Gene Agency Magento and e-commerce consultancy focused on improving online customer experiences. Work included UX design for e-commerce flows, returns optimisation (Hermes), UX strategy development, and user testing for global clients.
Role: UX Designer working across multiple client projects. Responsible for UX audits, journey redesign, user testing, and strategic UX planning. Collaborated with agency teams to translate insights into practical improvements for live e-commerce products.
Context: E-commerce clients required optimisation of key customer journeys, particularly returns, which are critical to user experience and operational efficiency. Existing flows often lacked clarity and introduced friction at key steps.
Problem:
Returns journey for Hermes drop-off process lacked clarity and usability. Users struggled with understanding return steps, accessing required information, and retrieving QR codes. Existing experience created friction and increased cognitive load, particularly across account and guest flows.
Approach:
Conducted competitor benchmarking across Amazon, John Lewis, and Harrods by completing full purchase and return journeys. Identified common UX patterns and measured interaction steps (average ~10 steps across competitors). Performed cognitive walkthrough of existing flow and analysed customer feedback. Designed and tested improved flows using task-based user testing (UserZoom) with mobile users.
Solution:
Redesigned end-to-end returns experience, including key account-area screens: Orders Summary, Order Detail, Return Item, and Return Confirmation. Focused on improving clarity, reducing friction, and ensuring users could easily access return instructions and QR codes. Enhanced information hierarchy and guidance throughout the process.
Outcome:
Improved usability and clarity of the returns journey. Reduced friction across key steps in the process. Delivered scalable UX patterns for returns flows applicable across e-commerce clients. Validated improvements through user testing across key scenarios (guest returns, signed-in returns, QR code retrieval).
Additional:
Developed a UX roadmap framework to support ongoing client engagement. Aligned user needs, agency delivery, and business goals. Enabled better planning of research and testing, improved forecasting of UX work, and provided clients with a structured approach to continuous product improvement.
Characteristics:
E-commerce UX, Magento platforms, returns optimisation, journey redesign, benchmarking, usability testing, UX strategy, agency environment, commercial product improvement.