Summary

MUJI is a Japanese multi-national retail company with a philosophy of minimalism. Their products, which include a wide variety of quality household and consumer goods, and their brick and mortar stores are distinctly simple and basic in their design.

The Problem

While customers find MUJI’s products and stores delightful in their minimalism, MUJI’s online store was found to be difficult to use due to a cluttered layout, tightly packed with text and images to click.

The Solution

Redesign the online store so that it captures something of the experience of the brick and mortar store, emphasizing a minimalist aesthetic, more consistent with the brand appeal.

The Story

Confusion and Disorientation

Sometimes there’s an advantage to a confused and disoriented customer. For example, at a Casino, which are designed like mazes—with flashing lights of every color, augmenting the kaleidoscopic carpet patterns, somehow merging with the relentless sound-collage of spiraling arpeggiated bells and maniacal carnival noises coming at you from all directions.

This sensory overload is all meant to keep you there and keep you gambling.

But disorientation in a store, on the other hand, simply means you can’t get to what you want.

Stores are more purpose-driven. Even if you’re just browsing, you still want to know where you are, how you’re gonna make out, and what’s the relationship of where you are to the next thing you might want to look at.

Shopping Online

This is even more essential when it comes shopping online. When shopping online, you need to be even more oriented because it’s all virtual and you don’t have the grounding in physical reality you’d otherwise take for granted in an actual store.

And so with that in mind, let’s take a look at MUJI, the Japanese multi-national retail company. And I’ll take you through the process that led to redesigning their online store: from research findings, to proposed solutions, to a prototyped redesign, and ultimately, what the future may hold.

MUJI

MUJI is a brand famous for its “no brand” policy, emphasizing a philosophy of minimalism with very basic designs for all their products, which include a wide variety of quality household and consumer goods.

This minimalism plays a major role in the design of MUJI’s brick and mortar stores, which provide a uniquely serene shopping environment. Customers go to the stores not just to shop, but to take in the atmosphere. Almost like an oasis of simplicity amidst the complexity and strenuousness of day to day life

But MUJI’s E-commerce site, is a different story.

• Lots of text.

• Lots of things to click.

• A tightly packed layout.

• Customers felt the site is cluttered and awkward to use.

This was even more of a problem on mobile, where the responsive web design was full of surprises.

For example, the top and right menu bars collapse into two hamburger menu icons. Users, of course, expect to see only one, per familiar and conventional design patterns.

Then, when either menu opens up, they display huge overlays, which are difficult to close. Users found the site then becomes more difficult to navigate.

But the biggest surprise, was that the website is absolutely nothing like the store. The simple, calming aesthetic. Gone. No where to be found.

Something had to be done.

Research Findings

Summary

Several research methods were employed. On the user end: methods such as screener surveys, contextual inquiries, card sorting, and usability testing of the current site.

And on the business end: a competitive/comparative feature analysis, a business model canvas, a business competitive matrix, heuristic evaluation, and producing a a site map and user flows for the current site.

But I began by simply visiting the store.

The Store

The simple and minimalist aesthetic was immediately apparent and quite appealing, which was a strong pattern in our user research. MUJI customers appreciated this aspect of the brand very much, visiting the store even if only to kill time.

It was confirmed many times over that people have a positive and memorable experience at the store, which strongly influences their purchasing decisions. I could see why.

“I never thought that I would want an aroma diffuser, but every time I come to MUJI, I think I do.”

And afterwards, customers typically leave the store in a more refreshed state.

The Website

Our research uncovered a very different user experience on MUJI’s website.

The online store does not reflect the MUJI aesthetic. Which surprised and disappointed users. This is its essential shortcoming.

“The site is not popping out at me. It should be a little cleaner. It doesn’t match the feeling I get from MUJI.”

Users also had difficulty with the navigation, sometimes being unable to find parts of the site or the items they were looking for.

Screener Survey

Summary and Insights:

Before conducting any usability testing of the current site, I consulted with my team and we decided that sending out a screener survey would help ensure we’d be testing from the right pool of users. We structured it with questions to weed out those users who would not provide any meaningful data.

Our survey returned responses from nine individuals, five of whom have previously shopped at MUJI, and four who shop at stores similar to MUJI. More than half of the participants do their shopping both online and in-store, with the majority of the online shopping done from a desktop computer.

