03 — UX Research + Information Architecture
Jaliri
“Why were users adding products to their basketsbut not completing their purchases?”
The Business Problem
Jaliri's basket rate was high, but that wasn't translating into completed sales.
“Although the basket rate is high, the desired yield cannot be obtained in sales.”
— Jaliri, project brief
Scope
Jaliri, a fashion e-commerce site operating in the Middle East and UK, had a high basket rate that wasn't converting into sales. My scope was UX research, synthesis, and information architecture — identifying recurring friction and structuring the flow that responds to it.
Fashion e-commerce, Middle East & UK — a professional project.
02
Investigating the Gap
Interviews and competitive benchmarking ran as parallel lenses on the same question — not two separate deliverables. A small set of supporting persona work rounded out the synthesis, without becoming a section of its own.
- 01Interviews4 participants, ages 18–50 — student, engineer, homemaker.
- 02SurveyShopping-channel and feature-preference responses.
- 03Competitive AnalysisJaliri benchmarked directly against SHEIN, PrettyLittleThing, and Fashion Nova.
- 04Persona WorkTwo synthesized personas, used only as supporting context.
Interviews
I conducted interviews with users who are familiar with online shopping to identify their needs and pain points. Because a wide range of demographics enjoys online shopping, I interviewed a total of four participants between the ages of 18 and 50. Their professions varied from student, engineer, to homemaker.
4 participants
Ages 18 to 50
- Student
- Engineer
- Homemaker
Survey
The interview sample was 4 participants. The survey's sample size isn't confirmed in the source material — its responses are shown as directional, not statistical.
Scroll sideways to see all three questions.
Competitive Analysis
Benchmarking wasn't only about what competitors did well — it was a way of examining Jaliri's own site the same way the interviews examined user behavior. Two weaknesses stood out as self-diagnosed, not just user-reported.
Scroll sideways to see all four brands.
Supporting Persona Work
03
Four Frictions, One Pattern
The same four frictions kept surfacing across independent inputs, not as isolated comments. That convergence is the finding — the sample behind it stays small.
Friction 01 — Sizing / Fit Confidence
“Sometimes, it looks good on the model, but that might not be the case for me.”
Users read reviews specifically to judge whether sizes run accurately.
- Interview
Read specifically to judge sizing accuracy.
- Survey
“Size Guide” — one of the most-used features cited.
- Persona
Named by both personas as a goal or frustration.
- Competitive Analysis
SHEIN's model-statistics size guide stood out as a strength.
- User Flow
A dedicated step before size and color are chosen.
Friction 02
Product Imagery
“I want more than one image of the product to get a better idea of what the product looks like.”
A single product photo on a model wasn't enough to judge quality or fit.
- Interview
Wanting more images; distrusting single model shots.
- Persona
Cited by both personas as a source of doubt.
- Competitive Analysis
Jaliri's own weakness: inconsistent backgrounds across shots.
Friction 03 — Filtering
Filters were one of the most-used features when shopping online — and one of Jaliri's own weakest points.
- Survey
Among the most-used features cited when shopping online.
- Persona
Named by both personas as a need.
- Competitive Analysis
Jaliri's own weakness: a lack of filter options.
- User Flow
An explicit branch sits inside browsing, before the product grid loads.
Friction 04 — Reviews
Customer reviews were used as a quality and reliability signal before purchase.
- Interview
Cited as a way to judge quality and sizing together.
- Survey
“Customer Review” — among the most-used features cited.
- Persona
Named by Maryam, not both personas.
- Competitive Analysis
A strength for SHEIN and PrettyLittleThing; a weakness for Fashion Nova.
- User Flow
Read before the purchase decision, not after it.
“I often look at the reviews to see whether the quality is good. I also see whether sizes are accurate.”
04
From Research to Structure
The user flow became the final information-architecture deliverable, translating the research into a structured path from discovery to checkout. Four structural decisions trace directly back to it.
- Start / End
- User Action
- Decision
- Page
05
What the Research Changed
The scope here was UX research and information architecture — identifying recurring friction and structuring the flow that responds to it.
The final output brought the research together into an information architecture and user flow designed around the recurring points of friction.
- 01Sizing / Fit Confidence A dedicated step before size and color are chosen.
- 03Filtering An explicit branch sits inside browsing, before the product grid loads.
- 04Reviews Read before the purchase decision, not after it.
Hitit
Enterprise Aviation Systems