The Future of Retail and e-commerce in the games.
Designing the new store for the gaming community of 23 Games.
Background
23 Games is a company that has developed an engaging platform aimed at fostering a friendly and inclusive community for gamers. The company not only keeps users abreast of the latest trends and developments in video games and pop culture but also facilitates meaningful connections among friends and fellow gamers.
a Sneak peak
Try me!
Discovery
Challenge
Introduce the new e-commerce store on the website that has a ‘gaming client’ aesthetic.
Goals and objectives
Maintain the website's personality in the new functionality.
Ensure the e-commerce store is user-friendly and intuitive, with a focus on seamless navigation.
Develop a responsive design for the e-commerce store that works flawlessly across various devices and screen sizes, catering to both desktop and mobile users.
Research
The goal of this research was to understand how users interact with existing e-commerce platforms and identify potential pain points in the experience. To achieve this, I interviewed 5 users who were very inside the gaming community.
Here are the questions made to the participants:
General Background:
How often do you engage in gaming activities?
What are your preferred gaming platforms (e.g., PC, consoles, mobile)?
Experience with E-commerce in gaming:
Have you previously purchased gaming products online? If so, what kind of products?
What are your preferred websites or platforms for purchasing gaming products?
User Needs and Preferences:
When shopping for gaming products online, what are the most important factors for you (e.g., good price, product variety, user reviews)?
Can you describe a particularly good or bad experience you had while shopping for gaming products online?
Conclusion
The insights from our user interviews reveal that we could categorize our users into two groups: Casual Gamers and Tech-Savvy users. From that, it is clear that the design must cater to a range of user preferences and address common frustrations
Casual Gamers:
Preference for straightforward, user-friendly navigation and uncluttered layout.
Emphasis on mobile-friendly design.
Tech-Savvy Users:
A desire for in-depth product details.
Value user reviews and comparison tools for better decision-making.
Universal Preferences:
Critical need for faster website performance and simplified checkout.
Strong interest in personalized features, such as custom recommendations and engaging product visuals.
Design Solution
Wireframing
Following the initial goals, I wanted something that was easy to understand. As the store would contain a lot of information, the goal was to present all this information in an organized manner.
Before I started, I knew I wanted a banner on the main page, some filters, and the products separated by cards.
The banner would help draw users' attention to anything we wanted to highlight.
The filters would aid navigation for a personalized search.
And packaging all the information each product has in cards would help users easily understand what they were seeing.
Some of the sketched ideas
First Concept
This concept was presented to 4 users and it was well received. However, some points were noted:
The main objective of the banner was to capture the attention of users. However, this initial version failed to achieve this. For 3 users, it wasn't clear that it was clickable.
Some users reported that it was a little hard to read the price in the cards. So the color was changed to white to have the best contrast possible.
We also tested moving the large filters by category to beneath the Weekly Promotion items, and this did not interfere with their ability to find them.
Final Design
straightforward and uncluttered layout
A clean, user-friendly interface that offers an intuitive navigation experience, allowing gamers to effortlessly recognize and find exactly what they are searching for, enhancing their overall browsing and shopping experience.
Get wat to want, fast and easy.
Find exactly what you're looking for, grab it with a click, and you're ready to go. Enjoy a checkout experience that's not just fast and easy, but also simplified to get you back to what matters most in no time.
Dive deep into product specifics.
Comprehensive product descriptions, in-depth product details, and insightful user reviews provide all the essential information a tech-savvy shopper needs to ensure they are making the right decision.
Components
Cards
Information packed into distinct cards to enhance clarity and ease understanding.
Filters
Specialized filters with images to improve clarity and user comprehension.
Full Responsive
Results
We launched the company's platform, which I helped build from the ground up, achieving over 3,000 monthly active users in the first 6 months.
Key Learnings and Achievements
This experience was instrumental in my growth, not only in design but also in team management and business strategy.
I worked closely with the company owners to ensure their ideas and goals were right integrated into our projects. This close collaboration allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of business strategy while focusing on designing the best outcome for our users.