Complete end-to-end design. Gift Card Exchange website.
Role
Senior Product Designer
Company
Gift Card Exchange
Date
March 2022
I. Project Overview
GCX (Gift Card Exchange) is an e-commerce platform specialising in selling, and exchanging of gift cards. Whilst other gift card providers focus solely on the purchaser, we recognise the importance of the recipient, the experience they have and the potential for them to become purchasers in their own right.
My Role
I led the end-to-end design of the GCX website, overseeing the entire process from purchase to delivery. I was responsible for the research, prioritising of features, facilitating customer interviews, user experience and the user interface. I collaborated closely with product, developers, marketing, and key stakeholders. In addition, I worked on implementing a figma design system.
The Problem
The existing website was outdated, difficult to navigate, not optimised for mobile devices, and lacked modern e-commerce features essential for driving sales. My challenge was to revamp the website to improve user experience, boost engagement, and ensure intuitive navigation, while also designing for scalability to support future updates and new features.
01. Outdated look didn’t match GCX’s vision.
02. Hard to navigate layout.
03. Not mobile friendly.
04. Missing key e-commerce features.
05. Limited scalability.
The Solution
Redesign the GCX website to be user-friendly, scalable, improving navigation and engagement for both purchasers and recipients.
01. Simplified navigation.
02. Clean, engaging interface.
03. Added search and filters.
04. Built for future growth.
II. Design Process
Research & Strategy
Before beginning, I completed a comprehensive website audit and competitor research to identify opportunities and areas for improvement.
Competitor research
Key Takeaways
Opportunities
• Bulk buying for businesses.
• Physical gift card options.
• Focus on exchanging unwanted gift cards.
• Offer incentives for frequent buyers to build loyalty.
Weaknesses
• Limited variety in gift card brands.
• Less brand awareness in the gift card market.
• Possible trust concerns surrounding gift card exchanges.
Strengths
Our key strength is our branded gift cards are not activated when purchased, unlike those of all our competitors, whose gift cards come activated. This sets us aparts and creates opportunities for exchanging your gift card.
Planning and facilitation
I then started working alongside product and devs to prioritise the features that we needed to get the website up and running and ready for launch.
Prioritisation of features
Customer journey
I created a customer journey map for the purchase process. This map assisted the developers in visualising how users navigate through the website during each phase of the buying process.
Main flow for a 1st time user
Information architecture
Using the business requirements and user flows, I was able to determine the site map for the core site architecture providing a clear structure.
Sitemap
User Testing
To better understand our potential users we conducted moderated user testing end-to-end to understand pain points and user behaviour with 4 participants.
The primary flows that required testing were:
• Receiving an Exchange Card (Swap Card). The user would receive credits.
• Purchasing a Gift Card. Users could then use these credits to buy a gift card.
What we tested:
• Recipient flow end-to-end.
• Exchange card feedback.
• Receiving and using credits.
We thoroughly tested how users reacted to receiving an exchange card (Swap card). Our model focused on converting the exchange card into GCX Credits.
Primary user flows – Receiving / purchase with credits.
User testing results
These sessions helped us to validate some assumptions in rapid time, and provided important qualitative feedback to improve the designs.
Some of the pain points we came across.
Problem:
Using credits for purchasing a gift card. Some struggled to click the checkbox to continue.
The solution:
Before the user could continue they needed to toggle and choose between either pay with credits or pay with credit card before proceeding to next step.
Problem:
Users didn’t know what to do next after activating the gift card.
The solution:
Make it very clear on what to do next. Spend online (link to retailer)
Spend in-store (link to location).
Problem:
Some users were unsure if they were logging in or signing up and had confusion of why they had to log in.
The solution:
We removed the navigation bar items, updated the messaging and added more trust by displaying social links. Moved the acceptance screen before logging in.
Test Result Revisions
I presented the testing results back to the team and key stakeholders. This presentation highlighted the pain points and outlined the opportunities for improvements.
Improvements and opportunities
Design System
Next task was to create a design system, including style guides for typography, colour, icons, and components. This significantly reduced design and development time for new features. This enabled rapid prototyping and testing of new features, reducing the deployment cycle. The system also allowed for easier scaling of new product features.
Design system components
Design Phase
The website design process unfolded seamlessly and efficiently. The design system dramatically reduced my workflow. With the framework for purchasing and delivering gift cards already established, I was able to focus on the designs.
Designs were tested and refined, increasing in fidelity for development handoff.
01
Exchange card (swap card) acceptance
Swap card converted into credits.
02
Pay with credits purchase
Gift card purchase using credits.
03
Credit card / Bank transfer purchase
Gift card purchase using other payment options.
04
Account Information
My Orders, Redeem GCX+ Points, Track your Gift Cards, Live Activity Feed and Profile Details.
The Exchange (Branded cards) – Post launch
We designed a platform feature to give recipients the opportunity to Exchange branded gift cards for GCX credits to purchase a gift card of their choice or Regift and send it to a friend.
Data insights
The Australian unused gift card market is currently a staggering $1.4 Billion.
Market share for unwanted Gift Card Market.
With current data insights a large portion (46.9%) of these cards were unwanted, unless they can be traded or repurposed.
Market Share
Australian Unwanted Gift Card market breakdown
The Exchange features included
Exchange
Exchange your gift cards you don’t want for GCX credits. Use those credits to pick out a new gift card that suits your needs.
*This was based on a system that provided Dynamic Market Pricing.
Regift
Regift to someone else. With this feature, you can effortlessly send your unwanted gift cards directly to a friend without them knowing that it’s been regifted.
*This service was free
Activation
Easily activate your gift card to start using it right away.
The Exchange & Regifting features
GCX+ Points Based Loyalty Program
Introduced a loyalty system to reward frequent users, encouraging repeat purchases. Designed a points system where users earn points for every transaction, with points redeemable for credits and then can be used to purchase gift cards.
GCX+ Loyalty Program with points system
III. Final Designs
Final designs
IV. Next steps
Recipient Unboxing
The recipient flow we currently have is static. We wanted to take it further and add some slick animations to make it more fun and interactive. We knew we had to bring that extra wow factor to keep ahead of the competition.
V. Outcome
Customers
90,000+
40K+ users / month
Growing
Gift cards purchased
+80% YOY
Sales
Total sales
$32M annually
This resulted in a more intuitive interface with a consistent look and feel across the whole website and significantly improved user engagement and conversion rates. In the 2 years of going live we resulted in growing our client base to 90K+.
Increased user engagement significantly improved user interaction and transaction processes, contributing to +80% YOY of gift card purchases.
The company’s gift card sales quickly rose well above $1 million per month in the second half of 2022 and is presently turning over ~$32 million per annum.