Michael Kors: Redesigning the eCommerce Site
My Role & Agency
Product Design Director (Contractor at Sapient)
Goals & ChallengesÂ
Michael Kors’ e-commerce site for apparel, footwear, and accessories lagged behind competitors in implementing new features and technologies due to a fragmented team approach and outdated internal processes.
solutions & outcomes
I led the formation of a unified team comprising Michael Kors and agency (Sapient) members, collaborating closely with branding, marketing, and research teams to align on goals and swiftly integrate feedback. Over six months, I adapted agile methodologies to suit our design team's workflow, enabling them to ideate full features through user flows while meeting development milestones. By introducing regular virtual check-ins and minimizing unproductive written communications via Jira, I enhanced collaboration between U.S. and India teams, significantly increasing productivity and cutting production time by 50%.*
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I made a point of focusing my team on refining key design details,** creating a cohesive design system, streamlining user flows, integrating content marketing, ideating new features, and transforming underperforming areas like navigation, search, filters, product details, and the lookbook into effective tools that increased revenue.
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​According to CSIMarket.com, “Michael Kors Holdings Ltd managed to grow revenue by 6.45% year on year in the third quarter of 2017 to $1.44 billion, while the apparel, footwear & accessories industry fell by -0.11% and the consumer discretionary sector fell by -14.59%. Despite modest sales in the sector, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd reported above-average market sales growth.”
*As reported at end-of-project retro meeting.
**Forrester’s study, The Business Impact of Design: Five Best Practices for Measuring, emphasizes that prioritizing design detail improvements is a crucial driver of business success.
Redesigning with Modified Agile Methods
While our developers preferred Agile methods, they posed challenges for designers in maintaining continuity across user flows and connecting related experiences. I led a process to identify and implement a solution based on developing concepts with high-level wireframes reflecting full user flows first, then creating feature stories. Designers took engineering timelines into account when planning their own feature work, while also maintaining continuity. This approach allowed designers to plan ahead for related features, ensuring cohesive user flows without delaying timelines.
Usability Testing ON A SHOESTRING
With no budget for usability testing (a new concept for the client), we partnered with the client’s HR team to identify four recent Michael Kors hires from various departments who were unfamiliar with our work and could serve as an internal testing group. Using a low-fidelity prototype of a product listing page with filters and navigation and a product detail page, we observed how they searched for and selected products.
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We documented behaviors on sticky notes, categorizing what worked and what didn’t. Designers and product managers analyzed the findings, refining structures and details to streamline product discovery and speed up purchase decisions.
Redefining THE DISCOVERY EXPERIENCE
We developed an intuitive search feature with predictive and suggested keywords as well as enhanced navigations, filters and sort features, allowing users to customize their shopping experience. The product listing grid instantly populated results as users typed, creating personalized pages based on their criteria rather than pre-set brand categories. This feature, introduced in early 2017, has since become standard across other e-commerce sites.
BUILDING A Design System
To facilitate communication and consistency among designers and developers across different countries, I established a set of clear, easy-to-follow rules and formulas. The comprehensive design system guide covers design foundations, components, modules, patterns, grid systems, and guidelines.
Integrating Content Marketing
We integrated Michael Kors’ content marketing strategy into product listing pages. While users browse products, they can also learn about the latest trends and models, and get behind the scene stories.
