B2C ecommerce site
Sector: Retail/Live Goods
The company in the live goods sector with successful big box operation launches a direct-to-consumer ecommerce website.
Problem Statement
The company had a thriving big box wholesale business blending high design with nature, but there was little to no analytics on the end-consumer.
The business saw huge increases in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers focused on their home environments and the desire to bring the outdoors inside. This trend has continued as more business are incorporating live goods into their interior designs.
Live plants pose a particular shipping challenge as most plants will not survive long without light or in extreme temperatures, therefore, expedited shipping is a must.
Users & Audience
- Estimated target audience is 75% Millennial or Gen-Z females
- Cross-over interests in home décor and interior design
- Consumer trends for target audience highlights the need to have eco-friendly packaging
- Plant care education is integral and in-store items will direct customers to this website for plant care instructions
Roles & Responsibilities
I assumed the following roles on this project:
- Ecommerce Director
- Project Manager
- Content Strategist
- Usability Testing
On this project, I worked with a third-party agency to complete the ecommerce solution. It was my responsibility to manage the project, ensuring the brand was visually represented well, and that the project was completed on time and within budget.
Scope and Constraints
I joined the project after the initial kick-off, but jumped in quickly and worked with the agency and SAP business partner to develop the ecommerce site. Some of the requirements included:
- Orders needed to be passed to SAP using an existing API with little documentation provided
- The site would offer products from three brands, with separate UI, but one shared shopping experience
- The company is marketed as a design business, therefore, the visual aesthetic was very important
- We had a hard deadline of 5 months to complete the project
Process
The project was broken out into 2 week sprints and I was the main point of contact from the company, looping in other stakeholders as needed.
Strategy Phase
Decisions were made during this phase on how to handle the multiple brand experience with a single checkout, site mapping, information architecture, and documenting technical needs and restrictions.
Design Phase
This took the most amount of time for the look and feel of the site to be approved and signed off by executive management. Once the overall design was approved, the build out went quickly.
Development Phase
Development posed some particular challenges as we needed to coordinate between the company, the agency resources, and the SAP business partner to complete successfully.
Testing Phase
The delay in design direction left little time to complete proper testing, but we managed to get it done and deploy on time.
Outcomes and Lessons
We launched a beautiful, visually appealing site the portrayed the company’s brands well and provided a new source of revenue.
Analytics after launch provided missing metrics and allowed us to understand that our target audience was larger than initially theorized. We also recognized that more than 50% of orders had gift messages. Future planned enhancements are focused on the gifting experience, and the larger company model is looking to include gifting accessories to our retail partners.
