URBN is a portfolio of global consumer brands, including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, and more, known for creating unique retail experiences with a focus on creativity and customer satisfaction. As a designer on the URBN UX team, I was responsible for using our white-label design system to create innovative solutions that can be scalable across all brands.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Optimizing the ‘Added to Cart’ experience for a seamless shopping journey.
As teams identified opportunities to improve the process of confirming when users add items to their carts, my role was to design a solution grounded in research and aligned with the white-label design system. This initiative aimed to enhance consistency across breakpoints and deliver an efficient user experience.
THE CHALLENGE
How can I optimize the design of URBN’s cart confirmation experience?
PROJECT STRUCTURE
Agile collaboration and workflow.
This 16-week project followed an agile framework, with me as the lead UX designer. I worked closely with product managers, brand stakeholders, and cross-functional teams—UX/UI, Analytics and UX Research, Personalization and Testing, and App and Web Engineering—to align on the project direction and ensure a seamless test release.
THE PROBLEM
Understanding current issues with the design & its usability.
The existing “added to cart” confirmation design was outdated, lacked necessary product information, and because it is a timed modal, it is very easy to miss, causing disruptions in the customer's shopping journey. It also was very inconsistent across breakpoints, resulting in difficulties with user recognition.
Problems with the current experience
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Assessing patterns in the current landscape to identify a design direction.
To gain a deeper understanding on what URBN’s competitors were doing in this landscape, I conducted a competitor analysis by assessing 17 popular retail platforms across all breakpoints. I assessed what each platform does after a user adds an item to their cart, & what might work for our users. This analysis included brands such as American Eagle, Crate & Barrel, Target, Best Buy, Nordstrom, and more.
Key takeaways from competitor analysis
DESIGN RESEARCH
Consulting industry research to inform design best practices.
I then conducted further research on Baymard Institute to learn about design best practices for added to cart confirmation experiences. These were the identified design guidelines that I followed going forward:
⚡️
Highlight essential product details & thumbnail
⬇️
Include cross-sells as secondary content
🛒
Provide a clear path to view cart, not checkout
🙅
Avoid using a full page for an ATC confirmation
New filters drawer
DESIGN SYSTEM
Ensuring consistency across URBN’s shopping experience.
URBN recently introduced a drawer component for their product filters. So considering this, as well as my competitor & design research, I decided to make a similar component for the “added to cart” confirmation, while exploring variations of hierarchy & interactions.
Initial explorations of desktop & mobile web
REVIEWING DESIGNS
Aligning strategies & narrowing in on the final designs.
To get feedback on the direction of the project and make sure designs were aligned with the goals of all teams, I led various cross-functional design reviews with UX/UI design, UX research, testing teams, and brand leadership. I simultaneously collaborated with engineering to discuss feasibility, which allowed me to create final iterations based on the redefined requirements.
THE SOLUTION
The Before & After
This new added to cart confirmation will improve clarity, consistency, and personalization within the shopping journey across all URBN brands & will allow users to feel confident the correct item was added to their cart - no matter the device they’re shopping on. URBN brands will be up to date with their competitors and have more consistency within their own white-label design system as well.
Old confirmation (first) vs new confirmation (second)
What does this aim to solve?
🤝
Increase
comprehension & trust
With essential added product details
🛒
Encourage cart views & checkout
With clear CTAs, highlighting “view cart”
🪞
Present personalized cross sells
With added product recommendations
💵
Higher Average Order Value
With all other goals considered
WRAPPING UP
Finalizing specs and collaborating on implementation.
To support a smooth build, I created detailed specs outlining structure, spacing, behaviors, and relevant design system components. I then worked closely with engineering through handoff and visual QA to ensure the final experience was implemented as intended.
THE RESULTS
Currently being A/B tested across brand sites & awaiting results!
REFLECTION
What I learned from this leading this project.
This project taught me a lot about designing within a large, fast-paced team - especially the value of frequent collaboration, clear communication, and staying flexible when navigating constraints. From deep-diving into research to writing specs that engineers could easily reference, I gained a stronger understanding of what it really means to design end-to-end for a portfolio of global consumer brands.
URBN Hackathon (we won 2nd place 🥈), my desk at URBN, my favorite building to work in!
