Vanessa Ng
Nordstrom Slice - revised.png

NORDSTROM

 
 
 
 

OVERVIEW

Foundational and evaluative research conducted on the Brands + Events (supporting Nordstrom + Rack brand differentiation and major sale events) and App teams at Nordstrom between February 2022 - present.

APP | BRANDS + EVENTS

As the UX Researcher on both the App and Brands + Events teams, I was the sole embedded researcher who planned and lead research initiatives for these horizontal facing areas:

Research planning and management: collaborated with stakeholders on quarterly and half-annual product goals and research questions, scoped out research, and drafted study plans.

Workshop planning: planned and facilitated workshops to align stakeholders on research plans and design direction.

Research moderation and execution: facilitated end to end research, including scheduling study sessions, preparing and coordinating testing assets with stakeholders, and collected data using remote tools (via moderated and unmoderated means).

Analysis and reporting: synthesized data, created reports based on data-driven insights to align user needs with product direction, shared study results with cross-functional stakeholders, and outlining next steps.

 
 

ROLE

UX Researcher

TEAM MEMBERS

  • UX Design Manager

  • UX Designers

  • UX Content Designers

  • Product Managers

DURATION

Dependent on study (~2 - 4 weeks)

TOOLS

  • dscout

  • UserTesting

  • Mural

 
 
 

SELECTION OF STUDIES

Listed below are the various methods I used while on the team, as well as a small selection of studies that had significant reach and impact in the team.

Note: This selection of studies has been purposely kept at a high level. To learn more about the projects and research details, please contact me to discuss further.

RESEARCH METHODS

 
 

  • Usability testing (remote, moderated and unmoderated)

  • Concept testing (remote, moderated and unmoderated)

  • User interviews (unmoderated and moderated)

  • Literature reviews

  • Diary studies

  • Card sort

  • Contextual inquiry

  • A/B tests

 
 

EVALUATIVE RESEARCH

DIGITAL CATALOG: CONCEPT TESTING

  • Problem: Nordstrom previously produced a physical catalog to help customers prepare for their annual Anniversary Sale. Starting in 2020, the company stopped producing and distributing the catalog due to cost. This was a pain point for some of their most loyal customers, since it helped them prepare for and get excited for the sale.

  • Proposal: the Brands and Events team were asked to create a digital catalog to simulate the feeling and purpose of the physical catalog. The team created three different design concepts.

  • Action: planned and conducted concept testing with existing Nordstrom customers who have previously shopped the Anniversary Sale and used the catalog.

  • Outcome: the team iterated the design to create a tabbed navigation, based on the study’s findings. A matched pair analysis (on customers who engaged with the catalog vs those who did not) indicated that the digital catalog had a positive impact key metrics (e.g., higher spend per customer, higher Add to Wish List rates, etc.)

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH

FOUNDATIONAL APP RESEARCH PROGRAM

  • Problem: Nordstrom's newly formed app team lacked foundational research (on the company’s apps or general shopping apps) to guide their app strategy.

  • Action: conducted a comprehensive research program, including stakeholder interviews to identify key questions, a literature review on shopping apps, stakeholder workshops to prioritize research needs, a diary study comparing app versus mobile web shopping experiences, and follow-up user interviews to explore deeper insights from the diary study findings.

  • Outcome: the research findings informed the app team's guiding principles, which became the strategic foundation for shaping app-focused projects across other business verticals at Nordstrom, including updates to their app homepage.