Personal Project – 2020

FOMO

FOMO is a fashion search application which allows users to search in more specific ways, saving the time of jumping from one platform to another. It also connects users to each other as a fashion community in both online and offline.

Design Goals

1.

Less effort

Less refinement to search for specific clothes in mind

2.

Less time consuming

Make search for the aimed clothes quicker, less scrolling

3.

More accessible

Get to learn more about clothes that match users

4.

More integrate

Make omni-channel more integrated and seamless

Challenge

Shopping for clothes can be a long process, depending on the quality of search results and if the customers find what matches them. With a specific item/style in mind, it may take a longer time than usual to browse and, in the worst case, might end up with nothing.

There are many online shopping platforms for clothes which enhance the search experience. However, many people still prefer to do offline shopping in order to see and physically try the clothes on themselves.


Online shopping needs to make people feel more secure that the clothes would fit them when pressing buy, and needs to integrate better with offline shopping, since people are now omni-channel searchers/shoppers.

What I did in this project

Scope of work

Click here to see my work process

Research

User interviews and desk research were carried out to see the current problems that the users face

UX Design

After studying users’ flow and difficulties, I designed a new experience which solve their pain points

Interaction and UI

The experience needs a space to interact with. I designed interactions and UI to represent UX solutions

Prototype

Video prototypes of the
solutions were made to
illustrate how the
solutions work

Research

This research aims to understand how consumers search for clothes when they have a targeted style in mind, focusing on the process from when they find their inspirations up until when they find the style. I explored the topic by performing interviews and desk research.

Interview

I interviewed 11 people, M/F aged between 23-28, who follow and do not follow fashion trends. Most participants have lived both in and outside of cities associated with fashion.

The interviews were structured in two parts: an interview focusing on past experience, and a simulation of the process they follow when searching for their targeted clothes, given that their inspirations come from on- and offline channels without any sources on where to find the clothes (e.g. seeing strangers on the street or a picture of clothes which has no information on where it was bought).

User Insights

Search Behavior

Online Search for Clothes Details

What is the item called, brands, price, location, similar choices, and ways to mix and match. Participants keep refining until they find a similar item in their mind
(Rennie et al., 2020). Few participants use picture search.

Online Search while in Physical Store

While in the physical store, some participants searched online for other similar choices and variety of price. This aligns with findings of “showrooming” from Neslin et al. (2014) in which online search happens in offline stores.

Buy Online vs. Offline

It is easier to find the item online than offline, but it is harder to make the decision to click buy because they can keep comparing price, style and etc. (Rennie et al., 2020). Some participants do research offline and then buy online, saying that it is cheaper (Neslin et al., 2014).

Offline Search is Complicated

Some participants mentioned that unless they know about places to find the targeted item in their mind, searching directly in stores is more difficult because they were distracted by other items and offers.

Testing What was Found Online

Participants who get information online tend to go to the physical store to evaluate the item offline, including the size, material and price. Then, they purchase offline, described as “webrooming” in Flavián et al. (2016).

Geographical factor

Participants who live in a city not associated with fashion tend to search and buy online more often than ones who live in a fashion capital (Xi et al., 2020).

Physical factor

In an online shop, model’s physical appearance helps participants to get a better idea of how the color and style of clothes can match with themselves.

Financial factor

Most participants do not buy clothes which are tagged by influencers because they are mostly too expensive. Instead, they try to find cheaper alternatives.

User Understanding

Personas and User journeys

Personas and user journeys were generated from the participants’ process when they search for their targeted clothes. As all the participants are omni-channel shoppers, the personas are differed by degree of online and offline preference.

Alex

Alex, 27

Consultant, Milan
“I like to look around and try the clothes out in physical stores.”

Got inspired offline more than online, search online then buy offline

Need: Less effort to find and buy clothes that I like and match with myself
Pain point: In online, it looks good but it doesn’t match me when I try it on myself
Goals: Buy clothes with quality and that are unique from what I have

FOMO customer journey 1
Andy

Andy, 26

Master’s Student, Bangkok
“I know what fits me and want to find exactly to what’s in my mind.”

Got inspired online more than offline, search online then buy online

Need: Quicker ways to search for clothes in my mind
Pain point: Refining, scrolling and checking my correct size takes so much time
Goals: Be 100% sure that the materials and style look good on me

FOMO customer journey 2

On home screen, mix of fashion posts from social media channels that you follow, or want to explore, are shown. FOMO does automatic picture search then offers similar items to photos which are tagged or not tagged.

Search by draft

No more refining keywords and browsing for the items in loops because you can select and customize details of the clothes then put it to search.

Filter by appearance

With computer vision, color matching allows FOMO to filter your search results by your preferred physical appearance, including hair, skin, eyes and foundation colors. Filters can also be applied to your clothing size.

Get notifications about
what might interest you

A notification will pop up on your phone once you are near other FOMO users who share their items in their FOMO profile or stores that offer items that you might be interested in.

Product page

Options to rent or buy are offered on FOMO. Shops, brands, or other FOMO users can rent, sell or buy each other’s clothes. Together with product, a look book shows matches with other clothes, and similar items are provided.

Store location

FOMO offers locations of the stores for people who love to purchase offline or do an information check before purchasing online.

User journey

FOMO user flow

Sitemap

FOMO sitemap
FOMO sitemap

You can see my work process here.

Reference

Flavián, C., Gurrea, R., & Orús, C. (2016). Choice confidence in the webrooming purchase process: The impact of online positive reviews and the motivation to touch. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 15: 459– 476. doi: 10.1002/cb.1585


Neslin, S.A., Jerath, K., Bodapati, A.V., Bradlow, E.T., Deighton, J., Gensler, S., Lee, L., Montaguti, E., Telang, R., Venkatesan, R., Verhoef, P., & Zhang, Z. (2014). The interrelationships between brand and channel choice. Marketing Letters, 25, 319-330. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9305-2


Rennie, A., Protheroe, J., Charron, C., & Breatnach, G. (2020). How people decide what to buy lies in the “messy middle” of the purchase journey. Retrieved November 28, 2020 from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/consumer-insights/consumer-journey/navigating-purchase-behavior-and-decision-making/


Xi, G., Zhen, F., Cao, X., & Xu, F. (2020). The interaction between e-shopping and store shopping: Empirical evidence from Nanjing, China. Transportation Letters, 12(3), 157- 165. doi: 10.1080/19427867.2018.1546797