eCommerce, UX Research, UX/UI

Designing an eCommerce store from the ground up

From market research to wireframes to a fully-fledged Commerce website with a unique visual identity, I designed the online store for a new brand venturing into a soon-to-be $10B industry.

The challenge

Grasscity, an Amsterdam-based established Online Headshop, is venturing into the CBD market, which has been growing exponentially over the past few years and is expected to be a $10 billion industry by 2025.

With this in mind and using Shopify as a base, Grasscity meant to design the best online experience personalized to CBD's users, under their new sister brand: CBDcity.

User surveys & market research

For an eCommerce store to be successful there needs to be a particular focus on UX with market and user research at its core. Given CBDcity was a new brand, the project started out by identifying its current competitors, user journeys, and pain points.

After carefully assimilating everything possible about the general CBD consumer, there was an opportunity to create a survey for Grasscity's real users. Even though they're different, these brands have an overlapping user-base.

From a design standpoint, this survey proved extremely useful. It helped demystify initial assumptions and allowed me to tailor the CBDcity brand to the right demographic.

How UX impacts conversions

The online shopping experience is cumbersome. There are a lot of fo steps to be taken, and a lot of form fields to be filled. Because online shops exist on a global scale, the competition is brutal. This means that when customers can't easily navigate an online store to find what they need, they will get frustrated and won't hesitate to leave to purchase from another seller.

The best way for an online shop to stand out is through its ease of use. This is how User Experience strongly impacts conversion rates. If we design a store in a way that allows the customer to quickly find what they need, and as simple as possible to purchase it, we will find a happy customer.

With the information gathered from the user and market research and by understanding what motivated a user to stay, the next step in the design process was to create wireframes that could focus on the website's structure, information architecture, and ease of use completely tailored to the user's motivations.

Brand perception

The brand's visual communication and tone have a strong influence on the overall user experience. Seeing as CBDcity was a new brand, its visual identity wasn’t yet defined. Understanding the users and their needs from our initial research allowed for a clearer definition of the website’s visual language.

CBDcity needed to show its expertise on the matter of CBD products, while still focusing on wellness and the pursuit of alternative lifestyles, so its look & feel centered around earthy tones, organic shapes, and an all-around natural feel.

Consistency and scalability

eCommerce websites change at a fast pace. Its content needs to adapt for new products, promotions, seasons, and everything in between. The way to prepare for this is by having a cohesive visual language with a clear set of rules regarding color, shapes, typography, and tone, which allows the designer to establish a sense of consistency throughout every aspect of the brand's communication.

Anticipating scalability is key when developing a Styleguide. Design components need to be prepared to be included in a variety of different contexts. This ensures the brand remains cohesive without the need for constant input from the designer.

 "Fast project completion with minimal delays, excellent communication, and one of the best UX/UI experiences you can achieve on the market."

-Mert Gokceimam, IT/Project Manager at Grasscity

The Result

CBDcity's new website is not only built with the client in mind, ready for scalability, and easy management, but its online experience and visual communication are completely personalized to CBD user's preferences, behaviors, and needs. It shows the great potential for eCommerce businesses when combining theme-based solutions like Shopify with the power of custom design and insightful research.

Summing it up

CBDcity is now on a path of conquering the rapidly growing CBD industry. Besides providing alternative lifestyles to a community of like-minded users, it's also contributing to shaping the future of wellness as we know it, making it easily accessible from the comfort of our own homes.