shopping sustainably for living greens

// CLIENT //

Planted

**this is an on-spec project

// SCOPE //

2 week sprint

// MY ROLE //

UX research, UX design, UX writing, UI design

// TOOLS //

Sketch, InVision, Adobe Photoshop, Zeplin, Whimsical, Keynote

the business

Planted is a small, local plant business with a storefront located in Denver's Sloan Lake neighborhood. In addition to selling a variety of succulents, air plants, blooming plants and tropical foliage, the owner also sells pots, planters and other custom pieces that he builds himself out of reclaimed wood. 

The Planted business model and manifesto is not only to be surrounded by living greens but the lifestyle of being green and upcycling. 

 Customers have nothing but positive things to say about the Planted brand and in-store experience. However, Planted gets little to no business through their website. 

Planted's current site is outdated and prompts customers to call to order rather than offering a full e-commerce shopping experience. Planted needs to curate a simple online experience to better match the brand and the needs of the current and constantly growing customer base.

• Redesign the Planted website into an e-commerce store

• Provide plant knowledge & care tips from the Planted owner

• Better promote Planted's competitive advantage (local Denver plant delivery services!)

• Reinforce Planted’s unique branding at all possible touch points

• Reconstruct website information architecture

• Improve site copy

Through both qualitative and quantitative research methods, I was able to empathize with the existing and potential Planted customers to understand their needs and priorities when shopping for new plants. I also made sure to experience the current online and in-store shopping experience and speak with the founder & owner to gain insight on the business goals and needs.

Methods // online reviews & research, user interviews, competitive analysis, contextual inquiry, business interviews, affinity mapping, card sorting, personas, prototype testing and iterating

// USER INTERVIEWS //

• People prefer to shop for plants in-store versus online 

• Price is an important consideration when plant shopping 

• Plant requirements and plant maintenance levels are important considerations when plant shopping

• It is difficult to transport plants from the store to your home.

• Some want to be a plant owner but too intimidated with knowing how to care for plants and scared plant will die

// BUSINESS OWNER INTERVIEW //

• Prioritize creating a positive experience for each individual customer over foot traffic

• Would like to enhance site but isn’t very motivated since it currently doesn’t get many visitors

• Feel their knowledge of plants that they provide customers is the most valuable service they can provide to their customers

• They have not updated the website in 5 years, when Planted was founded

• They rarely if ever, get calls from customers regarding their plant delivery service offering

// ONLINE REVIEWS & RESEARCH //

• The knowledge customers receive when shopping at Planted is invaluable

• There is not a good plant alternative to flower delivery services

• In recent years, plant sales have spiked and this increase has been correlated with millennials obsessing over buying plants for their home

// PROBLEM //

Users need to be able to know specific information about the exact plant they are buying (i.e. size) as well as general care tips and maintenance guidelines for the plant type. Users need a convenient way to shop online for plants and need an overall easier and trustworthy plant delivery process as well as knowledgable tips and guidelines through a credible source.

// SOLUTION //

Planted is an e-commerce website that allows customers to easily sort through planted inventory based on key specifications and easily learn about any plant or product details. Planted offers delivery services in the local Denver area, so users never have to worry about the safety of their plants as it is being boxed and shipped to them.

// PROBLEM //

Users needs a better way to give thoughtful and personal gifts to close friends and significant others on special occasions. 

Users have relied on flower delivery in the past, but after so many times giving flowers users feel that they are lacking the thoughtfulness a gift is supposed to carry with it. Flower arrangements are expensive and their are no alternative options for a better price.

// SOLUTION //

Planted, an e-commerce plant site, has dedicated a main section of their site to consumers specifically looking for gifts. Planted offers same day and next day delivery for the local Denver area, and the website makes it easy to not only find the perfect plant arrangement for your significant other but also easily customize the gift with a note and seamless delivery process. 

And don’t worry, we only pick the plants and planters that are most suitable for gift giving, so no matter how familiar you are with plant care, you can always dig up the perfect plant.

After synthesizing my research, developing personas, creating user flows, the site map, sketches and drafting up wireframes, it was time to start testing and creating mockups with responsive design for both desktop and mobile.

// PLANTED E-COMMERCE ESSENTIALS //

• New information architecture

• Plant care tips and detailed plant descriptions

• Easy and useful filters for plant shopping

• Communication about local delivery services

• Updated branding and website’s overall UI

• New and extremely useful content

• Site identity matching in-store brand and experience

Color & Whitespace // Many people expressed being overwhelmed with instructions, information and all the variety when plant shopping. Through utilizing whitespace as much as possible, I am giving the audience the ability to breath and enjoy the experience that they can easily navigate through instead of being overstimulated and unsure of where to even begin in the process.

