01 Overview
The app people left before buying
ShopEase had 200,000 monthly active users and a loyal base — but the numbers told a concerning story. Over 65% of users who added items to their cart never completed the purchase. The business was losing millions in potential revenue every month, and leadership knew the problem was the experience, not the product.
I was brought in as the lead designer to own the full redesign — from research through to final dev handoff. No shortcuts, no assumptions. We started from zero.
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Design challenge: Redesign the core shopping experience to reduce checkout abandonment, improve product discovery, and increase conversion — without alienating the existing user base.
02 Research
28 interviews. 12 brutal truths.
Before touching any design tools, I spent 3 weeks deep in user research. I ran 28 in-depth user interviews, analyzed 6 months of session recordings on Hotjar, and conducted a thorough competitive analysis of 8 e-commerce apps in the same space.
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28+
User Interviews
Remote moderated sessions, 45 min each, across 3 user segments
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180+
Session Recordings
6 months of Hotjar recordings analysed for friction patterns
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8
Competitor Apps Audited
Benchmarked against Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and 5 others
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12
Friction Points Found
Prioritised by frequency, severity and business impact
The research surfaced 12 critical friction points. The top ones were brutal to read — but they gave us a clear roadmap:
1
Checkout had 7 steps — users expected 2–3. Every extra screen was a dropout.
2
No guest checkout — forced account creation at payment killed 34% of first-time buyers.
3
Product images were too small — users couldn't zoom or see detail, especially on clothing.
4
Size selection was buried — placed after "Add to Cart", causing cart abandonment on realisation.
5
No progress indicator in checkout — users didn't know how close they were to done, so they quit.
03 Problem Statement
Design Problem
ShopEase users want to buy but the app makes them feel uncertain at every decision point — unclear product details, a confusing checkout flow, and forced friction erode their confidence until they abandon.
This framing was critical. It shifted the conversation from "our funnel is broken" to "our users feel unsupported." That emotional lens shaped every design decision that followed.
04 Design Process
From chaos to clarity
Week 1–3
Discovery & Research
User interviews, session analysis, competitor audit, and stakeholder alignment sessions. Defined success metrics with PM: checkout conversion rate, average session depth, add-to-cart-to-purchase ratio.
User InterviewsHotjar AnalysisCompetitive Audit
Week 4–5
Information Architecture
Rebuilt the navigation structure from scratch using card sorting with 20 users. Simplified the checkout from 7 steps → 3 steps. Introduced guest checkout as a first-class flow.
Card SortingUser FlowsSitemapping
Week 6–9
Wireframes & Concept Testing
Created 3 concept directions for the home feed and product page. Tested with 15 users in rapid unmoderated sessions using Maze. Iterated twice before going hi-fi.
Lo-fi WireframesConcept TestingMaze
Week 10–16
High-Fidelity Design & Usability Testing
Designed 80+ screens covering all flows. Ran 4 rounds of usability testing. Each round surfaced ~3 critical issues, which were fixed before the next round. Final prototype achieved task completion rate of 91%.
Figma80+ Screens4× Usability TestingProtoPie
Week 17–24
Dev Handoff & Launch
Complete design specs in Zeplin, component documentation, motion specs for all transitions, and weekly sync with dev team during build. Shipped to production with zero critical design regressions.
ZeplinMotion SpecsDev Sync
05 Wireframes
Thinking before styling
Every major layout decision was validated at wireframe stage — before a single colour or icon was applied. This saved weeks of rework later.
06 Final Design
From screen to delight
After 3 rounds of wireframe testing and 4 rounds of hi-fi usability testing, here's the final ShopEase experience — built in Figma, prototyped in ProtoPie, handed off via Zeplin.
⭐ Top Seller
Nike Air Max Pro Running Shoes
★★★★★
₹2,499
Select Size
Add to Cart 🛒
👟
Air Max Pro · Size 7
₹2,499
Checkout · 3 easy steps
✓
Order Placed!
Your items are being prepared. You'll receive a confirmation shortly.
📦 Track your order →
07 Results
Numbers that changed minds
We measured outcomes 60 days post-launch against the same 60-day period from the previous year. The results were enough to greenlight a second phase of work immediately.
38%↓
Checkout Drop-off
From 65% down to 27% abandonment rate
22%↑
Average Order Value
Better product discovery led to larger baskets
4.7★
App Store Rating
Up from 3.9★ — highest ever for the app
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"Finally I can actually buy something without giving up halfway." — User feedback post-launch, captured via in-app survey
08 What I Learned
The lessons that stuck
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Test early, test ugly
The insights from lo-fi wireframe testing were just as valuable as the hi-fi rounds — and came at a fraction of the cost. We caught the "7 step checkout" issue in week 4, not week 14.
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Dev sync is part of the design process
Weekly standups with the engineering team from week 10 onwards meant zero "this isn't technically feasible" surprises at handoff. Design is only as good as what ships.
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Simplicity is a feature
Every time we removed a step, a field, or a decision point, users performed better in testing. The hardest design work was convincing stakeholders to let go of features — not adding new ones.
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Frame design decisions with data
Saying "users feel confused here" loses to "34% of first-time buyers drop off at this exact step." Quantifying UX problems earns a seat at the table and faster sign-offs.
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