Stitch Fix
Ungated Shopping Experience
BROWSING & DISCOVERY・FASHIONTECH・RESPONSIVE DESIGN・B2C
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Stitch Fix is an online styling service that includes two ways of shopping: a subscribe-based styling service called “Fix”, and a direct buy model “Freestyle”.
Initially, Freestyle required users to create an account and provide a style profile for a personalized experience. After experimenting with ungating some products in the Product Detail Page (PDP) for visitors, we decided to ungated all categories to meet the high demand for direct buying and accommodate the increased browsing and shopping needs of visitors. This ungated shopping experience enables visitors to explore our offerings and discover products of interest before committing to creating an account.
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Lead Designer
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3 months
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1 Product Manager
5 Engineers (2 front end, 1 back end, 1 Algo Engineer)
Merchandise team
Marketing Creative Team
- Non-registered users can not browse and buy on Stitch Fix Freestyle (direct buy).
- Visitors do not fully understand our value proposition which may lead to missed opportunities in attracting new customers and retaining the existing Fix (subscription) customers.
PROBLEM
TARGET USER
- New users who never tried Stitch Fix previously.
- Existing registered customers who have used both Fix and Freestyle services but have expressed their interest in exploring additional styling options outside their current style preferences.
Partnered with the UXR team to identify the users. 
USER’S PAINT POINTS
By offering visitors a shoppable, interactive, and visually engaging ungated shopping experience, enhancement is expected to lead to increased engagement and inspiration from the wide range of products available.
The unique value proposition, setting us apart from other e-commerce sites, should excite visitors. As a result, we anticipate an increase in user acquisition and engagement, leading more visitors to onboard with our platform.
HYPOTHESIS
DEFINE SUCCESS
SOLUTIONS
By combining ungated browsing and targeted value proposition presentation, we can collectively create a more user-friendly and engaging experience, leading to increased visitor satisfaction and higher chances of conversion and retention.
Ungated Browsing and Shopping:
Allowing users to browse and shop Freestyle without the need to create an account upfront. This enhances their exploration of our offerings and encourages more in-depth browsing.
Introduction of Value Proposition:
Throughout the user journey, we strategically highlight our unique value proposition, emphasizing our personalized styling service. By showcasing the benefits of our service, we aim to attract and retain more customers.Dynamic Product Recommendations:
Implementing dynamic product recommendations based on user behavior and preferences. By showing visitors a variety of products that align with their interests, we can keep them engaged and excited about exploring more.
Trending and New Arrivals Sections:
Including dedicated sections for trending products and new arrivals, enabling visitors to stay up-to-date with the latest fashion trends and discover fresh additions to the assortment.Interactive Product Filters:
Offering interactive product filters that allow visitors to refine their search based on different attributes such as size, color, style, and price. This empowers users to explore the assortment in a personalized and convenient manner.
Enhanced Product Detailed Page (PDP):
Improving the PDP to enable deeper browsing of our inventories. Visitors can now easily explore related categories and products, increasing inspiration and engagement.
GET ALIGNMENT
Stakeholder Workshop
To ensure alignment with stakeholders, I facilitated productive workshops to discuss and agree upon the following key aspects of the project:
Project Goals
Success Metrics
HMW (How Might We) Statements
LOEs (Level of Effort)
Define User Stories
Collaborated with the product lead and engineering lead to map out use stories to capture specific user interactions and scenarios. These user stories helped us understand the needs and expectations of our users, allowing us to align the development efforts with user-centric goals.
With the high-level strategies and user stories, we were able to scope the project and understand the level of effort of each team, ensuring that our implementation will meet the needs of our users while optimizing resource allocation and timelines.
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
↑ 30%
Revenue Increase
↑ 21%
WoW Revenue Growth
↑ 35%
Adoption Rate
↑15%
Conversion Rate
"Trying out Stitch Fix's ungated platform really showed me what makes it special. I loved how easy it was to find personalized recommendations without signing up. It's clear that Stitch Fix puts convenience and personalization first, which is why I trust them as my go-to for online fashion."
Michelle M, 39
“The new ungating process is seamless, making browsing and shopping effortless. As a new user of Stitch Fix, I was able to easily find items matching my style, enhancing my shopping experience.”
May A, 32
"It's fantastic to enjoy the ungated experience on Stitch Fix, where I can now browse and shop without needing to create an account. This is especially helpful when I receive an email with a link to an item I like. Before, as a visitor, I couldn't make the purchase, but now I can effortlessly.
Karen, L 29
PROCESS
01/ Discovery
An ideal user journey and end-to-end flow were created based on defined use cases. This aims to provide a seamless and delightful user experience, integrated key touchpoints for positive user engagement.
This process facilitated phase-wise planning, ensuring stakeholder alignment and effective feature prioritization for an enhanced, scale-aligned UX.
A competitive analysis was conducted to highlight industry standards and best practices while advocating for the implementation of these features.
02/ Redefined User Journey & Design Explorations
Due to our limited resources including engineering capacity and data model constraints, we're prioritizing the most crucial feature for our initial launch using the Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) approach.
We ran usability tests with 12 new users, both men and women with our Northstar version prototype that includes all desired features to validate our hypothesis and gather valuable feedback. This helped us to define the MLP scope for our short-term goals.
03/ USER FLOW
The next step involved creating an end-to-end user flow, showcasing how the proposed experience works and how the backend data model should respond. We were confident that this proposal will lead to high sign-up and conversion rates. However, we were also mindful that certain features may require significant engineering effort. As a result, we prioritized the implementation of features based on their feasibility and potential impact, ensuring a well-balanced approach to achieving our goals. By focusing on the most impactful features, we aimed to deliver an enhanced user experience while effectively managing our resources and timeline.
04/ Design Approaches
1. Category Landing Page & Listing Pages:
Collaborated extensively with the merchandise team to identify the sections we intend to highlight on the category landing page.
2. Promo cards
One of our objectives was to enhance the exposure of our value proposition, enabling us to educate and ultimately convert prospects more effectively. We were confident that achieving this goal hinged on implementing the information in a more contextual and consistent manner. By seamlessly integrating our value proposition throughout the user journey, we aimed to provide a clearer and more compelling understanding of our unique offerings, fostering higher engagement and conversion rates.
Final Design
Iteration, Iteration, Iteration…
We meticulously refined the overall layout and meticulously considered the placement and design of promo cards in collaboration with our end users, seeking their invaluable feedback. Additionally, we conducted A/B testing to gather real-world data, enabling us to make data-driven decisions that align with user preferences and behavior. This iterative approach ensures that our final design is not just aesthetically pleasing but also optimally functional and user-centric.
After several rounds of iteration, including collaboration with copywriters and the photo studio, we have refined the design.
We finalized the copy contents and selected the perfect imagery for each category thumbnail, situational images, and outfit pictures. Our design now features dynamic content, captivating images, easily navigable sections and pages, and crucially, educational information. This well-rounded approach ensures that users encounter an engaging, informative, and visually appealing experience as they interact with our platform.
