FEB 2021 - 3 WEEKS
UX/UI | RESPONSIVE WEB + MOBILE | ART DIRECTION
Sk8supply is a San Diego-based skate shop that blossomed from the love of collecting skateboards.
For a company dedicated to preserving the skate culture and history in my hometown, they deserve a website that accurately reflects that. Customers need a better way to navigate the website in order to easily find the gear they need to avoid wheel bite while on the go.
“I prefer to go into the shop in order to feel how heavy the board is and to test ride before I decide to buy.”
The Problem
Currently, the process of sifting through hundreds of different sized decks, trucks, and other skate gear can be extremely frustrating. Especially for avid skaters who are trying to replace broken parts quickly so they can get back out on the streets doing what they love.
How might we create easy navigation for an e-commerce site with multiple products?
The Current Experience
Immediately from the home page it is evident that what makes this skate shop special is their massive collection of Old School Skate boards. The website organization and navigation needs to be restructured in a way that is more intuitive for users. Overall, it needs refinement to make sure the collection of vintage boards are showcased and emphasized throughout, while still feeling grounded for the consumer.
“Compatibility between parts is really important. Certain brands aren’t compatible with each other.”
Research + Analysis
The research phase for this project took an extensive look into competitors such as Zumiez, CCS, Pacific Drive, Soul Grind, FTC, SoCal Skateshop, and Mission Skate. I phone interviewed 10 people and compiled an affinity map to track major trends. I discovered that most skaters preferred to buy their skateboards in person because it was easier to customize to their liking and they got satisfaction out of testing the board in person prior to purchase.
The question then became: How might we evoke the same satisfaction of in-person testing and board customization through e-commerce?
Key Insights
Deck Art = Individualistic Expression
Research showed one of the primary factors that goes into someone choosing their skateboard is the artwork underneath the deck. Many interviewees expressed deep connection to the artists and decorative design of the board and attributed the artwork to their identity within the skate community.
Useful Product Descriptions
If customers were shopping online, research shows that not every product description is consistent across the multitude of skate shops. Having useful product descriptions are imperative when online shopping, especially when customizing a board. Users want to be able to filter by brand, compare weights and sizes of all gear.
All About Customization
Research showed people customized their skateboards 95% of the time. It was discovered throughout the research phase that the process of customizing your skateboard is almost like a ritual that every skater awaits with anticipation whenever buying a new board. Everyone skates differently and the variety of parts can accommodate any type of rider.
Supporting Local Business
Within the skate community, supporting local businesses plays a key factor into choosing a shop. Many customers frequent the same retailers because of comfortability and the community history & relationships.
“Reviews, suggested products, and detailed product descriptions are super helpful.”
The Solution
How might we evoke the same satisfaction of in-person testing and board customization through e-commerce?
Research revealed one of the main deciding factors when purchasing a new board is the artwork of the deck itself. This led the layout of products to emphasize the artwork by enlarging the product images and limiting each row to 4 products at a time. Limiting the quantity of products to just 3 when it came to displaying smaller products such as wheels, trucks, and bearings. The amount of detail that goes into crafting all these beautiful pieces deserve to be on full display.
To tackle the challenge of customization, the solution ended up taking the form of a custom Build Dashboard. Customers who prefer customizing their boards are able to fully assemble a custom board through the Build Dashboard.
Site Map
One of the main challenges was the information architecture. Results from the open card sort helped dictate the architecture layout and assisted with the nomenclature for each category.
User Flow
The research findings and insights defined our key design question, which would guide us through the entire process: How might we reduce the number of actions users need to take in order to upgrade?
For Next Time
More Seamless Custom Build
User testing feedback suggested creating a more seamless custom build process. This is especially important since one of the main challenges that need to be solved for was making the customization process just as satisfying as purchasing in-person.
Compare Feature
With another design sprint, it would be great to go back and add a compare function so users can easily compare different brand specifications and prices. In addition, it would. be great to add hyperlink breadcrumbs, tighten up the filter options, and revise some of the cart overlay issues.
Better User Feedback
During user testing, it was brought to attention that the feedback when adding items to the skateboard build and to the cart could be strengthened. In future iterations, it would be wise to do more research on what makes successful and seamless user feedback.