Why most people don’t use retail shopping apps
By: Maya Frai
Tags: Product Design, Retail Technology, Shopping, Facebookdesigncrit, Case Study

As more and more stores are adapting to the digital sphere, most retail stores still fail to optimize customer service and shopping experiences with a great mobile app. This is partially due to the reluctance of customers to change the way they shop. Most customers rely on the physical store for everything: returns, exchanges, purchases. Although others use online stores often, they still deal with the same issues time and time again: waiting in line, only wearing purchases once or twice, or keeping something in their cart for too long and ends up going out of stock before they remember to buy it. Even with thousands of shopping apps out there, these problems have yet to be solved.

In this case study, I use Zara as an example to illustrate how although the app succeeds with a few features including the barcode scan and in-store availability, it still has a great deal of room to improve. As of this year, Inditex (parent company of Zara) operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide. With billions of customers, it is crucial for Inditex to ensure optimal customer experience in each and every one of these stores.

Most shopping brands are delving into the high-tech sphere. While Rent the Runway is experimenting with VR/AR try-on experiences, Reformation is transforming the typical retail store structure. With touchscreen monitors replacing racks of clothing, customers can scan through outfits and when they find one they like, they choose their size and it will appear in the dressing room. With retail stores looking up to Apple and Tesla for inspiration, there is still much to be done for these stores to succeed in the digital age. As Inditex continues to grow, one of the first steps they can take is to revamp their mobile app to enhance user flow from mobile to store.

Currently, the Zara app mirrors the brand’s simple and minimalist design and its formatting makes it easy for the user to navigate because of the identical format to the Zara website. However, customers still fail to use the app when they decide to shop at the store. A bit counterintuitive, don’t you think?

I decided to conduct UX research in the war zone: the Zara store during its semi-annual sale. I have compiled my findings and have designed, prototyped, and iterated design strategies to enhance the shopping experience at Zara starting from its mobile app. Although there are many ideas on how to improve the Zara app, I have included just a few.

Part 1: Observations + Design Process

I targeted my research on customers that are unfamiliar with the app. Those who have used the app before seemed to know more about the difference between viewing the site through safari and actually downloading the Zara app. Gathering responses from Zara customers and looking at reviews on the app store, I have structured my observations in terms of pain points and strategized re-design ideas.

Part 1: Enticing customers to use the app to shop in stores and online

“I have nothing to wear.”

We’ve all heard this one and a trip to Zara usually follows after this line is said. Most customers splurge on Zara sales and end up wearing whatever they purchased only a couple of times. Although the Zara app does a good job on showing you what to match an outfit with, the options are always limited to one pair of shoe, one shirt, and one bottom. In addition, the photos do not show how the entire outfit is put together.

When buying a shirt, there are always multiple ways of putting an outfit together. Although there exists Polyvore and Instagram that gives you outfit ideas, wouldn’t it be great to see various outfits right from the product page before you buy the item?

Pain points gathered from customers:

End up buying several desired articles of clothing, but not knowing how to put them together

Not knowing how to wear a certain piece of clothing in different seasons

Usually wearing the piece of clothing the same way just with different colors

Not buying something you like in the store or online because you don’t know where you’d wear it to

Not buying something in the store or online because you think it won’t fit your body type

Main improvements:

Outfits ideas for different seasons.

Outfit ideas for different occassions.

Allow users to save outfit ideas to their wishlist.

Add the option to see how many people like the outfit

Add to wishlist functionality — where customers can add an entire outfit to their wishlist or preferred items

Design: Using “Blouse with Double Ruffle” for demonstration purposes

I designed a new product page for Zara that is organized into different sections. The last section is the “How to Wear” section, where outfit ideas are categorized into occasion type and season. There are many ways to expand on this feature — including the option to have customers add their own outfit ideas, share the outfits with friends/family, or add reviews on how well the outfit went together.