Here are some of our survey questions and summary of responses below:

Contextual Inquiry

Summary and Insights:

Our screener survey helped us recruit six shoppers. All six know and have shopped in MUJI before. Four out of six went there for a specific purpose. All shoppers appreciate the brand value: minimalism. And most had something to say about enjoying MUJI’s stationery products in particular.

Some questions kept in mind during observation:

• Why do shoppers go to MUJI?

• What sort of things are they interested in? Why?

• If they were not going to MUJI, where would they go for X product?

• How do shoppers navigate the store?

• When do they most often go to MUJI?

Results

Shopper 1

Shopper 1 began by seeking out the item she was looking for (flip-flops/sandals), which were near the entrance. Then, in a counter-clockwise fashion, proceeded to move around the store (when asked about this later, Shopper 1 agreed that she often does this, mostly following the store layout, conjectured that it might be partly due to her being right-handed and that her mother said that right-handed people usually start tasks from the right side.)

Shopper 1 liked to feel objects in the store and used the tactile feedback to get a feel of the quality of a product. Shopper 1 specifically picked up sandals, bras, wooden and glass bowls, and various skincare and cosmetic products, in addition to knocking on a suitcase. Shopper 1 also tried out the color pencils, pens, and almost broke a stamp after she mistook the body of the stamp for its cap.

“I never thought that I would want a diffuser, but every time I come to MUJI I think I do.”

“I feel like I objectively know that everything here is a little more expensive because it’s classy.”

“They have good sketching pens.” (Referencing the many thicknesses available.)

“Why do they only sell packs with all .5? I want a mixed pack.” (In reference to sketching pens.)

“Is MUJI skincare any good?”

“They have more clothes here than I expected.”

“I can probably get them cheaper somewhere else.” (In reference to the sandals.)

“It took me a second to find the price because all the international prices are also listed.”

Shopper 2

Shopper 2 has something in mind about what she want to buy: notebook and highlighter. The shopper navigated herself first to the shelves right in front of the store. She picked up the notebook bundle because she was looking for a notebook specifically and the price is cheap ($3). She then walked to the stationary section and looked for notebook and highlighter. She liked to compare two similar products regarding the price and how it looks (“cute” or not). After she picked up the products she wanted, she also browsed in different sections (the kitchen section since she likes cooking).

“I compare the products to see which one is cuter and cheaper.”

Shopper 3

Shopper 3 appears to have a clear idea of what he wants, reflected in his taste in clothing. Expressing quality, but in a unique and unassuming away. As he entered the store, he walked in a straight line as if he knew where he was headed, first looking at the jeans. And looked at a few other blue-toned items at first. Then khakis. Checking prices and material as he proceeded through the items.

He began sorting through stacks of shirts and holding them up, picturing how they would look on himself. Regarding which, the store happens to provide carrying baskets in the front and back of the store, but no one seems to use them, as “shoppers seem to be more selective in a store like MUJI,” Shopper 3 expressed. So he, like the others, draped the shirt over his arm, carrying it around before trying it on in the dressing room and eventually attempting to buy it — which, ultimately, he did not, since there was a “no returns” policy on this item.

His goal-oriented approach was reflected in his asking for help from employees on more than one occasion. Clothes were his main interest, the atmosphere and potential gift items were secondary.

“It’s about quality and minimalism.”

“The shoppers here are more selective.”

Shopper 4

Shopper 4 usually looks at the sales section first in the store and browse through that area. She likes to touch the products directly, either to find out what the functions are or simply to enjoy the experience of exploring the products. She likes to feel the quality and texture of the products with her hands.

“It’s an oddity that I want to touch it.”

“I like to feel the good quality from MUJI.”

Shopper 5

Shopper 5 went straight for the pens and started playing with them. Afterwards, Shopper 5 skipped around the store, going from the clothing section to the pens and back again a few times. He liked to feel the fabric, specifically the thickness and how it felt on his skin. He found a wooden and metal bookshelf that he liked. “I would buy this if I had my own place.”

After he was finished, he ended up collapsing on the bean bag chair at the front of the store . 

Shopper 5 admitted that he slowed down so I could observe him. Normally he would have darted around even more and even faster.

