A gifting app to help users make better gift decisions
​My Role
​Project Owner
UX Researcher & Designer
​Tools
Figma
​Miro
​Invision
Adobe Illustrator
​Timeline
May - Aug 2022
​Background​
Throughout history, the practice of giving gifts has played an essential part in our social life. A gift can be an effective way to connect and build relationships, or it could serve as an opportunity to show our appreciation to those who are important to us. It also can be seen as symbolizing love and devotion. Therefore, it is important to give gifts not only to express feelings to others but also to strengthen the relationship between people.
​Problem
Choosing a thoughtful gift for other people can be challenging and stressful. Since the pandemic occurred over the past few years, almost everything has shifted to digital, which has led to a major change in the way people approach gift-giving. From online wish lists to massive e-commerce platforms, the process of searching, purchasing, and giving gifts is no longer limited to retail stores. According to Holiday Gifting Report 2022, the percentage of Americans who plan to start searching and buying for Christmas presents via E-commerce sites and apps is 71% and 86%. However, there is a lack of digital platforms that provide a delightful gifting experience and features to personalize gifts for the users, especially for young professionals who have limited time when looking for a gift.
​Defining The Problem
How might we help young professionals buy good gifts for their recipients and enhance personalized gift experiences with a single platform?
Proposed Solution
Giftsy is a gift-giving platform that aims to help users make better gift decisions and enhance the gift-giving experience in the digital age. The app recommends gifts based on users’ answers to interactive questions, allows them to find and purchase good gifts for their recipients on any occasion, customizes digital greeting cards, helps keep track of upcoming events, and more. Giftsy acts as a one-stop solution for users to choose gifts for their special ones efficiently and creatively.
​Discovery
Research
​Survey Outcomes
A survey was conducted to understand users and their experiences. The survey included six main questions with 29 responders.
There are three main findings from the survey, as follows:
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48.3% of respondents answered that this problem is relevant to their life.
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Most of the answers are searching Google, Amazon, or going through many
websites trying to figure out what to gift someone.
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Users would like to have different options to find thoughtful and creative gifts
within their budget.
Competitive Analysis
I have analyzed three gift-giving platforms, such as Giftagram, Givingli, and Amazon, help to me gain a better understanding of the market and opportunities for improvement. This study provides knowledge for the Giftsy app to differentiate from the market and create the best solution for the users.
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Conclusion
Based on the survey results and market research, it was possible to identify the types of features expected from the platform. The platform should have:
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Real-time Interactive tool
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Event reminders/calendar
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Customize greeting cards, send a message or video message
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Wishlist
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Notifications of upcoming events
​Define
Target Audience
The target users of this platform are young professionals:
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who enjoy giving gifts and looking for inspiration.
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who have limited time to search for the right gift due to busy schedules.
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who lacks a real understanding of the recipient and is confused about what gift to buy.
Persona
Based on the research and analysis, I created user personas to better understand the user's needs, frustrations, experiences, and goals.
​User Journey
After creating the personas, I was able to do journey mapping based on Jamie’s story as one of my personas. This step will demonstrate a holistic view of the experience on Giftsy. The map shows an end-to-end process of the user journey helped me to identify the main actions, pain points, and emotional connection with my platform while solving the user problem.
​Design
Final Prototype
​Conclusion
In summary, my journey with Giftsy continues as I strive to make it even better. This project has been instrumental in honing my design thinking and skills, guiding me from the initial concept to the final prototype.