My Role During my time at Cross Commerce Store, I had the privilege of working on their SaaS platform for approximately a year. One of my earliest and most significant projects involved the redesign of the way a retailer add product(s) onto the platform, focusing on enhancing functionality and user experience. As the sole product designer, I developed the design and collaborated closely with the UX researcher, product manager, customer support team, and engineers to drive product scoping, define roadmaps, and align goals.
About Cross Commerce Store
Cross Commerce Store operates as a cross-border trading company, offering support to international retailers seeking to expand their reach in Brazil through multiple sales channels. The company has a platform where retailers have full control over their inventory, orders, and logistics, while showcasing their products on well-known marketplaces. This partnership enables retailers to tap into Brazil's growing e-commerce market, fostering increased sales and market presence.
In this case study, my focus will be on the redesign of how retailers add their products to the platform.
Introduction
The journey of a retailer looking to enter the Brazilian e-commerce market, typically begins with gathering all the product data (inventory) they intend to sell. Once their inventory is prepared, they can proceed with adding/uploading it onto the platform.
Cross Commerce's platform features integration with the largest e-commerce marketplaces in Brazil, serving as a vital link between retailers and Brazilian consumers.
Offering more than 10 marketplaces, Cross Commerce provides retailers with a seamless entry into the Brazilian market, easing the challenges of language barriers and market complexities.
Retailers can easily add their products onto Cross Commerce's platform while having the benefits of logistics and customer support assistance provided by the company.
Understanding the problem space
Adding product(s) onto the platform is a critical step to get started selling products. By recognizing this, we realized that optimizing this workflow was essential. Through evaluations of the current process and conducting 1:1 interviews with retailers and the customer support team, we identified significant problems:
The user flow was not fluid, containing unnecessary steps that left retailers confused.
The current workflow lacked clear instructions on the different ways to add a product.
Poor category search experience, with an extensive list of categories requiring users to spend a significant amount of time scrolling.
Lack of a notifications system, leaving users uncertain about the successful upload of their products.
The process of adding product(s) is the initial step on Cross Commerce Store platform, allowing retailers to starting selling products in the Brazilian market.
We wanted to achieve two important business metrics by improving the process of adding product(s):
Improve retention: We observed a decline in retailers who self-uploaded their products, and our goal was to increase this number.
Reduce time spent in Customer Support: We noticed an increase in the time spent by the customer support team in assisting retailers with adding/uploading product(s).
Design process and challenges
To redesign the process of adding/uploading product(s), I analyzed well-known marketplaces with similar workflows and product categorization. I also conducted a competitive analysis, which guided my design decisions.
I created multiple versions of each feature and prototyped them to evaluate their performance, ultimately identifying the most effective one.
This project was particularly significant as it was the first to use our new design system.
Restructuring workflow
Our main objective was to make it easier for retailers to navigate and add products to the platform.
We accomplished this by presenting the different ways to add a product right at the beginning of the workflow.
In the previous version, after clicking the "Add product" button, retailers were directed to a page with a category list and a button to "Add product in bulk." In the new version, we brought the two options to add a product (manually or in bulk) as the first step of the workflow. This change prevented user confusion and ensured a more streamlined experience.
By displaying the options to add products upfront, retailers can quickly see and choose between them. It also helps Cross Commerce track which option is used more frequently.
Adding instructions
In the old version of the process of adding/uploading products, the instructions were unclear and lacked a proper information structure. Our goal was to ensure retailers could be guided step-by-step when adding products to the platform.
Changing the product category search experience
In the previous version, users had difficulty finding categories as there were no suggestions or assistance when search queries returned no results.
The updated version includes an auto-complete feature that suggests categories as retailers type, making it quicker and easier to find what they need. We also introduced a "category tree," allowing retailers to select categories and sub-categories with just a few clicks.
Adding a real-time notification system
Incorporating a notifications system into the platform was essential to enhance communication between retailers and Cross Commerce. In the previous version, retailers were not notified if their products were uploaded or if any errors occurred.
We developed a notification system that keeps retailers informed about the status of their actions during the product upload process. With the new system, they receive real-time updates on the progress, success, or failure of their product uploads, ensuring they stay informed every step of the way.
Final Design
In this final iteration of the design, I added a features that were requested by the retailers when performing usability testings. The features include:
Ability to add categories as favorites and filter these categories later.
Ability to override existing products in bulk.
Impact
The redesign of the process of adding/uploading products significantly improved the user experience of the retailers. We tackled four major issues, each with its own set of achievements:
Reflections
Looking back on this project, I would have allocated more time to explore alternative guidance methods beyond the instructions integrated into the platform. I'd have experimented with interactive tooltips or a guided onboarding tour to enhance the user experience. I also would have explored the possibility of adding a personalization layer to the platform, allowing retailers to customize their dashboard and workflow based on their specific needs and preferences.
You have reached the end!
During this project, I developed my design process and learned that every project presents its own unique challenges. I came to understand that product design is a collaborative process that involves a cycle of feedback and iteration to refine and improve the design.
If you’re interested to know more about the work they do at Cross Commerce Store, you can check out their website.