UX IMPROVEMENT
IN FLORIST SHOP
Year:
2020
My role:
UX/UI Designer
Agency:
Side project
project
briefing
A florist designer owner of three shops in Barcelona wanted a deep change for his business. His plan was to keep only one physical shop and his garden centre, utilizing the benefits of selling the other two in developing a new perspective.
In two weeks and working completely on remote, the team – by using Design Thinking methodology – had to put on the table ideas to update such a traditional sector.
Stage I:
Research
The desk research granted us sensitivity and perception for the florist market. From global market to specific stories and opinions of users and customers.
Netnography lead us eminently to complains for most of the florist shops services. This information always should be handled with care, because negative comments are easily the most shared, based on the fact that disappointing experiences are the ones that frequently motivates customers to publicly express their opinions in this kind of services.
On the other hand, opinions for products purchased first-hand in physical shops were quite the opposite: benevolent remarks indicating satisfaction.
Through Benchmarking we investigated and compared most eminent florists shops and its services working on national soil.
Once gained some solid knowledge about the florist sector, we could set out the Research questions, in order to prepare the interviews and formulary.
Interviews
Xavi Cardet, UX lead at the start up Colvin, stressed the importance of building up memorable experiences, particularly in a sector so directly cemented in emotions and those special occasions. He also pointed out some of the key moments for the customer in the process.
One of the CEOs from Colvin as well, Andrés Cester, explained the process and how they skip intermediaries.
Maybe above all else, one particular interview with the flourist Donna Stain, due to her more than 30 years experience in different countries in the sector, helped to give the proper shape to our perspective.
Created with different itineraries according to distinct users and un-users, the formulary was quickly yet carefully crafted to avoid any answer to result unuseful.
Some good numbers in collected answers granted reliability to the results.
Some interesting info gathered was that more than ¾ purchased flowers in-person. To see, to touch, to smell the physical product induces this preference, as more of the 60% of the respondents confirms.
The difference between those who identify flowers as an expensive product from those who consider it an adequate price wasn’t so significant.
One of the key points was that the vast majority (more than 80%) verify the both that they eminently buy flowers for others instead than for personal use and that they value counsel along the process of selecting and buying.
The importance of ecological products and their disposition to pay extra for those kind of products was also reflected.
Thanks to this stream of information, the buzz report was nimbly loaded.
Stage II:
Definition
Ideally loaded with information and results we carry out the user personas. Two user personas were developed, as well as one dismissed anti-persona (eventually his utility was evaluated minimum).
One customer journey per persona was required, helping us to visualize the process and notice diverse pain-points.
insights &
opportunities
All the process achieved until that point flourished in some important INSIGHTS:
Flowers for occasions
The Spanish customer conceptualises flowers as a gift for significant moments. Away from these events, flowers are seldomly buyed in our country.
Messages and inscriptions: they matter
Flowers have their own meaning, but the one who purchases and gives this gift wants to communicate something by him/herself. And it is important.
A greener life
There is a majoritary aspiration of reaching an eco-friendly life. Products improve in the eye of the purchaser if they are environmentally sustainable. Earth wins, everybody wins.
Ethically flawless.
Counsel wanted
The user craves for knowledge, wants that flower lasts as much as possible, wants to know its symbolism, peculiarity and features of the product. Client wants to have the chance of being informed by experts.
Watch, touch and smell
Appearance matters (don’t pretend to be surprised). First-hand sales are decisive for florist shops since the physical aspect of the product are the key and quite hard to tell from distance/online.
So, we understood some major opportunities for this project:
- Strengthen the experience quality
- Strengthen “Green economy”
- Personalise the assistance
ideation
Developed through methods as:
- Brainstorm
- Value proposal
- Business model
- MoSCoW
- Focused benchmarking
- Sitemap
- Flowchart
- Inspirational mood boards
The brainstorming led to organising, voting on and lifting up the ideas, until we finally found our proposal.
The MoSCoW prioritization technique helped to tell what should be part of the main idea and what could be used to complement.
Value proposal and Business model canvas were quite useful again to visualize the outlined formula.
That was the right time for a Focused benchmarking and comparing our proposal with competitors.
our
proposal
A particular approach to florist shops solidify in this brand: an electric double decker bus acts as an itinerant shop.
Despite knowing that prominent online proposals were waited, the insights that popped up oriented us to a physical solution in which the client could reach the flowers, have assistance and enjoy a pleasant botanical environment.
We wanted to potentiate the purchase as an experience itself.
Two floors, the first one acts as a classical florist shop, to watch and smell the flowers. Here, plants and bouquets are prepared. The second one extends first floor and offers a recreation area where to have a drink, be guided in case of any doubt and wait for the bouquet to be prepared (just watching or even collaborating with the flourist).
Through itinerancy and the notion of an uncommon event, we would like to build up the perception of a “fashionable place” as well as a chance for the customer to make the most of it, visit the shop and be part of it.
Localization of each stop would be programmed individually and announced both on the shop and the website.
Also, a test is developed for tablets so the customer can select flowers for the bouquet while waiting, watching its preparation live with an overhead camera.
To create a flowchart for the experience was mandatory in order to fully understand it.
Web sitemap: one of the main functions of the website would be to specify the bus’ route.
Time for low and high fidelity wireframes/Prototype.
* Visual aspect wasn’t but a rough idea of what we could develop with more time.
Conclusions &
future chances
As previously said: we were originally expecting to base our proposals on online products, but as results came, they were conclusive in certain aspects: Users esteem to see, touch and smell flowers prior to purchase. It makes a difference. We needed to take advantage of it and boost the first-hand experience, proposing something unique and fashionable.
Potential future chances:
- Develop the whole web
- In-deep testing of products
- Boost up social media.
- Collaborate with restaurant business.
