Helping surfers find their gear

I saw an opportunity to strengthen the Rockaway surf community by adding e-commerce to a local surf shop's website. This integration expanded access to a wider range of surf gear, making it easier for surfers to shop while staying connected to the local scene.

Surfers need a way to conveniently online shop so they can spend more time being active and connecting within the surf community.

Boarders is a local surf shop in Rockaway Beach NYC that prides itself in its roots to the local community and offers the best surf products in the area. In addition to selling surfboards and accessories, they offer clothing, surf lessons, and rental lockers for the day to house surfboards. Although Boarders has a website to showcase all their inventory and offerings, they do not have an e-commerce platform.

So why do they need e-commerce?

• The business needs additional ways to make up for lost revenue during the pandemic. Although there was a boost in surfing during the pandemic, since the store itself was not essential there were many months that sales were lost.

• Due to the number of people visiting NYC again, they are becoming globally recognized for their one-of-a-kind offerings and need a way to share that with shoppers.

Things to Consider

• Keeping track of inventory, receipts, and payroll. Adding e-commerce adds a financial layer to the business.

• Continuing to keep the sense of community that the shop thrives on.

Getting to know the User

By interviewing surfers in the area, I was able to gain a lot of insight into their behaviors and goals through a few questions.

• How do you like to discover surf products?

• Tell me about the last time you purchased something from a surf shop.

• Can you recall a situation when you purchased a surf-related product online?

• Can you describe your experience when you couldn't find something in a store that you knew you could find online?

Sketches

Since the website already existed, I wanted to integrate the e-commerce section within the main global navigation.

• Most of the sketches were completed to show how merchandise would be displayed with the same overall feeling of the existing website.

• The improved events page needed a revamp so adding the calendar helped to streamline that page and searching for local events.

Completion of a prototype with after addressing user insights

Affinity Mapping

After conducting interviews I took a better look at my users behaviors and created "I" statements and HMW statements to remember throughout my process.

Competitive Analysis

I looked at a few local shops nearby as well as a major national retailer that is carried in some of these shops as well.

Comparative Anaylsis

Although it was hard to find a comparative local analysis, these brands had comparable initiatives that i wanted to highlight.

Refining Information Architecture

The website already existed for Boarders but we needed to add all the items they sell and make sure the user knows where to find it.

Using 2 card sorting activities, one open and one hybrid, I was able to add the information architecture for the products to purchase on the site so users would easily be able to locate specific products.

Sitemap with Improved IA

Creating a sitemap for the current website enabled me to reevaluate where the new information architecture would be implemented.

• Although a shop section currently exists, there are only pictures of the actual shop and no e-commerce options.

• The events page also exists, however it is out of date and does not consider all customers for events posted.

Evaluating the User Flows

To make sure the user can get through the checkout process fully, I created three user flows that demonstrate Timmy's needs.

Timmy is looking to buy a new wetsuit for the fall season and wants to be eco-conscious of the materials used. Since it is still summer, he would also like to find a family event in Rockaway to bring his son to before the summer is over.

Creating Pages for User Flows

First Round of prototype, User Testing

I created a task list to guide the user to purchase a wetsuit.

• Find a mens eco-conscious wetsuit and purchase.

• Find a local family event in Rockaway.

Outcomes

Test participants had a very hard time finding the eco conscious version of a wetsuit but were able to find the events page with family activities.

The final prototype has a better distinction of an eco conscious wetsuit. The events page was also slightly redesigned to direct users to the events based on both the icon and the date to give two ways to find events faster.

Reflections

Creating an online platform for users to make purchases will greatly benefit a small business that already receives foot traffic. In this case, the local community will always be more prevalent since the activity is reliant upon the store being close to the water.

Technical

• Having an image on the product page for wetsuits is redundant and something i can change.

• There were also aspects of my prototype that needed to be updated. The checkout process assumed the user was signed in and this should be corrected to reflect someone who doesn't have an account or a new user

  Comprehensive

• Although adding a more robust events page does help stimulate the community, the community will always be maintained at the store when people come in to ask for recommendations and need a place to find guidance and support.  

• Having e-commerce will boost sales in things that surfers use frequently.

• Considering being able to rent a locker online would be a great addition to their inventory platform.