INTRODUCTION
Bed Bath & Beyond requested our help to improve their conversion rates with college students by enhancing their shopping experience. I partnered with Hannah La to help them create a solution.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Bed Bath & Beyond's products are perceived as premium, with bedding, pillows, and espresso machines being the most popular items. Gen Z values personalized experiences, but feels uncomfortable trying out products in-store due to overwhelming choices and onlookers. Size, shape, and texture are important factors for product selection.
THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY
To boost BB&B's online market share, we sought to improve the digital shopping experience to match the appeal of in-store shopping. Our informal interviews yielded promising insights that could be leveraged to address this issue.
THE REASONING
Our research showed that college students prefer in-person shopping as they want a tactile experience. To address this remotely, we plan to create an app that simulates this experience, improving customer perceptions of BB&B.
THE DIFFERENTIATION
Using haptrix, we were developing a solution to simulate BB&B's product experience, highlighting their textural, visual, and aural characteristics. It'll prevent the high cost of buying and returning products for the experience.
STIMULATING THE SENSES
We aim to develop an app simulating sound, texture (haptic feedback), and visuals of BB&B furniture, based on the concept of synesthesia. This enables users to compare products based on those three elements.
wireframes
Scanning textures
The customer will scan a BB&B product for it’s texture.
FEELING THE VIBRATIONS
The customer can feel the simulated textures remotely with phone vibrations.
collecting the textures
The customer can collect and store the textures they scanned in a board.
FOCUS GROUP FEEDBACK
We conducted a focus group test with some of our previous interviewees. Here are the key takeaways from the session.
FEEDBACK FROM THE CILENT
BB&B suggested exploring other ways to provide a tactile experience to customers through a digital platform. They recommended studying try-at-home experiences from other companies, and shared ideas such as texture boards and building digital rooms with sample kits for customers.
FEEDBACK FROM ADVISOR
Our advisor suggested integrating our idea with BB&B's website instead of a separate app. They recommended dropping the haptic feedback since not all phones support it. They were intrigued by the idea of sound and suggested exploring ASMR for a unique experience.
COMPETITIVE & COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
We now prioritize products with a great "try at home" experience. Our goal is to provide an authentic tactile experience to customers.
EXISTING PLATFORM AUDIT
While integrating our idea with BB&B's platform, we analyzed their website to identify potential features that could be enhanced. We evaluated whether to modify an existing page or develop a new app. These pages were particularly informative.
We used the ideas as starting points for our final solution. BB&B's recommendation of a texture board idea and the underutilized Idea Boards page could be a good fit for our idea without overwhelming the current website.
OPENSPACES AD EXAMPLE
Our advisor suggested ASMR, and we found that many customers watch unbiased product reviews on YouTube. ASMR videos could help customers feel less like they're being sold to and connect with the product. Open spaces is already using ASMR in their Instagram ads.
AVOIDING INTRUSION TO CURRENT USER FLOW
After exploring the Idea Boards page and reviewing our research, we discovered a way to integrate our experience into BB&B's current user flow without disrupting existing website visitors.
ASMR VIDEO
Customers can watch and hear the product in use through our video feature. Rather than a typical promotional video, we aim to showcase the authentic sounds of products being used in everyday scenarios.
TEXTURE BUNDLE
Customers can order a texture bundle of the product they're viewing. They can watch the video while feeling the textures, and compare them with products they already own to showcase the premium quality.
IDEA BOARD
Customers can create personalized texture bundles by saving their preferred textures to BB&B's Idea Board.
INTERACTIVE TEXTURES
Working with new colleagues on this project was an amazing experience. It was interesting to reflect on the various design considerations and variables that need to be addressed, even in common user experiences like image boards.