Empathy in UX Design for E-commerce

Empathizing with your customers is the first step in creating a successful e-commerce user experience (UX). In our case, we consider the role of empathy in the context of e-commerce in a narrower niche – baby carrier for newborn children.

Baby K'tan is a solution that will help parents be closer to their children during the first years of their lives. Baby wearing allows caregivers to keep the baby close and safe while keeping both hands free. Focusing on the target audience and adhering to the authenticity of the Baby K'tan brand, the updated regional online store helps parents focus on what is most important to them - the safety and benefits for the child, while reducing the time spent searching for goods and choosing it.

A particular challenge for in this case is maximum responsibility, since we are talking about the health of a newborn child and his mother. We know that during the postpartum period, all the mother's attention is focused only on the child. And this fragile balance must not be disturbed. The goal was to make navigation as simple as possible. And at the same time, maintain consistency in presenting relevant information throughout the user journey. The complexity of the product lies in the need to accompany it with a large amount of information describing its properties and confirming its reliability. At the stage of initial communication and further testing with a focus group, it was possible to divide this information into three levels of importance and develop a system for its presentation.

At the initial stages of developing the project concept, there was a low point due to the difficulty of combining two goals: important information should be transmitted to the user quickly and easily accessible, but without losing the quality of the information and important aspects. The key was empathy and immersion in the lifestyle and needs of modern parents after the birth of a child. After prototype testing when we saw that this puzzle finally came together, there were emotions that can be compared to an “aha! moment.”

To make the most empathic UX design, you need to try to understand in what conditions, at what time and under what circumstances your user will interact with your design.

The main users are mothers who are preparing for the birth of a child and mothers of newborn babies and are looking for devices to ease the postpartum period. The main problem she faces is the lack of time that she can spend studying the issue and the solution should be easy and obvious

The main task is to emphasize expert opinion. The period after birth is extremely important to all mothers, it is full of vivid emotions, tender moments. We understand that our goal is to help focus on these moments. Anxiety and daily routine can be very distracting.

Focusing on the target audience and relying on the brand identity of Baby K'TAN, i have developed an online store redesign for the regional branch.

The research was conducted in several stages and for each a target focus group was assembled – women preparing to become mothers (45%), mothers with children aged 1-2 years (45%) and fathers. We believe this proportion most accurately reflects the user. Based on the Baby K’Tan data, in addition to working with the focus group, the main principles of the design concept were highlighted: minimalism, gender neutrality, maximum ease of navigation and simple but relevant animation of element.

What is the essence of the product or service? What are the core benefits for the target group?

Your little one depends on you for everything, and at times this can feel overwhelming. But for the last nine months, you were her whole world, and in a few short years, she’ll want down instead of “up, up!” The truth is, for right now just the beat of your heart under hers is enough. Relish it while you can with an intuitive carrier that wraps her up tightly, close against you.

The user journey begins with the moment the purchase decision is made and ends with the moment when the mother can truly say that her hands are free and her child is comfortable. The essence of the project is that the process of choosing a carrier, selecting the right size, understanding how to use it correctly, it is quite complicated, because we are talking about the health of the child. The difficulty also lies in the fact that users (mothers) are faced with one of the most serious changes in their lives, which also affects them at different levels. In this regard, it was decided to move in the direction of simplifying navigation as much as possible. Also, according to our research, mothers who decide to purchase a baby carrier after the birth of their child often conduct their research at night, when the child is already sleeping and this is the only time free for them for tasks of this kind. In this regard, a color concept was developed so as not to increase the load on the girl’s tired body.

In conclusion I can said that heartfelt approach as important as data and metrics. While technological prowess and design innovation remain integral, it is the sincere approach that truly resonates with users.