As the design lead for Vandra, an e-commerce plugin that leverages AI to offer personalized discount incentives for low intent audiences, I championed all efforts related to user research, experimentation, data collection, and iterative design improvements.
Opportunity
Small and medium-sized business owners on Shopify needed easy-to-use, cost-effective CRO tools that offer high customizability and clear value attribution. We aimed to create a tool that could drive conversions without requiring extensive technical knowledge or changes to existing Shopify themes.
My Role
As the product designer, I led the user-centered design process, conducting user research, developing personas, mapping user journeys, wireframing, prototyping, and iterating based on usability testing and feedback.
Results
After our first year, Vandra had developed a commission-based discount pop-up using machine learning for customer segmentation. It offers personalized incentives to low-intent shoppers, typically 5% larger than other offers (25% OFF vs. 20% OFF). Vandra raised $6M in Seed funding Q1 2024.
>35
$6M
>$200,000
Problem Discovery
JTBD Sprint: Our initial concept emerged from a Jobs To Be Done sprint, revealing that small and medium-sized business owners on Shopify needed plug-n-play CRO tools with minimal upfront costs, high customizability, and clear value attribution.
User Interviews: I conducted extensive interviews with Shopify merchants to understand their pain points and desires. These interviews revealed a strong need for easy-to-implement tools that could drive conversions without significant upfront costs.
User Personas: From the interviews, I developed detailed user personas representing our target audience. These personas helped keep the team aligned with the end-users' needs and preferences throughout the design process.
User Journey Mapping: I mapped out the user journeys for both merchants and shoppers, identifying key touch-points and potential friction areas. This helped in designing a seamless user experience that addressed the specific needs at each stage of their interaction with our product.
Ideation and Concept Validation
Brainstorming Sessions: We held collaborative brainstorming sessions to generate a wide range of ideas. I facilitated these sessions, encouraging the team to think creatively while keeping user needs at the forefront.
Wireframing and Prototyping: I created wireframes and prototypes to visualize our ideas. Using tools like Figma and UserTesting, I developed interactive prototypes that allowed us to test concepts with real users and iterate quickly.
Usability Testing: We conducted usability tests with both merchants and shoppers, gathering feedback to ensure our designs were intuitive and effective. This helped us identify and address any usability issues early in the design process.
MVP Launch & User Feedback
MVP Development: With a solid understanding of our users' needs and validated concepts, we developed our MVP: a commission-based discount pop-up that uses machine learning for customer segmentation. This tool offers personalized incentives to low-intent shoppers, enhancing their likelihood of conversion.
Shopify App Marketplace: Our MVP was added to the Shopify App Marketplace, where we quickly built a user base of around 25 Shopify merchants. This initial user base provided valuable data that guided our decision making and helped us make incremental improvements every week.
User Feedback: We continuously gathered feedback through moderated user interviews and data sheet experiments, using this input to identify new feature opportunities and further refine our product.
Feature Prioritization: Using techniques like Buy A Feature experiments, we prioritized new features that would deliver the most value to our users. This user-centered approach ensured that our development efforts were aligned with the needs and expectations of our target audience.
Continuous A/B Testing
With a live product in the market and real users actively using our product, we were able to run weekly design experiments to further optimize our offering. A/B testing across variables like pop-up timing, trigger interactions, follow-up reminders, button design, and personalized text helped us incrementally improve interaction rates with our tool.
Conclusion
By Q1 2024, Vandra had successfully raised around $6M in funding, which we used to expand our team and improve our product. Our focus on user-centered design resulted in a tool that was not only effective in increasing conversions but also easy for merchants to implement and use. The combination of personalized incentives, seamless integration, and robust data analysis set Vandra apart in the Shopify ecosystem, driving significant value for our users.
