Karavel Shoes
A cherished brick-and-mortar shoe retailer located in the heart of Austin, TX.
01: Overview
CONTEXT
Karavel Shoes has been located in Austin, Texas for nearly 80 years. They have a loyal customer base and sell comfort shoes in a variety of brands.
PROBLEM
There isn't a way for shoppers to purchase items online using the current website. Users are directed to the customer service phone line to place an order.
GOAL
To create a seamless online shopping and checkout experience for users that incorporates the exceptional customer service Karavel is known for.
MY ROLE
Designer and researcher
BUSINESS GOALS
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Increase online shoe sales
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Reduce in-person foot traffic
02: Discover
COMPETIVE ANALYSIS
To better understand what fundamental features were missing from Karavel's website, I checked out two of their competitors: The Walking Company and Payless Shoes. I was able to gain helpful insight from both companies because each sell comfort shoes and have a feature-rich website. In the chart below, you can see the areas where Karavel's site needs improvement in order to stay competitive.
X = Doesn't have feature
✓ = Has feature
USER INTERVIEWS
I conducted user interviews with 5 individuals who shop online and/or have a medical condition that requires them to wear comfortable shoes. I aimed to discover these key points when conducting my 20 question survey:
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Online shopping behavior
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Device/platform used to make online purchases
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Helpful product information
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Daily routine
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Product values
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Brand loyalty and why
03: Define
AFFINITY MAPPING
After synthesizing my user interview findings, I developed my primary persona, Ashley, based on the major takeaways seen in this affinity map.
PERSONA
My primary persona was Ashley.
Female, 37
• Uses mobile & tablet
• Values comfort, style, and price
• Wants to filter by wide width items
• Buys shoes every 3 months
• Will make user profile on occasion
• On feet most of the day due to job and lifestyle
“I prefer to shop online because there’s more of a selection, it’s convenient, and everything is instantaneous. If I need something, I can buy it right then and there.”
04: Design
SITE MAP
Given that Karavel is an e-commerce site with a large inventory, thinking through the site organization prior to the design phase was vital. I pulled a list of 100 products that I wanted to include in my initial wireframes and broke down the way I wanted to categorize each which is reflected in the site map below.
SKETCHES
After working through the site map and developing a jumping off point, I moved into my initial sketches for the home and product pages
TESTING
I conducted 3 usability tests and had each user complete a flow that consisted of sorting by a specific shoe type, applying a discount code, and checking out. The testing phase helped me greatly in determining what iterations I needed to make.
Positives
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Easily return to previous pages
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Ability to edit items in shopping cart
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Limited features at checkout makes purchasing simple
Negatives
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Price sort not in ascending/descending order
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Unable to make account after initial checkout page
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Progress bar at checkout not clear
After my users sorted by the $71 - $80 price point, they were confused by that fact that the prices didn't sort by ascending/descending order automatically.
They also wanted to be able to select the way the product prices were sorted
I had incorporated the option to create an account before the checkout process, but the option wasn't listed again if the user had changed their mind and wanted to sign up. Although there was a "register" option listed in the navigation bar, users expressed concern about loss of submitted information if they were to select it.
Users commented that the progress bar was simple in appearance, which they liked, but they were confused by the fact that it started at "login." Some also mentioned that they would preference a check mark instead of the solid green box indicating completion.
05: Deliver
CONCLUSION
Creating the site map ahead of time was extremely helpful and made the design process much smoother than it would have been without having that structure in mind. It was challenging creating the checkout process and fleshing out features that didn't already exist on the current website.
I was able to make design decisions that solved many of the users pain points while keeping the Karavel customer service experience in mind. If they adopted my design, their loyal customers would be able to shop online at their convenience.
NEXT STEPS
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Further iteration based on feedback from usability test
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Continue user testing
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Add additional features such as ability to share items on social media, more filters, capability for user uploaded images, and option to sign up for account at multiple screens