R&B

Project Overview

Overview

With over 20 years in the beauty wig industry, R&B Collection’s Magento website was struggling with accessibility issues, frequent errors, and high maintenance costs. I led a strategic revamp to simplify the user experience and rebuild the brand’s online presence with better performance and consistency.

Goal

We conducted market research focused on our core audience, African-American consumers, to better understand their color and brand preferences. We also analyzed competitor websites to identify opportunities for improvement. Our goal was to make product information more accessible for both customers and the sales team, enhance usability, and reduce bounce rates to drive overall sales growth.

User-Centered UX: Designed information architecture and content based on user insights to better meet customer needs.
Accessibility & Responsiveness: Ensured a seamless experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Information Reliability: Improved consistency between in-store and online information to build trust and reduce confusion.
Brand Consistency: Maintained a unified visual identity and cohesive brand message throughout the website.

Understanding Our Users

Target Users

Beauty-conscious African-American women in their 20s and 30s.
African-American women of all ages who regularly wear wigs.
Fashion-forward African-American men interested in durags and grooming products.
Wholesale and retail stores that sell wigs and hair accessories.
New wig users seeking trusted brands and clear product guidance.
Salon owners and hair stylists who recommend or purchase wigs for clients.

Research Methods

Online surveys to understand shopping behaviors and brand perception.
1:1 in-depth interviews with wig users and store owners.
In-store observations at local beauty supply stores.
Customer feedback collected via phone surveys.
Competitor website analysis to identify UX and content opportunities.

Design Process

How might we..

How might we redesign the website to make it more accessible and aligned with our brand identity?

Jump to Solution

Research

Part 01

Identifying Opportunity.

To improve the website experience, we conducted qualitative research with 30 participants. We visited local wig stores and interviewed 10 store managers and owners, and also gathered feedback from 10 customers at a beauty show. In addition, we spoke with 5 members of our sales team and held online interviews with 5 beauty supply customers and general users. These diverse, field-based insights helped us define a clear strategy to meaningfully enhance the overall customer experience.

Method : In-depth interviews, Phone surveys, Q&A sessions, Market research, and User reviews.

Q&A Interview

In-depth Interview (Georgia Beauty Show)

Q1. What do you like most about the current R&B website?
Q2. Have you ever experienced any difficulties or inconveniences while using the R&B website?
Q3. How easy is it to browse and filter through different wig categories or styles?
Q4. Any features you'd like to add or improve, like virtual try-on or color comparison?
Q5. How would you rate the overall design and appearance of the website?
Q6. Do you prefer shopping on desktop, mobile, or both and why?
Q7. On a scale of 1–10, how likely are you to recommend the R&B website to others? Why or why not?
Q8. Did you find the information you needed to make a purchase decision?
Q9. What aspects of the shopping experience do you wish felt more personalized or enjoyable?
Q10. What changes or features do you think are absolutely necessary to improve your shopping experienceon the current R&B website?
Q11. How do you usually discover new wig products or trends online?
Q12. Have you used other wig brand websites? What stood out as better or worse compared to R&B?

Interview Hight-lights

It would be great if the website were easier to use on mobile and iPad, no matter where I am.

I wish I could see which wigs are available online and find nearby stores that have them in stock.

It would be great if social media communication, like on Instagram, were more active and if the website had a younger, trendier vibe.

*Certainly, there's room to refine my research approach here! I explore this further in my conclusion...

Customers wanted easier access, mobile-friendly features, and clearer product details.Many also felt the site looked outdated and lacked a strong brand identity.

In fact, 80% of customers browse the site across multiple devices and rely on detailed wig information when making purchase decisions. Additionally, 75% of beauty supply retailers use the website’s product details during sales conversations, and 70% of the R&B sales team confirmed that product images and descriptions directly help boost sales.

Building on these findings, we further analyzed interviews with customers, retailers, and sales reps to map key priorities and pain points. As shown below, visual design and product information were top priorities, while outdated UI, poor mobile optimization, and confusing filters were the most common issues.

