The Product I designed an intuitive storefront for Saks Fifth Avenue, now live here. The experience is tailored to luxury shoppers—style-conscious professionals and trendsetters—who value high-end fashion, curated content, and an online browsing experience that reflects the elegance of the Saks brand. It also supports personal shoppers by enabling them to earn commission through affiliate links.
The Project Duration February 2025 - Present
The Problem Luxury shoppers increasingly want personalized, virtual shopping experiences that mirror the in-store service they receive from their personal shoppers. However, there is no streamlined way for customers to browse and purchase curated product selections online, making it difficult for personal shoppers to showcase their expertise and for clients to shop confidently from anywhere.
The Goal Design a digital storefront experience that enables Saks Fifth Avenue personal shoppers to curate and share personalized product selections with their clients, allowing customers to browse and shop virtually with ease—while maintaining the elevated, high-touch feel of the Saks brand and enabling personal shoppers to earn commission through affiliate links.
Role and Responsibilities As the UX Designer, I was responsible for the end-to-end user experience design. I translated business goals into user flows, designed wireframes and high-fidelity mockups that aligned with Saks’ luxury brand standards, and collaborated closely with managers and stakeholders to ensure a smooth design-to-development handoff. I focused on creating a seamless, accessible experience that empowers personal shoppers.
User Research Summary To better understand the needs of luxury shoppers and personal stylists, I conducted a series of user interviews with both customer segments. Prior to research, I assumed that most customers preferred browsing the main Saks site. However, interviews revealed that shoppers value personalized experiences and are more likely to purchase when items are curated by a trusted stylist. Personal shoppers also expressed the need for a streamlined way to showcase their picks and track commissions. These insights directly informed the design decisions and feature prioritization for the storefront experience.
User Pain Points
1. Overwhelming Product Selection
Pain Point: Users felt overwhelmed by the large number of products and had trouble finding curated content.
Design Solution: We created a dedicated section for personalized recommendations from personal shoppers, making it easier for users to find tailored selections.
Pain Point: Users felt overwhelmed by the large number of products and had trouble finding curated content.
Design Solution: We created a dedicated section for personalized recommendations from personal shoppers, making it easier for users to find tailored selections.
2. Complicated Commission Tracking for Personal Shoppers
Pain Point: Personal shoppers struggled to track commissions from their recommendations.
Design Solution: We added a clear commission tracking feature within the personal shopper dashboard, helping them easily monitor their sales and progress.
Pain Point: Personal shoppers struggled to track commissions from their recommendations.
Design Solution: We added a clear commission tracking feature within the personal shopper dashboard, helping them easily monitor their sales and progress.
3. Mobile Experience Issues
Pain Point: The storefront wasn’t optimized for mobile, causing difficulties for users shopping on their phones.
Design Solution: We implemented a mobile-first design, ensuring a smooth, responsive experience on all devices, allowing users to shop effortlessly on the go.
Pain Point: The storefront wasn’t optimized for mobile, causing difficulties for users shopping on their phones.
Design Solution: We implemented a mobile-first design, ensuring a smooth, responsive experience on all devices, allowing users to shop effortlessly on the go.
User Persona
User Journey Map
Information Architecture
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Userbility Testing
1. Product Discovery
Finding: Users had difficulty finding specific products due to unclear filtering options.
Impact on Design: Enhanced filtering and sorting visibility, clearer categories, and personalized recommendations.
Finding: Users had difficulty finding specific products due to unclear filtering options.
Impact on Design: Enhanced filtering and sorting visibility, clearer categories, and personalized recommendations.
2. Personal Shopper Interaction
Finding: Users were unaware of how to connect with their personal shopper.
Impact on Design: Made the personal shopper feature more prominent and added a tutorial.
Finding: Users were unaware of how to connect with their personal shopper.
Impact on Design: Made the personal shopper feature more prominent and added a tutorial.
3. Mobile Experience
Finding: Mobile users struggled with small buttons and cluttered navigation.
Impact on Design: Increased button sizes and simplified mobile navigation.
Finding: Mobile users struggled with small buttons and cluttered navigation.
Impact on Design: Increased button sizes and simplified mobile navigation.
4. Checkout Process
Finding: Users found the checkout process confusing, leading to cart abandonment.
Impact on Design: Streamlined checkout, improved autofill, and progress indicators.
Finding: Users found the checkout process confusing, leading to cart abandonment.
Impact on Design: Streamlined checkout, improved autofill, and progress indicators.
High Fidelity Prototype
Live Product https://stores.saksfifthavenue.com/daniellei
Accessibility Considerations
1. Color Contrast
Consideration: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for users with visual impairments.
Solution: Used high-contrast color schemes to improve readability and comply with WCAG guidelines.
Consideration: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for users with visual impairments.
Solution: Used high-contrast color schemes to improve readability and comply with WCAG guidelines.
2. Keyboard Navigation
Consideration: Users with motor impairments need to navigate the site without a mouse.
Solution: Optimized site navigation for full keyboard accessibility, including focus indicators and skip-to-content options.
Consideration: Users with motor impairments need to navigate the site without a mouse.
Solution: Optimized site navigation for full keyboard accessibility, including focus indicators and skip-to-content options.
3. Alt Text for Images
Consideration: Visually impaired users rely on screen readers to understand image content.
Solution: Added descriptive alt text to all images, ensuring that all visuals are accessible to screen reader users.
Consideration: Visually impaired users rely on screen readers to understand image content.
Solution: Added descriptive alt text to all images, ensuring that all visuals are accessible to screen reader users.
Next Steps The next steps for the finished Saks Fifth Avenue storefront involve monitoring user feedback to identify areas for improvement, optimizing site performance, and conducting A/B testing to enhance user engagement. Focus will continue on expanding accessibility features and collaborating with the marketing team to drive both sales and personal shopper commissions. Additionally, future enhancements will include personalized recommendations and potential integration of new technologies to further elevate the shopping experience.