Vetreska

Selecting a template to introduce Vetreska to the US market

After being limited to a third-party seller in Asia, Vetreska needed its own website to sell its chic pet products directly to design-conscious pet owners in the West. This site needed to showcase the brand's unique style and identity.

A business requirement for this project was using a BigCommerce site template. But which of our options would most accurately communicate the Vetreska brand and create the best experience for our users?

To answer this question, I set out learn more about our audience's expectations and experiences with shopping for pets online.

Pet Parent Group Interview

I conducted a hybrid in-person and virtual group interview of millennial pet parents to discover audience expectations and brand wants

• I sat down with 5 pet parents (mix of dog and cat owners) and asked them questions about how and why they choose to shop for their fur kid online.

• I uncovered from pet parents two major wants:

1. For their pet to be happy
2. Appealing products "for their pet" that are actually for the owner themselves (aesthetically or experientially)

• Knowing our audience wants products that will make their pet happy and look good doing it, meant putting a focus on the visuals of Vetreska's products.

• Having an understanding of Vetreska's playful brand and more clarity around pet parent wants and needs, I decided to conduct a landscape analysis to inform functionality expectations.

Landscape analysis

I reviewed 8 comparator sites, focusing on brand and feel, and 10 competitor sites, focusing on navigation, product pages, and functionality

• Comparator sites aimed for a shared target audience of design-minded millennials. Design-minded kids' toys and clothing sites were chosen since many the brands are also playful with similar user wants. A few brands I chose  were Maisonette, Etsy, and MoMA.

• Competitor sites were selected based on product offering, having an international presence, and having an overlapping target audience. Some of the brands I checked out were Tuft + Paw, Mia Cara, Cheshire and Wain, and Lord Lou.

What I Learned

Clean and minimalistic with a focus on imagery

• I found from the competitive analysis that sites sharing our user group utilize focused CTAs, hefty negative space, and high quality photography to nail a clean look.

• The use of negative space allows a focus on CTAs that create a clear paths to purchase while high quality photography taps into pet owner's desires for aesthetically pleasing products.

• This filled that knowledge gap of what are our audience's expectations for the site experience.

• To now guide our decision on a template, I developed a sitemap and a navigation wireframe. These deliverables would also provide support to the development and visual design teams.

To guide the Visual Designers and Development team, I created a sitemap and navigation wireframe based on creating clean, minimalistic, focused paths.

I recommended and the team chose Chiara for its use of CTAs and playful feel.

I then created spec documentation to communicate interaction to developers within the limitations of customizing the site. I collaborated with development through launch to ensure they were fully supported for any questions on annotations. Vetreska then successfully launched into the US market.

Results:

• Over 5,000 views in the first 3 months!
• 1.23 minutes of user engagement per session!

The Next Steps

User & Accessibility Testing

• With this data, If I had continued work with this client, I would learn more deeply about user's current engagement  through testing. I would be interested in seeing if our audience is connecting with the brand and how they would like to engage with the brand on the site.

• Because the site is using a template, I would test for accessibility to ensure there aren't any major barriers for those with disabilities who would like to also enjoy cute pet products and engage with the playful and fun Vetreska brand.