Part 02

Researching E-commerce solutions

Before proceeding with the website renewal, we thoroughly evaluated three different solutions and selected the one that best met our needs in terms of budget, maintenance, and design.

Conclusion: We selected WordPress as our platform to build the website within a limited budget of $2,300.Due to cost constraints, we were unable to implement real-time inventory tracking.Since we do not sell directly to consumers but through wig retailers, we chose not to include shopping functionality.Instead, we focused on presenting detailed product information in a catalog-style layout to effectively inform customers about our wig offerings.

Part 03

Strategic Focus Areas

Based on user research and insights, the website renewal focuses on five key areas to enhance both usability and brand perception.

Brand Modernization: Refresh R&B’s visual identity and tone to convey a modern, trend-driven brand image.
Update UI/UX to reflect a younger, more dynamic brand personality.
Responsive & Accessible Experience: Deliver a seamless experience across all devices through responsive design.
Improve accessibility to increase engagement and browsing time.
Product Discovery Optimization: Simplify product browsing with advanced filters and richer visuals, such as real-life photos and video reviews.
Content & SEO Growth: Build organic visibility through blog content featuring wig trends, styling tips, and tutorials.
Trend Curation: Feature the latest wig styles and seasonal collections to position R&B as a trend authority in the beauty
wig market.

Method : Competitive Analysis, Persona, User Journey map

Competitive Analysis

We analyzed popular competitor sites to see where R&B could improve.

While none of the sites were perfect, each had its own strengths and inspiring ideas. Through this research, we identified what our website was missing and found valuable insights to build on. By learning from competitors’ strengths and addressing their weaknesses,
we defined a clearer direction focusing on consistent branding, clean UI design, and a more seamless mobile experience.

Persona

We defined two key personas based on interviews at beauty trade shows and competitor research.The personas represent a B2C beauty influencer and a B2B wholesale partner.Using these insights, we analyzed pain points across each user journey and identified clear directions for branding and UX improvements.

User Journey Map

We initially defined two key personas, a B2C beauty influencer and a B2B store owner. However, during field research, we found that while some stores are run by the owner alone, many have both owners and managers with different roles. To reflect this, we added the Store Manager to the user journey map to capture real on-site operations and customer interactions. This helped us better understand how R&B’s brand experience connects both online users and offline store operations.

The Beauty Influencer considers brand image, trends, and styling appeal. Their social media presence strongly shapes consumer perception.
The Beauty Supply Store Owner focuses on inventory stability, supply chain reliability, and wholesale terms key factors in making B2B purchasing decisions.
The Store Manager monitors product placement, customer reactions, and sales performance to support daily operations.

Current Website Analysis

Usability Test

To support the R&B website redesign, we conducted goal-oriented usability testing with key user groups including African-American consumers, beauty store owners, managers, and sales staff. The results revealed consistently positive feedback regarding mobile usability, information structure, and product accessibility, along with valuable suggestions for future improvements.Following the redesign, we implemented a WordPress analytics plugin to track user behavior such as traffic sources, search keywords, and bounce rates.
These insights enabled us to develop and continuously refine a UX strategy grounded in real user data.

Conclusion

Moving Forward

To increase user engagement, the website must be designed for an intuitive and seamless experience.
Provide valuable content to enhance customer loyalty and continuously improve the website through regular customer interviews.
Continuous research is essential to explore effective strategies for strengthening the company’s brand identity.

What I learned

I gained research experience by conducting extensive analysis to optimize the website within a limited budget.
I learned to balance perspectives and ensure usability through problem analysis and stakeholder engagement in website renewal.
Although my design proposal was not selected, I played a key role in user research and design direction, reinforcing the value of adaptability and collaboration.
Communicating with executives and persuading resistance to change was challenging but rewarding, strengthening my skills in logical arguments and data-driven decisions.

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