Work In Progress

Rivers and Reefs Pet Center Case Study

Several local retailers are struggling to stay in operation for years because of competition from e-commerce giants such as Amazon and eBay. The main objective of this project was to introduce e-commerce experiences that truly reflect the brick & mortar experiences that the pet center curates.

Rivers & Reefs Pet Center Website Overview

Rivers & Reefs Pet Center is a pet store located in Austin, Texas. It is family owned and has been in operation for over 30 years. They sell supplies for dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles. Their website is a one page website that contains picture of their building, Covid-19 updates, 10% off coupon, customer testimonials, brand names they carry, a gallery of their store, contact, address, and business hours.

My Contributions:

Because this was a solo project, I was involved in all aspects of the design process such as competitor analysis, card sorting, user persona, user flows, sketch wireframes, mid-fidelity wireframes, and usability testing.

Tools:

Figma, Figjam, Unsplash.com and ProvenByUsers.com.

Scope and Constraints:

I had to pick one out of five target users, all of which are motivated to shop locally, online, and catering to their preferences and behaviors.

Users and Audience

Although the pet store’s website isn’t the most user friendly, based on my business background, they must be doing something right for them to have been in business over 30 years. To get a better understanding of their clients, I read through customer reviews on Google and Yelp.
Reading through the reviews, it seems like customers like coming to this pet store because its family owned/operated, staff is knowledgeable, and excellent customer service. Several customers pointed out that they drive about an hour just to shop at this pet store, many stating that they love the community-like feeling they get when shopping there.
For the not so great reviews, customers often complained about the unavailability of certain products and/or the prices being too high.

What are challenges users face?
- They aren’t able to see which products are being sold
- They aren’t able to see the price of the products
- They aren’t able to see customer reviews of products
What solutions can be provide?
- A listing of the products the pet store sells
- Price, general info, and availability of products
- Allow customers to read and input reviews of products

Competitor & Comparative Analysis

Competitor Analysis

I completed a competitor analysis to see what how other pet stores have designed their e-commerce websites. The main competitors I compared Rivers & Reefs are Tomlinson’s, Kriser’s, and Bark Avenue. All three competitors had product info (prices, availability, and customer reviews) and filter options.

Comparative Analysis

I also completed a comparative analysis of three other e-commerce websites that aren’t pet stores, such as Amazon, Etsy, and Zappos. All three websites had product info (prices, availability, and customer reviews) and filter options.

Site Map

This site map was created with the help of card sorting activities performed by users. Site map helps visualize website navigation and structure. To view full site map, click the button below.

Site Map

Persona

**Name**: Leilani - The Gift Giver
**Location**: Austin, TX
**Age**: 28
**Occupation**: Interior Designer
**Scenario:** Leilani has been invited to her a friend’s puppy’s 1st Birthday. While she loves to buy gifts for friends and family, she often waits until the last minute to buy their gifts. Leilani needs to find a gift for the puppy who’s birthday party is this upcoming weekend.
**Overall Needs & Goals:**
Gift within $25 - $50
Likes taking recommendations for gifts
In-Store pickup or expedited shipping to home
**Behaviors:**
Makes purchases quickly
Buys gifts at last minute
Does not read reviews

Problem Statement

Leilani needs to buy a gift online from Rivers & Reefs Pet Center and have it delivered so that she can make it on time to the puppy’s birthday party.
How Might We...

HMW organize the pet store’s website so that Leilani is able to make a purchase decision quickly and get the gift delivered to Leilani at a convenient time?

User Flow

I created the main user flow starting from the landing page to the payment confirmation. Creating this user flow helped me think through the necessary steps a user would take to purchase an item from the pet store.