Shopper 6

Shopper 6 went straight to the pens and notebooks and began browsing the shelves. She made sure to go down every aisle in the sections she was interested in. She looked at some sale items, only realizing they were on sale after she put them down. Uses the design of containers and organizational tools for inspiration.

I like organizing things but I don’t want to buy [from MUJI] because I feel I can find it cheaper somewhere else.”

“They have lots of cool gadgets.”

“I don’t look at the clothes”

Usability Testing of Current Site

Summary and Insights:

Usability testing revealed very consistent results from all six participants. Some were very familiar with the MUJI brand. Others, somewhat vaguely. Therefore, I believe that the findings represent very clear areas worth addressing. Below is a summary of the results and some insights, followed by the usability test script and the specific details of each test.

VISUAL DESIGN:

The online store does not reflect the MUJI aesthetic. This is likely the essential shortcoming of MUJI’s online store, drawing an immediately noticeable contrast with MUJI’s physical store which is known for its appealingly minimalist brand. This surprised and disappointed users.

• The site is very text heavy. Users described the landing page as feeling more like a PDP. Too many buttons to click on, as well. Many of which are worth keeping hidden. The result is a cluttered look.

• Unavailable clothing sizes are displayed with a big red line struck through the thumbnail instead of being grayed out, for example. This makes users think they are doing something wrong.

FILTERING:

• For apparel, the site does not filter for fabric, color, availability, size, or whether organic. Users expected some or all of these options.

• Filtering by name is sometimes rather useless. For example, women’s clothing each have a title starting with the word “Women’s.”

TOP SELLERS SECTION:

• Top Sellers are neither visible nor accessible from any other page other than the landing page — and even there, they are not very visible.

• Top Sellers is not clickable section header. It only lists four items which change with each refresh. Users expected a separate, linkable Top Sellers page.

RETURN POLICY:

• Users were not always sure how to find out about the return policy.

• When clicking “Store policy” it leads to “Privacy Policy,” which confused users, and again suggested to them they were doing something wrong.

• Sale items non-refundable. Many users won’t want take such a risk when making an online purchase.

• Users expected the return policy to be on the PDP, since different items often have different return policies.

MOBILE ISSUES:

• The site is responsive but on mobile, the top and right menu bars collapse into two hamburger icons. Users expected only one, per familiar and conventional design patterns.

• When either menu opens up, they display huge overlays, which are difficult to close. Users found the site then becomes more difficult to navigate.

• On mobile, users were frustrated with the site freezing.

• Relying on finding information in the footer at the very bottom is tedious on mobile

• The site’s web catalog is included as downloadable PDFs make little sense on mobile.

THE INITIAL HOMEPAGE:

Users encounter one of the more confusing aspects of the MUJI site very soon after the page is first opened. It turns out the homepage and the online store have a completely different look as if they are two separate companies. Yet they link back and forth to each other, causing the user to second guess their navigation.

While the online store caused consistent disappointment in failing to capture the MUJI aesthetic, users expressed that the homepage and content unique to it, succeeds in doing so. And it does not suffer from many of the other problems users noted during testing the online store.  

Usability Test Sample

Opening Questions

• Would you mind telling me about your experiences shopping online?

I mainly use Amazon but also other websites for certain things. For clothes: Macys. For shoes, direct by brand, I’ll just go to the brand’s website… same for makeup. Sometimes, Lord and Taylor (I recently used a gift card there this week.) Not very picky. Brands are what matter.

• Have you heard of MUJI? Can you tell me about your experience.

I’ve only heard of it recently and have never been to the store or the website.

Task 1: See if MUJI has any linen clothing in your size that you could wear to the party.

User action: Remarked, “I would first try the search engine. But when I navigate to Women’s Clothing I couldn’t figure out to how filter for fabric. They don’t filter for fabric. Filtering by name is pretty useless. They all start with ‘Women’s.’”

How difficult do you think it was to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

4 difficult. “Filtering for fabric would have made it easier.”

MOBILE SITE:

User action: Remarked, “Using the search this time because I see there’s no filter here as well. Found a linen cardigan.”

How difficult do you think it was to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

4 difficult. “It’s hard to use this on a mobile.”

Task 2: Find a popular item you could bring to the party as gift.

User action: Found Top Sellers. Remarked, “Wasn’t sure if the bowl I first selected was a good gift. Top Sellers are not visible or reachable from any other pages other than front. Top sellers is not clickable. It only lists for items and they change with each refresh. So I don’t even trust that these are Top Sellers.”

