Case Study: AEO
Stylist Appointments
I’m proud of this project in particular because in just a few short months with this experience customer-facing, AEO has seen significant business impact with increases across multiple KPI’s.
Team
Project Manager
Design Manager
Content Manager
2 UX/UI Designers
High Touch Tasks
Interactive Prototyping
Competitive Analysis
Tools
Figma
The ability to book an in-store stylist appointment can be found within numerous other retailers in this space. AEO wanted to give their customers that same opportunity. Customers who are existing Real Rewards loyalty members can schedule appointments either through the website or in stores, where they’re able to choose a preferred date, time and store.
Overview
Problem
As the UI designer for this effort, my goal was to create a seamless online booking experience that empowers customers to get ready to shop and be styled with confidence.
The booking experience should guide users effortlessly, giving them the ability to choose their preferred store, date, time slot (30 minute intervals), and denoting any details they’d like to cover during the appointment. They should also be given the ability to sign in or create an account during the experience, and at the end, be given a summary of the appointment details.
The entire experience must feel intuitive and customer-centric with smooth navigation, even during non-happy path flows.
Impact
Improved Customer Engagement and Loyalty:
An easy-to-use and convenient online booking system sets customers up for an enjoyable and memorable in-store experience. This generates customer satisfaction and further strengthens their brand loyalty. Customers are generally more likely to return to, and speak positively of, an experience when they a) they have minimal to zero roadblocks, and b) feel their needs are understood and valued.
Increased Revenue through Personalization and Add-Ons:
Booking appointments online facilitates a more personalized shopping experience by allowing both customers and stylists to prepare in advance. This leads to tailored product recommendations during the appointment, where stylists can suggest complementary or additional items based on the customer’s preferences and previously provided appointment details. This online to in-store experience boosts both sales both during the visit and through follow-up recommendations.
After gathering business requirements and goals of the product itself, low fi wireframes were crafted by the UX team. After receiving those, I performed deeper competitive analysis into other existing experiences to gain a better understanding of the current landscape, namely what features others offer at this time and how and when key steps of the booking experience are presented. Due to a fast turnaround request from business, the experience was requested to be kept slim and agile with not many frills or new interaction types.
Touchpoints that were added include: a brand new landing page, full mobile and desktop flows (including the embedded ability to either signing in or create an account during the booking process), as well as a confirmation page followed by SMS notifications.
Final designs were created in Figma, and QA was performed by myself and my UX partner alongside the lead project developer prior to customer-facing release.
Process
After several months of live interaction,
Stores and business are reporting that customers greatly appreciate the smooth experience and convenience that booking online offers. They further note that customers have shared that their confidence has been boosted, with excitement to further refining their wardrobes after concluding their appointments.
Participating stores have also reported that:
Customers are spending 85% more — Average Dollars Spent (ADS) increased from $53 to $99
Customers are buying 52% more items — Units Per Transaction (UPT) increased from 2.3 to 3.5
Store conversion is up to 94% — Appointments guarantee traffic with intent to purchase
