Balancing Dropdead's Brand Aesthetic with an Enhanced User Experience

Dropdead has been a popular and iconic dark fashion brand for discerning goths for the last 20 years, founded by Bring Me The Horizon frontman, Oli Sykes. The brand needed to refine its eCommerce experience. With a strong brand identity and an engaged community, the challenge was to ensure the Shopify store’s functionality matched the brand’s high standards while enhancing user experience. WIRO partnered with Dropdead to enhance their website, focusing on improving usability and clarity while maintaining the brand's distinctive style.

We faced several key challenges in this project:

• Balancing Aesthetics and Usability: Drop Dead's strong brand aesthetic often conflicted with standard eCommerce best practices for conversion optimisation. Finding a balance between visual appeal and user-friendly functionality was crucial.
• Complex Product Information: Drop Dead's unisex sizing presented challenges in presenting clear and concise information to customers.
• Technical Constraints: Working within the Shopify platform and integrating with existing systems, like the TAP cart mobile app, required careful consideration of technical limitations.

WIRO adopted a collaborative and iterative approach, focusing on understanding Drop Dead's brand values and working closely with their team.  Key updates and strategies included:

1. Deep Dive into Brand Identity: We thoroughly researched Drop Dead's history, aesthetic, and target audience to understand their brand identity and values.
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2. ‍ Homepage Enhancement: While respecting Drop Dead's "lookbook" style homepage, we explored subtle enhancements to improve navigation and product discovery without compromising the brand aesthetic.
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3. Product Page Overhaul: WIRO redesigned the product page to address key usability issues. This included:

• Clearer Sizing Information: Implementing a more intuitive system for unisex sizing, addressing potential confusion around gender-specific representations.
• Prominent "Add to Cart" Button: Making the "Add to Cart" button more visually prominent while maintaining the overall design aesthetic.
• Error Messaging: Implementing clear error messages for size selection, improving user guidance and preventing frustration.
• Improved Product Imagery: Optimising product imagery to showcase the quality and detail of Drop Dead's items.‍

4. ‍Mini Cart Optimisation: The mini cart was redesigned to improve its visual appeal and functionality, making it easier for users to review their selections and proceed to checkout. This involved:

• Increased Size and Clarity: Making the mini cart larger and more visually clear.
• Streamlined Button Styling: Styling secondary buttons to differentiate them from the primary "Checkout" button, guiding user focus.

5. ‍Shipping & Returns Clarity: Recognising the importance of clear shipping information, particularly for international customers, we implemented a system to provide accessible shipping and returns details. This involved drawer functionality and Shopify markets integration
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6. Account Area Modernisation: The account area was redesigned to enhance navigation and usability, encouraging repeat purchases and fostering customer loyalty.
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7. ‍ Focus on User Experience: We prioritised improvements to user experience, emphasising clarity, ease of navigation, and accessibility, even when these changes might not have the most dramatic impact on immediate conversions.
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8. Technical Collaboration: We ensured seamless integration with the existing Shopify platform and other systems.
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9. Mobile-First Approach: We prioritised mobile design and functionality, recognising that the majority of Drop Dead's traffic came from mobile devices.
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10. Exploration of Mobile App Integration: We recognised the success of Drop Dead's mobile app and sought opportunities to contribute to its future development and CX improvements.

• Improved product page clarity and usability, leading to a smoother purchasing experience.
• Enhanced mini cart functionality, simplifying review and checkout.
• Clearer shipping and returns information, addressing a key customer concern.
• Modernised account area, fostering customer loyalty.
• Increased mobile app engagement, driving overall revenue growth.
• Stronger client relationship, enabling effective collaboration and a shared vision.