How difficult do you think it was to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

3. Difficult. “With only four options that always change, that’s not an easy way to find a good gift.”

MOBILE APP:

User action: Remarked, “There are 2 hamburger icons. They open up and the site gets messed up. Yet again different top sellers!”

How difficult do you think it was to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

4. “Even harder.”

Task 3: Better look into whether you can return it if you have to.

User action: Success. Remarked, “My question is, what if I want to return it to the store? Where can I find out about that policy. All I see is the online store policy.”

How difficult do you think to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

1. Had no problems.

MOBILE SITE:

User action: Remarked, “In the left hamburger, ‘Store policy’ takes you to ‘Privacy Policy.’ But I’m looking for Return Policy. And I had to find it all the way down in the footer. And the footer shouldn’t be all the way down there in app. I don’t think people usually scroll all the way to the bottom on mobile. The return policy is unfriendly. Anything on sales is nonrefundable. If I buy something from a store online I’m not very familiar with, I take that risk only if I can return it. “

How difficult do you think to complete the task? Scale from 1–5. Why?

Difficulty 4.5. Mobile site is awkward to use. The Hamburger menus display huge overlays. And are hard to close.

Final Thoughts

• Did you find this app/site useful?

The mobile site is really confusing, it freezes a lot… The white text over images is small not visible over some images… two hamburgers…why would I download a PDF in that catalog section I’m on on mobile.

• How did this compare to the app/sites you usually use?

The mobile site is one of the worst… desktop is not nearly as bad.

• Is there anything you’d expect to be able to do that you couldn’t do?

When I look at clothing… filtering for fabric…. No point having filter for name “Women's” — — and it should also have a filter for organic…. Color… availability… size…

Competitive Matrix

Summary and Insights:

We identified six companies as competitors of MUJI, and four comparative companies.

Our three direct competitors were IKEA, Brandless, and The Container Store. Our three indirect competitors were Moleskine, Uniqlo, and Bed Bath and Beyond. 

We chose IKEA, Brandless, and The Container Store because we felt users would decide to go to one of those companies as opposed to shopping at MUJI for similar items and that their branding and marketing was similar to MUJI’s.

We chose Moleskine, Uniqlo, and Bed Bath and Beyond because we felt that their product lineup overlaps with MUJI’s significantly enough that they could draw customers away from MUJI; however,we felt that their branding and marketing showed that they are primarily targeting different demographics of shoppers.

Our hypothesis was largely validated during our interviews with in store shoppers during our contextual inquiries; however, we underestimated the overlap in mindshare between MUJI and Uniqlo.

We also identified four comparative competitors: Apple, Bose, Starbucks and Tesla. Our criteria was that the companies had to be multinational, sell primarily their own products in their stores, have a significant online and brick and mortar presence, and have a distinct style and market segment they are targeting for their products.

We created our Competitive Matrix below after examining the business model, value proposition, tagline, key resources, customer relationships, channels, customer segments, cost structure, revenue streams, and target audiences of the companies listed above.

Our matrix ranks companies based on the business model (from “Retail” B2C and B2B) and on their market position (Casual to Luxury).

Our matrix shows that MUJI and Uniqlo are the closest in terms of their business model and market position, followed by MUJI and IKEA.

Competitive/Comparative Feature Analysis

Summary and Insights:

In terms of features, MUJI measures up with their competition in some areas and less so in others. While other sites also have certain areas worth improving, several succeed with the distinction of a particularly impressive execution in specific areas. For example, for each competitor that we researched, the search engine was above average in capability and design. And for all but one comparator, the store information provided is above average in detail and overall design. According to our findings, MUJI’s site by comparison ranks average at best. The exception being MUJI’s store information. With fewer stores than one might expect for such a beloved brand, it made for an above average, clean design on that part of the site, though MUJI’s otherwise cluttered interface made for a below average score in product navigation.

Competitive/Comparative Feature Analysis and Business Model

As many users mentioned, one feature in more serious need of improvement is the responsive design, as detailed in the Usability Test documentation above.

Also, the cart feature received a below average score. Under the cart icon in the top menu bar, the site displays the user’s total at all times. This is largely unnecessary.

