UI/UX Case Study: Pepperfry
Brief: As a part of a UI/UX module, we were given the opportunity to redesign the user experience and user interface of an existing platform. My partner (Sakshi Mangudkar) and I, did an in-depth analysis of Pepperfry as a whole, the existing interface and problems with the existing interface. We, along with the guidance of our mentors, Abhrojit Sir and Rajeev Sir, proposed changes to improve the user experience and user interface of the website.
Disclaimer: This is not affiliated with the official website/organization of Pepperfry. This case study is purely for educational purposes only.
Pepperfry
Category: Home Decor, Kitchen Appliances, Furniture, Furnishing etc.
Sector: IT & Technology.
Tagline/ Slogan: Happy furniture To You.
USP: Great variety of products at amazing rates.
Stakeholder Analysis
We started our research by doing a stakeholder analysis where we identified the different internal and external stakeholders and mapped their needs and expectations from Pepperfry.
Stakeholder Mapping
Sellers: Secure payments, good reach to customers, easy shipping, reviews from customers, a transparent monetary system.
Employees: Healthy and respectable workspace, good incentive, fair payments, fair work days and treatment.
Customers: Ease in navigation and finding products, affordable price range, good quality, sufficient information about product, deliverable to their location, safe delivery, good customer service, warranty & guarantee.
Design Partners: Suitable studio location, healthy workspace, good reviews from current designers there, good incentive, clear communication with clients, provision of work materials.
Delivery Agents: Availability of warehouses, good system between all the involved parties, fair payments, respectable workspace.
SWOT Analysis
- For the categories it caters to, having 1 million customers is an exemplary record.
2. Partnership with more than 1000 merchants
3. 55000+ plus products in product categories like home appliances, furniture, body & bath, lamps & lighting etc.
4. 600 plus national and international brands like Godrej Interio, Hometown, Evok, Philips, Raymond, Joseph Joseph, M.
5. Offline stores like Studio Pepperfry will strengthen its brand by giving an opportunity to customers to experience and customize.
B. Weaknesses:
1. Furniture shipping entails huge shipping costs compared to other sectors like apparel and Setting up of offline stores can be capital intensive.
2. Increasing competition from new players and unorganized sector can affect market share
C. Opportunities
- Collaboration with real estate online portals can increase position
- Tie-up with corporate to be an infrastructure partner.
D. Threats
1. Popular and established portals like Amazon, Flipkart making their foray in the home decor business.
2. Preference for offline mode still exists in the segment which it operates in.
3. Investment from big investors like Soft Bank, Rocket Internet in rival companies.
Target Audience Analysis
Taking information from online reviews and Pepperfry ads, we identified the target audience. A broad description of the target audience would be: 24+, middle class- upper class, busy working-class people, bachelors, elders or families from tier-2/tier-1 cities.
Identifying Different Customer Clusters
Customer Cluster 1: Newly married couples, age: (24+), from suburban/urban areas, young-working individuals, looking to furnish their first homes, usually go for the latest trends.
Customer Cluster 2: Elderly people looking for an easy way to buy comfortable furniture. Elderly (60+)living alone in suburban/urban areas who can’t go to physical furniture stores.
Customer Cluster 3: Indian families from suburban/urban areas with middle aged, elderly & children.
Customer Cluster 4: Customers from upper class looking to collect unique/trendy items.
Customer Cluster 5: Small cafes/restaurants/businesses looking for affordable interior design solutions.
Creating User Personas For Different Clusters
Disclaimer: All the personas created are purely fictional and have been created for research purposes only. We do not intend to offend any parties involved. All images taken have been cited.
Customer Cluster 1:
Jay (28) and Sanjana Malhotra (27). Jay works as a Web Developer, while Sanjana works as Market Communication Executive. They live in South Delhi. They recently bought their own house and are looking to furnish it amidst their busy schedules.
What motivates them to buy from Pepperfry: A wide range of trendy products to choose from, a way to find unique pieces easily, quicker and more efficient, an urge to remain up-to-date with the latest trends and “have a posh/modern look to your house”.
Why would they hesitate to buy from Pepperfry: Hesitant about the quality and durability of products, Unsure about delivery timings.
