Some Insights Regarding Web Applications

 For this discussion I have chosen my employers app, Venus.com. The application overall is user friendly and works on both Android and iOS, the simplification of the UI/UX was the main goal when the app was developed. There have been several versions deployed since the first implementation, primarily based on consumer feedback and what they were looking for in terms of usability, the way categories were laid out and the way images were being displayed. When the app is initially opened, the first thing a consumer will see is any promotional offers that are currently available, if we are not running a promotion, a pop-up window appears advising the customer they will receive 15% off of their first purchase if they sign up to receive SMS messages or email offers. Customers can then navigate to the main category page, choose the category they wish to view, I have chosen clothing and the subcategory of dresses. At this point, they can choose their item and proceed to the checkout page. Here, they can view their shopping cart, add, remove or save items for later purchase, choose their shipping method and payment options. There is also an option to add an alternate promotional offer code should one not be immediately available. The application also provides photos of real consumers and influencers wearing our products at the bottom of the homepage of the site so consumers can get an idea of what the item would look like on a "real" person as opposed to a professional model.

The application offers the capability for consumers to leave reviews of the items as well. In my own experience, when you see consumer reviews on sites like retail sites, a majority of them will only post the positive reviews. However, being that we are an extremely customer-centric organization, we will post the good and bad reviews as we rely on this feedback to not only improve our customer experience, but also use this feedback to look at ways we can enhance the application itself. In recent months, we have added a feature to our UX that allows customers to return items and instead of simply issuing a refund, we give them the opportunity to store that credit in what we call their " Venus wallet." this essentially stores their store credit for them, so they no longer have to try to keep track of it. One of the downfalls of this program at this time is that in order to use these credits, customers would still have to call our customer care center to have them applied. The improvements that have been suggested and are in development is to allow the consumer to apply these credits at the time of checkout on the app and website, they will also have the ability to view any remaining credit they may have so there is no need for them to try to keep up with it. Another improvement is to make the viewability a little easier, we have been advised with some of the promotional banners, the pixelation for Android and iOS can vary, which can cut off some of the images or blend them together. The final improvement would be to elevate the timeframe that items are held in consumer carts, it has been expressed that consumers will save items, and if they have not logged in for several days, the items are removed, and their carts are empty when they decide to come back to purchase them.  Overall, we tried to keep the app as simple as possible and there are more advancements coming, but due to our main demographic in the age group of 35-60, we wanted our consumers to have a user-friendly experience, but also allow them the sense of security of using the application without reservation about putting personal information on it.