AMERICAN EAGLE FITTING ROOM APP
Designing a New Fitting Room Experience
About the Project
Project Goal
This project began with the question of how we could use innovative digital technology to enhance a customer's fitting room experience. From in-store user research, we knew that there were pain points and inefficiencies in the current experience. If a customer needed a new item, the associate had to go back and forth from the fitting room to complete the request and the customer did not have an easy way to know what sizes were actually in stock. The project went from concept to launch in 5 months, an aggressive timeline that forced us to focus on what features would most directly solve the customer need and create an engaging experience shoppers would want to use.
My Role
I was the sole UX researcher on this project. My responsibilities included:
Designing the research plan
Writing all protocols and questions for the research activities
Analyzing the research results
Sharing the research results with the project team
You can read about my role as the lead UX designer on this project here.
Research Overview
Research Activities
With an aggressive project timeline, it was important to take a very learn approach to user testing in-store. I used the following user research techniques to gather key customer and associate insights and iterative feedback:
In store interviews and contextual inquiry with customers and associates
In person usability testing of prototypes
Post launch user testing (interviews, and contextual inquiry)
In Store Interviews and Contextual Inquiry
I began the project by learning about our users and their current in-store experiences, observing customers and associates as they interacted in the Fitting Room and asking what challenges they both encountered in the Fitting Room and in their overall time in the store. From this initial round of research we learned that asking for new sizes was a pain point for both customers and associates; customers didn’t know if the new size was in stock and associates had to move back and forth between the floor and the stock room to check availability. Another key customer pain point we uncovered in our research was that customers often did not know their exact final total before checkout out given the current promotions.
Identifying Pain Points and Opportunities
I shared my findings with the project team and lead a workshop to brainstorm the associate and customer pain points we wanted to address with the Fitting Room App.
The insights from this research and the output from workshop session lead to the initial service design of the app and the wireframes that we took back into stores to user test.
Prototype User Testing
This app encouraged the user to interact with technology in a new context and manner. I wanted to ensure that the app was both easy and engaging to use. The approach I took towards this project was to learn and iterate quickly.
Over the course of the project, I led 9 rounds of in-store user research with over 50 customers and 15 associates.
This frequent basis of user testing allowed me to test the app every step of the way. We took designs into the store early and often to get quick feedback to guide further design iteration, updating the wireframes sometimes in real-time to optimize the prototype throughout our testing .
It was important to focus on the service design of this entire experience as it involved digital and real world components with both customers and associates as users. I had to carefully consider the flow of information between the customer and the associate. I tested not only the screens but the entire process, playing out the experience of bringing clothes into the Fitting Room and requesting new sizes with real associates and customers to ensure my designs fulfilled the user needs in the context of a busy store.
One example of a design change made because of the in store research was the look of the “Include in Subtotal” feature. In our first set of user tests, users could include or not include an items in their subtotal with a checkmark. In testing, users thought the checkmark meant that the item would be entirely removed from their screen. I updated the checkmark to a toggle switch and users understood the feature much better.
I also recommended a system of notifications and feedback between the various components to keep customers informed of the status of their request.
Various iterations of wireframes used in user testing
Final Experience
Simple Interactions that Solve Customer Problems
The resulting design is a digital Fitting Room experience that supports the goal of each user (both the customer and the associate) in an efficient and engaging manner. Within each customer’s Fitting Room there is an iPad mounted to the wall with the Fitting Room app on it. Once their items have been scanned into the app, the customer can see other available sizes for her items and make a request for a new item without having to interface with an associate. Customers can also see how much their items will cost them using simple toggle switches.
Seamless Process for Associates
The associate has a companion app to the device in the customer’s Fitting Room that lets them know of any new requests and acts as a central location to manage all customer requests.
Post Launch Research and Updates
Since launch, I have performed three rounds of post-launch user testing to test how the app is performing with users and get insights on enhancements that should be added to the app to address user needs.
Post launch testing did reveal areas to prioritize for the next product enhancements, which I communicated to the product manager and were prioritized on their road map. Due to technical limitations at the launch of the app, we were not able to show the customer how promotions would affect their subtotal and associates had to scan in items using a handheld device. Based on my post launch testing, the ability to see the promotions was prioritized on the post launch technical roadmap and implemented as a fast follow. We also added a scanner onto the device in the Fitting Room so that customers and associates could scan in items, expediting the process and improving the usability of the experience. These updates has further improved the positive reactions from customers and associates to the experience.
RESULTS
The Fitting Room app was first launched in the AE Studio concept store in New York City and has been rolled out to 10 other stores since the launch. There are plans to expand the Fitting Room app to more dozens more stores next year. In the post launch testing, the app has received positive reactions from customers who like the ease of requesting new sizes on their own and from associates who find having a central location to manage requests from customers very beneficial to their work flow.
The app has also received press coverage across various websites including Business Insider, Forbes and RetailDive.