Customer Cluster 2:
Kishore Goswami, 76 years old, living in Mangalore, Karnataka. He is a VM (Retd.) Air Vice Marshal. He has a son, who lives in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He now lives in a small apartment complex located in a tight-knit neighborhood. He is looking for products that will make living alone easier for him (ex: Reading lamps, Recliners, Bedside Tables etc.)
What motivates him to buy from PepperFry: Easy assembly and delivery, not having to go to a physical store, different products that cater to his specific needs, his son orders a product from Mumbai and Kishore will receive it in Mangalore.
Why would he hesitate to buy from Pepperfry: If he has to buy on his own, he would hesitate to navigate through the website.
Customer Cluster 3:
The Mehta family lives in Jaipur. The family belongs to a middle class house where the house has four working members. The oldest in the house is 75 years old and the youngest is 2 years old.
What motivates them to buy from PepperFry: They find it easier to buy online because of the chaotic environment in their house as it is harder to take out time to visit physical furniture stores. Online shopping also provides them with unique pieces that would probably not be available in their locality and cater to their and their kid’s needs.
Why would they hesitate to buy from Pepperfry: Maybe the elderly of the family don’t trust the online process. Hesitant about the quality of the products. Afraid of fraudsters/loosing money.
Customer Cluster 4:
Sakeena Akhtar and Pranoy Mukherjee are a married, rich- upper class couple from South Mumbai. He is the owner of a family-owned business and she has her own clothing line. They have a keen eye for unique pieces to decorate their house.
What motivates them to buy from PepperFry: The modular furniture option will attract them, use this site for gifting and as a source to find unique/trendy decorative pieces to furnish their house.
Why would they hesitate to buy from Pepperfry: They wouldn’t consider pepperfry as their first choice as they would prefer to buy from foriegn brands/more luxurious brands. Very hesitant about quality or knock-off products.
Customer Cluster 5:
Urban Turban, is a small cafe/restaurant business owned by three brothers in Haryana. They are looking to easily renovate their cafe and update their look.
What motivates them to buy from PepperFry: Easy, non-threatening process as they are not familiar with the field of interior design. It is more affordable and everything gets handled in one place. Much quicker than visiting physical design studios.
Why would they hesitate to buy from Pepperfry: Afraid of losses/ damaged products by buying in bulk.
Pepperfry’s Vision
- Doing More with Less: Demonstrate resourcefulness in the face of scrutiny
- Pioneering: Unique Business model and ground breaking ideas.
- ‘Jugaad’: The embodiment of frugality, flexibility and simplicity.
Competitor Analysis
Detailed Analysis:
*All numbers and statistics are according to the years 2015–2016.
- Pepperfry had taken a lead in terms of setting up its own logistics network and product catalog.
- Urban Ladder, had more funding and has clocked revenues that are almost twice of Pepperfry’s.
- Pepperfry delivers to 150 cities (using own vehicles) across the country, which is the highest reach in this segment. In comparison, Urban Ladder is present in about a dozen cities.
- Strong focus on product catalog has pushed Pepperfry ahead of the pack. It has close to 80,000 items
- Urban Ladder has the highest funding among its peers. Then followed by PepperFry.
- Urban Ladder’s ticket size is Rs 20,000 as compared to Pepperfry’s Rs 14,000.
- Pepperfry’s average logistics cost per item used to be Rs 3,000, which has gone down to Rs 450.
Problems Faced by Customers
Through detailed secondary research, we have identified the main problems customers faced with Pepperfry which can be divided under three categories.
- Customer service issues.
- Lack of trust and communication with appointed carpenters/mechanics etc.
- Damaged goods on delivery.
Goals
- To make the website easier to navigate for older customers and improve the look.
- Keeping the look trendy and modern while still making it easy to use and navigate
- Adding more features to improve user experience.
- Increasing the trust among customers about services, products and Pepperfry as a whole
Information Hierarchy
Navigation Flow
Style Guide
Wire-frames
Prototype
‘Try This At Your Home’ Feature
With the advent of AR/VR, the world of online retail shopping is undergoing major changes. Many companies have started using this technology to improve their shopping experience. Hence, we decided to add an option for Pepperfry mobile users where they can try out how a product will look in their house! They can test out the products and see how the product will look under different lighting conditions and what will suit their house the best.
Customers can use the camera on their mobile phones and the use feature on the Pepperfry website and app. It will scale the furniture, based on room dimensions, so you can see if the fit is perfect for your room or not.
Micro-Interactions
Project Done By:
