LEGO SHOP CASE STUDY

PROBLEM

Since 1932, LEGO has been known for their bricks and for giving children engaging experiences. However, as online shopping began to account for the majority of sales, users of the site were frustrated using an outdated site. I was tasked with helping update and improve their user experience.

SOLUTION

Working with a small team, I focused on making searching easier. We decided to allow users to sort by theme, and then drill down to the sets organized by age, price, pieces, theme, category, and product details. This way, users could find exactly what they were looking for quickly. We also made a visually similar call to action called “Add to Bag” to align the experience with the retail LEGO store where you get a bright yellow bag with each purchase.

My role: work with the business, product owners and technology to map out the new structure in wireframes.

THE PROCESS

Research

Our research uncovered that:

• Price is a primary factor in where to buy: highlight sales & deals

• Related items are important: parents want to clearly understand how to buy all products in a range

• Search / Global Nav were confusing

• Searching by theme was seen as related to a child’s interest rather than a type of product

 After we synthesized the results, we decided to focus on:

• Menu: make it clear and use terms users use, not internal terms  

• Search: make it easy to search in a variety of ways

• Filtering capability: drill down to what you are looking for quickly

• Guides and information within the shop: if people are looking for a gift for a child, let’s help them

• Reduce duplicative and unnecessary steps: don’t make them do the same step over and over

Personas

We uncovered four key personas:

Kids: want to find sets that they can do (eg, some sets are too hard for small kids)

Parents: get recommendations on what to buy, shop quickly, save preferences

Gift Buyers: shop for the best deals and get gift ideas, see if items are in stock locally

AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego): find specific, obscure sets

Wireframes

The wireframes I created focused on multiple flows including:

• Logged in

• Not logged in

• Nothing in bag

• Order status

• Region change

• Unsupported region/language

• LEGO VIP customer

• Ability to shop by:

  • Theme

  • Category

  • Age range

  • Exclusive offers

  • What’s new

  • Sale

User Testing with Kids and Adults

User testing focused on the following areas:

• Reduce cart abandonment and malfunctions

• Personalization A/B tests

• Reduce number of searches that turn up empty

Hi Fidelity Screens

The goal of the design system was to bring a sense of play and humor to the site. Since many users were children, it was important to make it visual as it was easier for them to search using images rather than words.

OUTCOME

From beginning to end, the project lasted only six months (an extremely tight deadline for a total e-commerce redesign).

We had to make sure it would be functional before the busy holiday shopping season and we did.

Our efforts paid off when LEGO won a Webby Award for the new shop redesign and customers worldwide appreciated the improved shopping experience.

TAKEAWAYS

• A full e-commerce site design takes a long time and more than six months is needed

• It’s important to have all stakeholders aligned on what the goals are from day one

• Try to have everything that is done be backed up by research or data. Be careful of falling into the trap of designing based on your own personal preference or feeling. You are not the user!

• Designing for children requires a different way of thinking and the only way to know how they think is to ask them.