an older case study, but crucial In my career.

Main contributions in a nut-shell:

Strategy: I conducted the discovery research that led to the idea of utilizing influencer marketing to boost product sales.
My concept was rooted in the psychology of word of mouth marketing; consumers trust other consumers more than they trust the brand itself.

Growth/Branding: I came up with a customizable system where brands could set up their colors and fonts, to personalize and differentiate their offerings.

Presentation: I designed our deck, and wrote a script to communicate the phases of our design process and key research findings, and shared the final prototype live to stakeholders and members of our UX class.

Looking back

The skills that I used in this project have propelled my Product Design career, as I continue to hone my strengths.

I am still proud of sharing this case study. Read on or skim for insights!

More about Salsify

Salsify helps CPG brands “win the digital shelf.” Their PXM platform allows brands to upload and store all their data in one place consistently, and provide direct connections to push data to retailers, e-commerce brand sites, and social media.

Project Overview

UX/UI Designer (on a team of 3)
School project

Contributions: Competitor Analysis, User Interviews, Secondary Research, Sketching, Mid-Fi Prototyping, Usability Testing, Presentation Design.

Tools: Sketch, Figma, Sharpie, Miro, Google Slides

Duration: 3-week sprint

The Experience

High Fidelity Demo

The scene…. You are scrolling Instagram and notice your favorite skin care Influencer with a new post, swipe up to shop now!

Hmm, do you want to buy online or nearby? Luckily moving back and forth between tabs is easy and intuitive.

Typing in your zip code, you instantly see delivery details. Normally you’d buy on Amazon Prime but you need fresh air. Get your lazy self to Target, it’s not that far... Here’s a link to set up in-store pickup at your favorite location!

The Opportunity

In collaboration with Salsify, we were given a greenfield opportunity to design a beautiful, brand new addition to their SaaS offerings.

A “where to buy” feature allows users to find a route of purchase to consumer packaged goods on brand websites that don’t sell the actual product. Many CPG brands only sell via marketplaces like Walmart, Target, or Amazon.

DISCOVERY: User interviews

We interviewed 9 participants.

People who’ve been to a consumer packaged goods brand site in the last 6 months.

We collected data on:

• What drives people to a CPG site?

• How do people discover new products?

• Which factors lead to their purchase decision?

• How do they interact with CPG brands via social media?

Discovery

Affinity Mapping

To find patterns and learn from our data we created an affinity map; the most interesting research related to social media and product recommendations. Participants enjoy receiving product recommendations from friends, blogs, even podcasts! Those recommendations frequently lead to a purchase.

Insights

• Searching Google to find the cheapest price.

• Users want to buy in store depending on the product.

• Wishing for an easier alternative to Amazon.

• The values of a brand are important.

Stakeholder Check-in

Salsify was extremely interested in Instagram shopping. With our findings demonstrating the power of word-of-mouth recommendations, we decided to leverage the success of Instagram influencer advertising and design a feature to drive CPG brand sales.

Reframing The Problem

Users need an efficient way to purchase products based on recommendations and to ensure they are accessing the best way to buy from brands that sell via retailers, like Amazon or Walmart.

Salsify’s clients are currently using “Where to buy” features from competitors such as PriceSpider, because they don’t offer a similar solution.

The Solution

By creating an easy path from an influencer recommendation to retailers, we can help users compare and choose, buying the products they want where they want.

We will know this to be successful when product sales increase, and users engage with the “where to buy” page.

DEFINE

The Happy User Journey

Users get product recommendations from an Instagram story and swipe up to “shop now.” They can see every buying option available online or nearby. They have the flexibility to evaluate, pick a retailer, and will be directed right to the product page on the retailer site to continue their purchase journey.

User Flow

The user can start from either Instagram or a CPG brand website. Our “where to buy” solution guides the user to easily compare in-store and online purchase options. They are then taken directly from the feature to their purchase destination.

ideation

Sketching

As a team we sketched a mobile first interface allowing users the choice of purchasing a product in-store or online. We used our research to make assumptions on what users needed on each screen of the interface.

ONLINE

• In-stock

• Price

• Estimated time of delivery

• Delivery cost

IN STORE

• Store address

• Distance

• Store hours

• In-store pick up

• In-stock

Usability Testing

Guerrilla Usability Testing

With Experiential Marketing as my side gig (for 8 years), I am comfortable talking to anyone about anything. I’ve found this makes for GREAT usability testing.

We rapidly tested with 3 users and iterated on our paper prototype. This was key in understanding what information was pertinent to users at each touch-point in their journey.

Users cared most about: Best price, seeing retailers they like, delivery time, and and having a localized experience.

• Paper prototype test: 3 participants

• Mid-fi prototype test: 5 participants

• Hi-fi prototype test: 4 more participants

Iterations

Mid-Fi Wireframes

After deciding on the layout and the necessary elements, a teammate and I designed wireframes, adding simple imagery to get a better sense of how our screens would look.

Visual Design

Versatile Modular Layouts

We each took a brand into high fidelity applying insights from usability testing. With our combined ideas and UI best pattern practices, we settled on a main design.

Creating a versatile modular layout allows Salsify’s CPG brand clients to customize colors and fonts according to their brand’s aesthetic.

PRESENTATION

Deck Design (me)

I formatted our research, process, and solutions into a 23 page deck, which we presented to stakeholders as a team. Below are a few highlights.

3 Things I learned

1. People’s habits fascinate me.

2. Stepping up as “Task Wrangler” helped us move forward, even if it felt harsh at times. (Rabbit holes are no joke..)

3. Encouraging each other to explore all ideas and angles, makes for a great team.