page CTA’s
- "Save for Later" as a button-only CTA vs. header + button. Some users tried to click on the title.
- Change the "Buy on X external site" URL's to buttons for design consistency
- Maintain the same main imagery from product thumbnail to detail page banner
Secondary / "Nice-to-Haves"
- Share additional shopping perks based on specific sources, ie. free shipping, lower pricing, deals, compostable / zero waste packaging, supporting the business directly, etc.
- Additional filter/sort options on category and search results pages
Reflect
The testing results reminded me there is always more than one right way of doing things, or in this case, designing things. One example is the current UI for the product detail page CTA's. User feedback suggested this conversion step could be more clear. For example, the existing design has titles above the two CTA options, which are purchasing the product offsite or saving for later reference. Some testers tried clicking the title vs. the CTA, which could mean the visual hierarchy needs improvement.
Another learning was identifying a dropoff in educational content. As the brand aims to connect and recommend sustainable swaps, these product details should continue all the way through the user journey until they leave the site. This kind of detail is not currently included when a user is selecting which external source to purchase from. Providing more information at this step, such as if a company uses sustainable packaging, is yet another way the brand can support their audience.
Initial research overwhelmingly proved that while the majority of target audience members have the intention to shop sustainably, they're only aware of a few product options and also deal with many constraints. This finding proves a need for a brand like Made Sustainably. While there are opportunities to iterate, this responsive website will support them as they share new product discoveries and grow their green community.