Overview
In response to the surge in sourdough baking during the pandemic, Cairnspring Mills, a stone-milled artisanal flour company, aimed to expand beyond wholesale and incorporate direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales to seize the emerging market opportunity. Initially setting up a Shopify site, Cairnspring's team recognized the need for external expertise to enhance their online presence and align with user expectations for success. The Chief Revenue Officer enlisted a team, including a developer, project manager, and designer (myself), to facilitate their transition.
The Challenge
The company sought to educate consumers about the significance of regenerative agriculture and distinguish Cairnspring's offerings from competing alternatives. Additionally, they aimed to enhance the user experience (UX) of their platform with the ultimate goal of boosting direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales by an ambitious 30%.
Learning about the problem space
Our team was asked not to conduct user research, so to understand the problem space, we employed several strategies to grasp the challenges:
Stakeholder Interviews: Engaged with internal stakeholders to comprehend business needs and existing pain points.
Customer Support Consultation: Collaborated with the support team to gain insights into customer preferences and struggles.
Site Evaluation: Conducted a thorough review of the existing Shopify site to identify areas for improvement.
Competitive Analysis: Analyzed competitors and e-commerce best practices to inform our approach.
What we found
Insights gathered from customer support discussions and site evaluations revealed:
Flour Option Overwhelm
Customers expressed feeling overwhelmed by the array of flour options available on the Cairnspring website. They lacked clarity on which flour would best suit their specific needs.
Our site evaluation revealed limited mechanisms for customers to reduce cognitive load and effectively compare flour options. This lack of clarity likely contributed to high rates of site and cart abandonment.
Lack of Guidance
Customers who purchased flour from Cairnspring demonstrated a desire to make the most of their premium-quality product. Many reached out to customer service seeking advice on baking with specific types of flour, highlighting the need for accessible guidance and support.
Underutilization of Free Shipping Promotion
Despite the presence of a free shipping promotion, customer uptake was lower than anticipated. Our review uncovered that the promotion was only mentioned in a banner at the top of the site. This placement, coupled with banner blindness phenomenon, likely led to customers either forgetting about the offer or overlooking it entirely during crucial decision-making moments like when proceeding to the cart.
Our Solution
In our efforts to update the site to align with the business and user challenges, we made the following interventions.
Flour Comparison Table
Developed a comparative table to assist users in selecting the most suitable flour, employing compensatory decision-making principles. However, this approach required further refinement to emphasize critical distinctions between flour types.
Baking Type Filters
Introduced filters based on baking types to facilitate non-compensatory decision-making, allowing users to refine flour options according to their specific baking needs. Collaboration with the internal baking team ensured accurate categorization and clarity.
Outcome
Recipe Section
The CRO and creative team collaborated to create a recipe section leveraging expert bakers. This section aimed to guide users in selecting both recipes and products, with the dual goal of aiding decision-making and boosting sales.
Through close collaboration between marketing and design teams, Cairnspring Mills experienced a remarkable 40% year-over-year growth. This success underscored the importance of cross-functional teamwork and iterative design processes in achieving our objectives.
Reflections
If I could go back, I would advocate for conducting user interviews and spending more time to truly understand our audience. This would ensure we were building solutions for the right users and addressing their real pain points.
We primarily focused on expert bakers, but based on customer service data, we learned that a significant portion of our users were novice bakers. We didn’t fully understand their pain points and needs, and as a result, we missed the opportunity to design a platform that would better support their decision-making and ultimate purchase. Aside from the insights gathered through customer service calls, more targeted research could have helped us build a more inclusive experience.
Additionally, the extensive number of filters and the comparison criteria seemed more suited to expert bakers. With better user research, we could have simplified the filters and tailored the comparison tool to meet the needs of a broader range of users, creating a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.