LaSalle Flower Shop
Created a new experience in online flower shopping
LaSalle Flower Shop has been a family operated business since 1936. They sell plants and flowers for special occasions, weddings, and corporate events.
My challenge was to redesign the website so that the business could help boost their online sales.
Role/Timeframe
UX designer and UX researcher,
two-week sprint, 200+ hours
Process/Methods
Research & Synthesis
Business and customer interviews, affinity mapping, personas, competitive/
comparative analysis
Ideation & Delivery
Building out a solution, rapid prototyping, usability testing
The Problem
LaSalle Flower Group needed their website to match their friendly neighborhood store to build trust and keep generations of returning customers.
The Solution
An updated website for LaSalle Flower Group would be easier to navigate with more customization options to give customers flexibility and more choices when ordering flowers.
Research
1
I started with open card sorting to understand what users expected in primary and secondary navigation.
2
Then, I conducted interviews with both the owner of LaSalle Flowers and a few of their local customers.
3
Next, I affinity mapped takeaways from the interviews held with the business and customers to create a persona.
4
After the persona was created, I did a comparative and competitive analysis to find ways to update the business's site to differentiate from competitors.
Many online and in-store flower shops offer similar offerings but don't cater to customers looking for customization.
Competitive/Comparative Analysis
"Our customers are the people who we've done their weddings, their grandparents' weddings, and now 3rd generation weddings. We take pride in that."
Owner of LaSalle Flowers
Research Insights
Customers are looking for more "experiences". Through interviewing customers, I discovered many people go in-store for recommendations and the opportunity to customize their bouquet. After interviewing the business, I was shocked to learn how few sales they made online. Most of the business' current profits are from phone orders while in-store and online sales follow.
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Persona
Phil the Flower Finder
Works downtown and buys flowers for every occasion for his wife. Knows wife’s tastes. Asks advice occasionally before buying flowers.
Habits
-
Wants to customize his purchase instead of buying something off the shelf
-
Is price conscious but cares about quality
Ideation
For my first attempt at the landing page, I wanted to keep the business and customer needs front and center. After interviewing the owner I learned that customers would go into the store looking for something they saw online but it would be sold out in-store. I put a flower availability search option prominently on the landing page.
Another prominent feature of the landing page is the addition of a small "about the business" blurb. A sense of community was a major aspect of both customer and business feedback.
Initial wireframe with edit notes
The first iterations of Custom Bouquet flow
On the first step of the customization flow, several users mentioned that the page was overwhelming and hard to navigate. People also wanted to know what their order total would be as they added flowers. I later added filters on the side and a subtotal above the continue button.
When selecting a vase, several users in testing wanted the option to not have a vase. Users also wanted to include custom messages. Lastly, users wanted to see what their bouquet would look like, so I added a live preview image that would update with their flowers in the vase of their choice. Having these additional options helped create an immersive experience that makes the customer feel engaged.
Again, users wanted to see a live preview on this page before checking out. A preview of the bouquet and custom message preview was later added.
"Millennial consumers perceive floral products as experience-oriented. They also specified that arranging their own bouquets... would improve their engagement."
2016 study, University of Minnesota
Delivery
MVP
An online customizable bouquet option sets LaSalle Flowers apart from all local competitors.
Final Prototype
Beside is a link to a clickable prototype. This was my first solo project where I did all of the research, synthesis, ideation, and prototyping by myself. I learned how important early testing and feedback are throughout the design process.
