Express: Shopping App for US Fashion Brand
THE CHALLENGE
When I first arrived at Express, the company had an existing iOS app but it was outdated and had significant functionality issues. In the years since the app had first reached the market customers expectations of what a shopping app could do had been raised.
ETHNOGRAPHY
I acted as UX lead on the project. Initially, I started by interviewing real Express shoppers in stores to determine what their needs were and how an app could support them. It turned out that users wanted the ability to shop directly on the app, check their Express Rewards accounts, and learn about upcoming promotions.
PROTOTYPES AND ITERATIVE CONCEPTS
I began by sketching and creating multiple prototypes to put in front of users to test screen layouts and pathing. This process was invaluable because the testing helped us understand which navigation models best aligned with the customer’s desires and expectations.
The app homescreen went through several evolutions. Notice how the main navigation started with the iOS standard tab bar, then evolved to a message bar/button that would trigger the menu, and finally to a single menu button to open a full-screen menu.
The home screen interaction was super important as it could make or break the user’s experience with our app. I tested several (at least a dozen) prototypes of home screen interactions using in-store intercepts and virtual usability tests to determine what design best met Express loyalists' mental model of how shopping apps worked.
Just a few of the dozen homescreen interaction prototypes we put in front of customers in Express stores to find the most intuitive and engaging design.
CONCLUSION
The release of the app was a significant improvement. It shot up to #7 in the App Store in the Shopping category. The final product was a sophisticated shopping app that gave users easy access to shopping, their loyalty account, social and the latests deals and promotions from Express.
Employer: Express
Role: User Experience Lead
