Outback Bikes
Rebranding and rethinking UX and UI
Project Overview
Rebranding and reimagining how users buy bikes from local bike shop, Outback bikes.
Details
Role: UX/UI Designer
Client: Design Lab
Duration: 2 weeks, April 2020
Tools: Figma, Sketch, Whimsical,
Invision, Zeplin
There are an estimated 4,000 independently-owned bike stores in the United States alone. While cycling (particularly commuting) is rising as a function of migration to city centers, shops face varying degrees of disruption from online sales.
The goal with this project was to research, redesign, and reimagine how users experience Outback Bikes online shop.
Emphasis was on responsive web design, branding, customer journey mapping, and strategic thinking.
Solution
To create an online experience that will allow users to feel empowered and excited for their visit and start a relationship of trust with the bike shop for years to come.
Objectives
- Develop a coherent brand with the client and user in mind
- Introduce features developed from user research: Product Finder, Appointment Booking and Online Questionnaires
Goal
How might we create an experience that allows users to feel excited and empowered without feelings of overwhelm or purchasing regret?
Needs
- To not feel so overwhelmed by choices.
- The ability to search in-store with help for insight and personalization.
- To make an appointment to see a bike, instead of emailing or calling.
Wants
- Affordable bikes that fit the particular type of bicycling users are doing.
- To not waste time feeling confused online.
- To be able to filter easily and efficiently through overwhelming listings.
- An organized, efficient experience in-store, where the store is ready for users when they walk in for their appointment.
- To feel empowered to walk in and ask any question.
Desires
- Staff that respect their choices and preferences while still giving advice.
- Hours, contact and location located up top to allow quick needed info.
- To know the shop is part of their community and cares about their users.
- To feel empowered to come in-store, instead of feeling defeated that they don’t know enough to purchase online.
- To not feel pressured to buy certain things or be tricked in upgrades.
Marketplace Analysis
According to the Bike League, commuting by bikes has risen 43% from 2000 to 2017 nationwide, and 1.2% of Atlanta’s commuters bike. On average, consumers in the U.S. spend about 22.6 U.S. dollars on bicycles per year, (Statista, 2018).
Looking at the marketplace, it seems that major outdoor and active retailers are all participating in the increasing transition to bike-friendly major cities. As this growth occurs, local bike shops have been able to survive and thrive without building out their online experiences, as users seem to use sites for more research and comparison.
The marketplace shows that users still prefer an immersive and specialized in-store experience that can offer not only sales, but also repairs, parts, and even community engagement.
After talking to users, we saw users tend toward two personas. Marcus is focused on efficiency, affordability and aesthetics, whereas Yuna values trust, intentionality and knowledge.
Opportunities for Improvement
- Maybe if the site had a survey and had user needs known and ready for them upon arrival.
- Educate for what is possible at each price range.
- Diagnostic report one-sheeter or email of bike, ie, when purchasing a car, "this is the average time before needing to change tires or these are the types of tires your frame can take."
- Product descriptions are important, but is the checkout process necessary or important? Does instead the appointment making process need to take priority and need to be more robust?
- An intake process for the bike shop to know what users coming in for and be prepared versus users going in blind and not knowing what to ask.
-Emphasize filters on product listings pages, and reorder them by priority.
- Warby Parker-like concierge, like pick a few online to try and receive recommendations, making users excited to go in versus anxious.
-Emphasize their community focus and group rides.
- More colors and variety in layout to make information easier and more attractive to read.
- A dashboard for the user’s bike under Account that can also give status updates for repairs and store the bike’s stats.
- Hide some information in links so that those who want more info can click through and those who don’t, don’t have to be overwhelmed.
Design
Lo-fi Responsive Wireframes
Logo Exploration & Style Tile
Outback UI Kit
Test
Test Objectives
- On first impression, is the site recognizable as a bike site?
- Does the site feel easy to navigate? Is it easy and intuitive to locate products and features?
- Do the categories make sense?
- Does the site feel friendly and accessible yet trustworthy?
- Does anything feel complicated or overwhelming?
Affinity Map
Iterate
Next StepsAreas to improve:
- Red banner feels like signaling an alert, could change color
- Products on Drop Down Menu rearranged to popularity of category
- Make sure all options in drop down are in product finder [see Bikes]
- Adjust header photo on Product Listings page to make the breadcrumbs and listings more visible.
- Ability to “x” out of filters
- Differentiate between primary and secondary CTA with Make an Appointment and Log in
Questions for Future Iterations:
How might we create an online bike shop experience that allows users to feel empowered in their investments and excited to go into the store and try out bikes?
How do we create solutions that allows users to maintain their bikes over the years and maintain relationships to store experts, like car mechanics or even eye doctors?
