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Сase: H&M online shopping
To find growth
points in the online
purchase process
Сase: H&M online shopping
To find growth
points in the online
purchase process
Case
At Convergent, we often research user experience, design websites, analyze how efficient e- commerce funnels are. In a nutshell, we create digital solutions people need.

This case study is about how our team works on customer journey, which can be helpful for those who would like to increase their share of online store orders. We used the Russian online store of H&M, a major retail network, as an example.

Case

At Convergent, we often research user experience, design websites, analyze how efficient e- commerce funnels are. In a nutshell, we create digital solutions people need.

This case study is about how our team works on customer journey, which can be helpful for those who would like to increase their share of online store orders. We used the Russian online store of H&M, a major retail network, as an example.
About H&M Group
H&M is a Swedish company, Europe's largest clothing retail chain, one of the most famous fashion retailers in Russia. 155 stores across the country.
The company focuses mainly on developing various sales channels, including offline stores, an online store, applications, and social media accounts.

About H&M Group

H&M is a Swedish company, Europe's largest clothing retail chain, one of the most famous fashion retailers in Russia. 155 stores across the country

The company focuses mainly on developing various sales channels, including offline stores, an online store, applications, and social media accounts.
Insight
  • 80%
    In 80% of cases, customers are lost when registering a personal account, filling out forms or choosing products, which is between the customer's first visit of the website/the store and their first actual purchase
  • 32%
    For 32% of buyers, it takes just one negative experience to stop interacting with the brand altogether
Insight

  • In 80% of cases, customers are lost when registering a personal account, filling out forms or choosing products, which is between the customer's first visit of the website/the store and their first actual purchase

    80%

  • For 32% of buyers, it takes just one negative experience to stop interacting with the brand altogether

    32%

Objective

Analyze the user journey in the H&M online store and find growth points in the online purchase process in order to increase the share of completed orders.
To do this, we used the Customer Journey Map*
* A Customer Journey Map reflects all the customer's interactions with the brand between the point where they become aware of their need and the moment they become a loyal customer.
Objective

Analyze the user journey in the H&M online store and find growth points in the online purchase process in order to increase the share of completed orders.

To do this, we used the Customer Journey Map*


* A Customer Journey Map reflects all the customer's interactions with the brand between the point where they become aware of their need and the moment they become a loyal customer.
Collecting Information
Collecting Information
  • The customers were divided into two categories:
    1. Those who have already ordered from the H&M online store.
    2. Those who buy their clother online but have never ordered from the H&M online store.
  • We used two ways to collect information:
    1. In-depth interviews with users, asking them about their purchase history and the emotions they experienced at the time.
    2. Moderated usability testing, which allowed us to detect the barriers and growth points in specific situations.
  • Defining Contact Points
    You can make and place an order on the H&M website or in the mobile app. So far we have only analyzed one platform, the website.
CJM
Based on user research, we identified the main points where the users interact with the website and put them on the Customer Journey Map.

You can see the full version of CJM in Miro
CJM

Based on user research, we identified the main points where the users interact with the website and put them on the Customer Journey Map.

You can see the full version of CJM in Miro

Stage 1

Recognition: awareness of the need and visiting the online store

Goal
Find something cute to wear in the H&M store
Barriers
  1. What you can find on Pinterest is mostly from the international catalog, so it is impossible to quickly find the ID numbers of the desired items.
  2. When you go to the website, you have to select a country, and the country list is extensive.
Positive Aspects
  1. The store presents stylish collections in social networks, including on Pinterest.
  2. The online store catalog search takes into account various parameters, such as color, material and cut.
  3. If you search for the model or the brand, the search engine links you to the product card.
Our Recommendations
  1. Enable automatic location detection when you first visit the website, so the user doesn't have to look for their country manually.
  2. Add a search option to the list of countries so that the users don't have to scroll down and scan the list for their country.
  3. Put the country and currency selection in the header if it gets changed to be selected automatically from the beginning.
  • Our Recommendations
    1. Enable automatic location detection when you first visit the website, so the user doesn't have to look for their country manually.
    2. Add a search option to the list of countries so that the users don't have to scroll down and scan the list for their country.
    3. Put the country and currency selection in the header if it gets changed to be selected automatically from the beginning.

Stage 2

Product Search

Goal
Find what you need and what you like easily
Barriers
  1. There are a lot of items in the menu, and not all of them are intuitive.
  2. Some filters do not correspond to the categories: e.g. the filter in the Sweatshirts & Hoodies section contains "jacket" and "jumper" as Product Type.
  3. Irrelevant products are shown as results, for example, it shows children's pants in the "glasses" query. It also doesn't recognize synonyms.
Positive aspects
  1. The search bar autofills the most popular queries.
  2. There are many filters that allow you to refine the selection as much as possible.
Our recommendations
  1. Group menu items into small blocks so that they can be more easily perceived.
  2. Redesign the filter system: remove duplicates, keep only the key ones and exclude the filters that have only one value to choose from.
  3. Improve the search algorithm to make it at least find exact matches for the query in all cases (showing children's pants in the query "glasses") and take into account synonyms (show trench coats in a "raincoat" query, etc.).
  • Our recommendations
    1. Group menu items into small blocks so that they can be more easily perceived.
    2. Redesign the filter system: remove duplicates, keep only the key ones and exclude the filters that have only one value to choose from.
    3. Improve the search algorithm to make it at least find exact matches for the query in all cases (showing children's pants in the query "glasses") and take into account synonyms (show trench coats in a "raincoat" query, etc.).