I carried the green used in Planted’s logo to other areas of the site to give more brand consistency to the overall site. I effectively utilized this green to draw attention to important information on different pages as well as buttons, such as ‘add to cart’. The brand colors are used effectively to draw attention without overstimulating.

 // HOW DO WE PROVIDE ONLINE PLANT SHOPPERS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE //

Whether you are a plant newbie or an expert, finding the right plant that fits your needs, learning how to care for it and then tending and maintaining a healthy plant can be hard. We have to keep in mind that every customer experience before coming to our site is different. And we cannot assume that our audience knows what is important to look for or even what they want to look for.

Filters // Creating filters for an e-commerce plant store is not as obvious of a solution as it would be for a clothing store. However, they are equally - if not more - important to incorporate into your design. By adding filters, I am not only helping the customer sort by the selection that they desire but I am also informing and reminding the shopper of what is important to consider when picking the perfect plant or plants! Filters are a great way to allow customers to effortlessly narrow browse according to preference but to also help guide them down the right path and to the right plant!

Gifts // Gifting plants is a great alternative to the classic flower arrangement. (Not to mention plants are unique, longer lasting and much more affordable!) By creating a gift section of the site, I’ve eliminated any inconvenience that may have otherwise been an issue to customers specifically shopping for a gift. The gift section only features plants that are easy to take care of, low maintenance and tough in nature. Each plant is paired with the perfect pot or planter to alleviate the hassle of trying to find a nice planter that will be the right fit. And similar to flower delivery services, the customer will be prompted to provide a note and delivery instructions with the option of same or next-day delivery.

// CHANGING PEOPLES’ MINDS ABOUT PLANT SHOPPING ONLINE //

Planted Knowledge // Planted has a strong and very loyal customer base who come from all over Denver to shop at the store. And yes, this does have to do with the incredible plant selection and great price points, but the main reason people prefer Planted - the plant knowledge. Luke, the Planted store owner, and his brother, Cal work the shop with the intention of giving every single customer a personalized and positive experience. The brothers have an immense amount of knowledge of everything in the store. Even if customers leave the store empty handed, they never leave with any unanswered questions. This customer service is unique to the Planted business and absolutely needs to pour over to the Planted website in order to increase traffic. Even if a customer does not have the intention of buying online, customers would visit the Planted site purely for the extensive knowledge that is so valuable and great to have on hand when caring for plants at home.

Delivery Services // Usually buying plants online means that once you’ve completed your purchase, your new living plants are boxed up and shipped off to you. As one can imagine, this doesn’t always have the best outcome, and many people open their packages to see plants in poor healthy or tipped over. This has cause many plant owners to not even consider online shopping. But on the other hand, when you buy in-store, it is up to the customer to get their new plants home safely. This isn’t always the easiest of tasks either. Do you plop them in the trunk and hope for the best? Do you strap them in a seatbelt and keep a watchful eye on them as you try your best to avoid potholes on the way home?

Planted offers delivery services. Planted’s plant delivery service alleviates these issues from customers. No need to worry about your plant babies getting boxed up. And no stressful car ride home that leaves you with a car full of soil and stray leaves.

Planted has always offered delivery services, but its hidden at the bottom of their current site and required call-to-order. Now, with a full e-commerce store, customers are easily able to select same day or next day delivery service when going through the shopping process. I also reconstructed the information architecture and created new copy for the Planted website redesign so customers are easily informed of this important offering without having to search for it or randomly stumble upon it. 

// RESPONSIVE DESIGN PROCESS //

I began the responsive design process with mobile design. By designing for mobile first, I was able focused on ease of use. This allowed me to identify the site’s barriers and unnecessary content and ‘pull the weeds’. Through this process, I was able to create a simple, straightforward responsive mobile design using single column stacking.

The responsive desktop design kept with the same structure and style, providing users with consistency and a simplified experience from the original site. In addition to the new copy and content hierarchy which creates a more seamless user experience, the desktop design utilized big images and and incorporated brand colors to bring in the same energy the in-store experience provides.

The biggest challenge for me throughout this redesign was balancing bringing in the in-store brand experience with turning this website into an enjoyable e-commerce experience. I incorporated the brand throughout site, specifically incorporating much of the look and feel of the in-store shopping experience into the home page and intermittently throughout the rest of the site. The e-commerce portion of the site is clean and simple. In keeping to the Planted brand, there are specific filters tailored to the Planted shoppers and extensive plant care tips and information on each individual plant page. Sharing this wealth of knowledge on every plant is a key attribution of the site because that is one of the main aspects of the in-store experience that both the customers and the store owner value most.