Closure Revenue Retention

Experience & Web Design

Project Overview

Role: UX research, testing, prototyping

Team: Gap Online Leadership, Marketing, UX, Consumer Insights, WCD

Duration: Apr—Dec, 2019

Gap had announced that it would be closing 200+ stores within
the next two to three years. Customer data shows that Gap retains ~30% of customer sales 6 months after a store closure, and ~3% after a full year.*

Objective: Retain customer sales after store closures by creating
personalized omni-channel journeys optimized for sales transfer.

Challenge

Convincing first-time Gap Online to change their habits is our biggest challenge as we close over 200 stores, impacting around 2 million customers in the U.S. To address this, we developed user journeys that encourage online shopping while offering alternative options when possible.

Systems Thinking

We acknowledged the complexity of this project, requiring tailored information for each customer, such as closing notices, store addresses, discount offers, unique codes, and personalized product suggestions. However, due to the size of our website platform, we had to prioritize sensitive information and utilize existing system components to ensure a smooth experience without adding complexity.

Top Priority Components

1. Name of frequent Gap store that is closing

2. Name & address
of nearest Gap store
available

3. Incentive & motivation to shop
(dollar amount)

4. Automated codes
for each individual
customer to apply
discount

We gave less priority to product recommendations because we found that while they are dynamic components, there were widgets available to pull content in by geo-tag, shopping history, and trending items. Thus, we focused on how to make the top four components work together.

Dynamic components

Static component

But, what if there is no other Gap store nearby?

Our goal is to encourage online shopping, but customers often seek physical Gap stores first. Data indicates they prefer finding a nearby store within 5 miles over shopping online. If no stores are available, we look to Gap Factory stores to retain customers. Therefore, we developed three audience funnels for Gap, Gap Factory, and Gap/GF Online.

Journey User Flow

Audience 1

Driving customers to shop the next nearest Gap store by providing the following:

Nearest Gap store address
Discount voucher at Gap & Gap Online
Personalized item suggestions

Audience 2

If there is no other Gap store within a 10 mile radius, customers are driven to shop the nearest GapFactory store by providing the following:

Nearest GapFactory store address
Discount voucher at GapFactory & GF Online
Personalized item suggestions

Audience 3

If there are neither a Gap or GapFactory store within a 10 mile radius, customers are driven to solely shop at Gap Online by providing the following:

Discount voucher at Gap Online (with the voucher also being accepted in stores)
Personalized online-exclusive item suggestions

Final Deliverables

While Gap is a large corporation, we wanted the cadence to feel personal rather than corporate. In the final stages we worked together with the copy team to make sure our designs reached our audience with a personal tone, look and feel.

Journey Landing Pages

These landing pages to our audiences. While they appear similar, they direct customers to unique, personalized pages based on their and shopping history. Customers access these pages through the personalized emails below.

Email Creative

Each email represents a touchpoint providing information on store closures and next steps. For journeys 1 & 2, we included store managers’ signatures and for journey 3, we had our brand president sign off to show our customers how important they are to us.

But wait… what if this group of people simply go to our website on their own?

I had an "A-ha!" moment realizing customers impacted by store closures could visit gap.com directly. I successfully implemented "direct to site landing banners" above homepage content, thanks to the amazing teamwork that kept calm and found a solution.

Direct-to-site Web Banners

These site banners came together at the very end with little time to make the deadline. Thus, we prioritized the online funnel and only provided the information we thought is important to incentivize customers to shop online.

If you’re a Gap store customer that is affected by store closures, then you have been, or will be part of this shopping experience I had the pleasure to work on.
😊

Learnings & Takeaways

This project provided valuable insights into consumer behavior and the importance of empathy in analyzing test data. Despite challenges, maintaining composure during setbacks is crucial for timely delivery. Recognizing limitations within timelines and making sacrifices is essential, but taking risks ultimately earned me the role of designer and the trust of my stakeholders.

*Due to NDA made with Gap Inc, I cannot provide exact numbers in data in regard to the research, business gain/loss, and or results that may still be ongoing.