Stage 3

Choosing a product and adding it to the cart

Goal
Choose the product you like in the right size and color and add it to the cart
Barriers
  1. Product cards sometimes contain lengthy and not very informative descriptions, and important information is placed in a separate tab that is not that obvious to find.
  2. Size charts sometimes have European sizes or sizes from other categories. Users have difficulty finding a sizing guide for the item they are viewing.
Positive aspects
  1. In the card, it is easy to see other colors and sizes you can get the product in, and if the size you need is not available, you can subscribe to notifications.
  2. If the user hasn't selected a size when adding the product to the cart, a size selection window opens instead of error messages, which is convenient.
  3. A separate block with looks using the products inspires users to buy more.
  4. You can place an order without going to the Shopping Cart.
Our recommendations
  1. Take out all the important information in the basic section of the product card, especially the size guide, as well as delivery, fitting and availability information.
  2. Choose a dimensional system and stick to it to avoid misleading the users.
  3. Always maximize the size guide window to full screen to avoid horizontal scrolling.
  • Our recommendations
    1. Take out all the important information in the basic section of the product card, especially the size guide, as well as delivery, fitting and availability information.
    2. Choose a dimensional system and stick to it to avoid misleading the users.
    3. Always maximize the size guide window to full screen to avoid horizontal scrolling.

Stage 4

Making an order

Goal
Place orders quickly and easily, applying all the discounts that are relevant
Barriers
  1. The loyalty program bonuses and discounts are not transparent.
  2. Promotions and one-time offers disappear or break down during the order process.
  3. The registration form contains many fields. If one of them is filled in incorrectly, the user will have to look for the error themselves.
  4. They only choose a shipping option at the very end, not knowing if it is paid or free.
  5. If the user already has an account, they can't log in using an SMS code or restore their login using their phone number.
Positive aspects
  1. In the loyalty program, the user can get points for various actions: refusing to use a plastic bag, inviting a friend, etc.
  2. There is a lot of fields, but all of them are signed, and the mandatory ones are marked.
  3. Immediately after the user enters the correct username and password, the order page opens with all the data they have filled in (i.e. authorization does not break the script).
  4. It is convenient that all personal data, addresses and delivery methods get saved, so it just takes one click for you to place a new order later on.
Our Recommendations
  1. Explain the discounting principle in the right window from the very beginning, and provide more details on what bonus points mean in the personal account.
  2. Review the overall logic of accrual and deduction of the bonus points and simplify the loyalty program.
  3. Improve the order form: display filling-in errors immediately (not after sending the form), explain what specific fields are needed for.
  4. Move the shipping selection to the beginning of the order placing process and display its price/price range.
  • Our Recommendations
    1. Explain the discounting principle in the right window from the very beginning, and provide more details on what bonus points mean in the personal account.
    2. Review the overall logic of accrual and deduction of the bonus points and simplify the loyalty program.
    3. Improve the order form: display filling-in errors immediately (not after sending the form), explain what specific fields are needed for.
    4. Move the shipping selection to the beginning of the order placing process and display its price/price range.

Stage 5

Payment

Goal
Pay for the orders in an easy-to-use and convenient way
Barriers
Information on payment methods is not very clear
Positive aspects
It is convenient that you can pay immediately or upon receipt
Our Recommendations
Describe each payment method in more detail and specify restrictions, if applicable.
  • Our Recommendations
    Describe each payment method in more detail and specify restrictions, if applicable.

Stage 6

Receiving and returning

Goal
Convenient receipt of the goods and returning them if they were not a good fit
Barriers
  1. Order confirmation emails contain no information on delivery time and date.
  2. The following important details are not communicated to the customers: order tracking ID and for how long the goods will be stored at the pickup point.
  3. Neither the delivery status nor the return status can be tracked online.
Positive aspects
  1. Free shipping for orders of more than RUB 2,000.
  2. There are different shipping options so you can choose the one that suits you best.
  3. You can return the goods through the same channel you used to get the goods, including through the store.
Our recommendations
  1. Add information on the delivery date and status to the order confirmation email.
  2. Finalize order-related communication: report the track ID of the order to be sent by Russian Post, allow the users to choose shipping time if they are using courier delivery, and report on how long orders can be kept at the pick-up points.
  • Our recommendations
    1. Add information on the delivery date and status to the order confirmation email.
    2. Finalize order-related communication: report the track ID of the order to be sent by Russian Post, allow the users to choose shipping time if they are using courier delivery, and report on how long orders can be kept at the pick-up points.
Results

Results

When compiling the CJM, we found quite a lot of positive points, which means different customers have good purchase experience with H&M. But just like everywhere else, there is always room for improvement ;)

If we had quantitative data from the funnel, we could evaluate microconversions, identify priority steps and gradually implement the improvements. But this map also shows the main difficulties the users face when interacting with the H&M online store.
When compiling the CJM, we found quite a lot of positive points, which means different customers have good purchase experience with H&M. But just like everywhere else, there is always room for improvement ;)

If we had quantitative data from the funnel, we could evaluate microconversions, identify priority steps and gradually implement the improvements. But this map also shows the main difficulties the users face when interacting with the H&M online store.
Do you want to analyze the user experience for your product?
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