Buy Online, Pick Up in Store
Nordstrom iOS app usability study
Project Overview
This study was designed to assess the utility and usability of the BOPUS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store) service on the Nordstrom iOS application, which allows for same day pick up from a local Nordstrom store. We looked at BOPUS’ discoverability and ease of use throughout the customer journey, from browsing for products through the checkout process.
Our research questions were:
How discoverable is BOPUS on the checkout & product pages in the Nordstrom iOS app?
Once discovered, how easy is it to place a BOPUS order?
Is the user able to find products they want to buy to pick up same day using BOPUS?
Our participants were:
Female between the ages of (25-45)
Current Nordstrom shoppers who have never used the iOS app
Have used other apps to make purchases
My Role
Team members contributed equally to this study. Everyone had input into each component of the study and we took turns moderating and note taking during the study.
Testing Methods & Procedure
Using Think-Aloud protocol, our team tested the iOS mobile app with 5 participants in-person at the Nordstrom Usability Labs.
Before Test: Online recruiting screener survey
During Test:
Background questionnaire (written)
Pre-test questionnaire (verbal)
5 tasks (verbal/ iPhone)
Post-test questionnaire (written/ verbal)
Tasks & Scenario
Task 1
Imagine you have a party coming up & you want to get a new pair of boots & a sweater to wear. Find those items and add them in your shopping card.
Task 2
It turns out the party is tonight, so you need the items today. Find out if the two items are available to get today.
Task 3
You want to also buy a designer top to go with your outfit & a housewarming gift for the event. When you find the ones you’d like to buy, add them in your shopping cart.
Task 4
Now you’re ready to purchase your new outfit. Show me what you’d do next.
Task 5
Participant will be prompted by app to sign in.
We used affinity mapping to analyze our findings, then we categorized them in an Excel sheet by issue, measured by issue frequency and severity, recommendations to resolve, and participant quotes.
Overall, participants enjoyed using the app.
Easy to use: All participants thought BOPUS was easy to use once they understood its purpose
Filter: All participants valued the level of detail & variety of options available within category filters
“Your Look” feature: Sparked interest in most participants (3 out of 5)
Participants noted like shipping estimates available on PDP (3 out of 5)
Participants mentioned the high level of customer service they experience at Nordstrom (2 out of 5)
But participants ran into a few issues.
Search to Product Page: Selecting the “Get It Fast” filter generates a product listing that participants expected to be eligible for this feature. Issues arose when participants selected colors and/or sizes and found their specific sku was unavailable.
Product Page to Bag: With the “Get It Fast” filter enabled and having already entered their zip code, participants who found items available in their store missed or misunderstood the fulfillment options on the product page.
“Get It Fast” discoverability:
Feature found when changing selected items from shipping to pick up (2)
Searched 30 minutes for eligible items before noticing filter button on search page (1)
Discovered Buy & Pick Up by reviewing items on product page (1)
Immediately used filter to search (1)
