The Approach

We scoped an expansive discovery process to get a solid understanding of their market, their business, their supply chain, their competition and their target audience. We selected two metro areas that over-indexed for purchase volume and frequency for in-person interviews, and conducted in-lab depth interviews and open card sort in one metro and then conducted in-home depth observation, interviews and open card sort in the other. We also did in loco observation in a number of retail stores and in the company’s call center and distribution facility. And of course we spoke with stakeholders across digital, retail, merchandising, support and distribution.

The Findings

Business leaders wanted to lean into buy online pick up in store so that the retail locations would still get credit for sales in the area. Merchandisers wanted to invest in ideas and inspiration and move more upscale to compete with Etsy and the handmade trends they were noticing. Customer support noticed that customers wanted help with executing their ideas, but they weren’t trained for this. And the distribution centers organized the warehouse to maximize efficiency, which gave us a lot of insight into what tends to be purchased together.

Meanwhile, we learned that customers wanted more help with execution and less with ideas. They wanted party planning to be faster and easier. Things like balloon delivery and party in a box were really appealing to them because it would save them time and mental energy. And most customers weren’t looking for handmade and unique, but rather affordable and thematic. They tended to find one unique item and then fill in the rest with low cost on-theme items.

The Outcome

This led to a site redesign focused on an easier e-commerce experience, content focused on easy execution of ideas, and shopping by theme rather than item type. Years later, the business launched some of our other recommendations such as leaning into party kits and balloon delivery.

Activities: stakeholder interviews, market research, competitive audit, in loco observation, in-home interviews, in-lab interviews, card sorting

Deliverables: personas, journeys, prioritized list of digital opportunities, proposed information architecture