iHerb
The feature to be added is a dedicated page for the user, or a health profile. This feature would function as a health/medical card, detailing the user’s preferences, allergies, skin type, known sensitivities, a list of products they have tried that work/did not work, and health goals.
Type
Add a Feature
Service
User Research, UI/UX Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Category
Health
Timeline
Sept 2024
Final Prototype
project overview
iHerb is the world’s largest ecommerce platform dedicated to vitamins, minerals, supplements, alongside other health and wellness products. They cater to over 10 million customers worldwide, with products sold at best value for over 50,000 products.
Customers primarily use iHerb to browse and purchase wellness products. Users are spoilt for choices, each product detailing their ingredients and how they compare to their competitors.
However, while that function exists for their products, there is none for the user. No one user is the same, as every individual may have allergies and sensitivities of the skin, stomach or hormones that may affect their reaction to each product.
This feature aims to provide a solution for that.
“A lot of time it (product description) goes into its chemical composition but its not really explaining what it's doing for me.”
Paul M., interviewee
research methods
Benchmark analysis
User research
insights
benchmark analysis
Current marketplaces prioritise saturating their website with products and overloading the customer with an array of information. There is no user-centric features that focuses on the user’s needs.
insights
user research
From user research, the insights I derived are that users are motivated by improving or maintaining their health. Independence was a recurring theme, as well as staying active for as long as possible.
Users say that personalisation or better customer assistance would help their experience. By recommending more accurate products, it makes it easier for users to make their choices.
From interviews, an affinity map was created - recurring key concerns were around cost of living and exploring new experiences.
view affinity map
persona
From interviews, the Active Balancer persona was created.
Jenny is a market researcher who actively tried to balance her work routine with keeping active and healthy. She finds it hard to make decisions on which supplements to buy because of the lack of relevant information.
user flow
creating a health profile
The Health Profile feature would be accessible from different areas on iHerb, such as from the drop down menu bar, the homepage, or a product page. This user flow maps out how a user might navigate and create their health profile.
view user flow
high-fidelity prototype
The feature was built off iHerb's existing brand style, replicating its look and feel. From high-fidelity wireframes, a prototype was created for usability testing.
view high-fidelity prototype
usability testing
The prototype was tested on five participants, all are aware and use iHerb. They range between 30-40 years old and place importance on their health.
user flows tested
Creating a Health Profile
Reviewing Recommended Products
results
In general, participants responded positively to this feature. They stated that they will use this feature regularly because it removes the burden on them to find the products they need.
They also enjoyed the suggested articles right underneath the products as the articles help users understand which ingredients are good for their needs. They saw this as catering to their health and not marketing brands towards them.
The feature's placement on the product description page was useful. They liked that it explained which areas of their Health Profile it targets. It also reminds them what they’re looking for, and helps them make their purchasing decisions.
"It's like a custom feed based off my health profile, it cuts through a lot of the clutter and gives me what I need to see."
Rishab R., usability tester
iterations
There was confusion on the layout of prompts on the health profile, and iterations were made to improve the user experience and general flow of the feature.
view iterations
next steps
Overall, all participants found the feature attractive in terms of usefulness and straightforwardness. It removes the burden on the user to read and understand ingredients, or cross reference it with their medical history.
Next steps would be to refine the feature to be more comprehensive, such as expanding to more areas of concern or potentially creating an algorithm which matches products with medical terms a user might have.