Shoppers ordinarily do not feel the need to continually recalculate their total as they shop. Best practice in e-commerce is to display only the item amount and not the total. In such a case, the information regarding the user’s total is one mere click away. But the current display simply takes up space. Possibly cultural, but would seem to unnecessarily break the uniform design of the top menu bar.

Heuristic Evaluation

MUJI Heuristic Analysis

While the brand is appealingly unconventional in essence, MUJI might do well to take on a certain level of convention when it comes to their site’s navigation and organization. Standardizing categories and updating their search engine/filter would go a long way.

As we’ve seen in our usability tests and competitive/comparative feature analysis, MUJI’s online store would benefit from a greatly improved responsiveness. An enhancement not so difficult to envision. Additionally, a mobile app eliminating any scaling issues the site currently undergoes when responsive should be a serious consideration.

Regardless, we recommend a redesign of the website with the company’s distinct philosophy in mind, focusing on minimalism and ease of use for the consumer. One way would be to examine the possibility of expanding their homepage, which successfully captures the feel of the store and also handles responsiveness very well. If the online store (which currently looks completely different than that homepage) could be incorporated into their visually and navigationally superior homepage, it would be a great start.

The MUJI brand itself is unique, featuring items in their store with emphasis on their minimalist aesthetic. We would like to consider the potential of presenting their online store with that same emphasis. If one could say perhaps the site is missing the mark in this regard, it would be reasonable if implementing a redesign to help the site capture some of the feeling users experience at their store is our essential recommendation.

Card Sorting

Summary and Insights:

We identified 100 items that are representative to MUJI’s categories. At least one item in each of the main categories and one in the subcategories. 

We then conducted two rounds of card sorting: one open and one closed. Five participants in the open card sorting, Four participants in the closed card sorting. Based on the feedback from the closed card sorting, we simplified the categories in the closed card sorting afterward, but we did not round it because of the time constraint.  

Open Card Sorting Overall

• Number of participants: 5

• Time taken: 16.0 mins

• Link

Closed Card Sorting Observation & Insights

We include the main categories, and the subcategories into our closed card sorting based on the MUJI’S categories.

• Most of the users did not sort items in the main categories, but the subcategories.

• User spent longer than we expected. We decided to delete the subcategories and only include the main categories for the third round, but we did not run it because of the time constraint.

Open Card Sorting Observation & Insights

The categories that users created have some similarity with the categories/ subcategories from MUJI. And there are some similarities. For example, 5/5 created “bathroom;” 5/5 created “clothing;” 5/5 created “kitchen.”

Persona

So having conducted all of our research and having pulled insights regarding MUJI's customer base, I’d like you to meet Claire, the consummate MUJI customer.

Problem Statement

Claire loves the MUJI brand and enjoys the serene atmosphere at their store. But she finds their online store cluttered with text and buttons, making it unappealing and disorienting.

How might we help Claire shop at MUJI’s online store in a way that is quick, easy, and captures the MUJI experience?

Solutions

After beginning with an initial brainstorm about solutions, I decided that changing the navigation structure so that it’s leaner would help provide the clarity users currently were missing on the site. I knew wanted to hide as much of the text as possible so that the user is not as disoriented.

And I also wanted images of products to serve as the primary navigation, helping to reinforce the user’s connection with the brand and capture something of the experience at the store.

Many users mentioned filtering as something that would make the site easier to use.

And so, after putting the wireframes together, incorporating several changes. And the prototype was ready to test.

Usability Tests

I conducted 2 rounds of Usability Tests with 4 participants per round. And made 3 design iterations.

One quick fix was making an even simpler lay out on the landing page.

And the footer needed to be larger. And make better use of space.

After the 2nd round of tests, filtering for clothing material was added.

Users get to tell the site what they want to see without getting overwhelmed by long lists of items.

Breadcrumbs would serve as primary orientation of user. Avoiding disorientation brought about by extraneous information.

Demo of Prototype

Users took on the role of Clair and were given the following three tasks.

(1) Finding a linen dress in her size to wear to an outdoor summer dinner party at her boss’s home.

(2) Finding a popular item to purchase as a gift for her boss

(3) Finding the Return Policy in case her boss doesn’t like the gift

By the 3rd iteration, on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being easy 5 being difficult, users gave each task a 1. And now for a demonstration of the prototype.

User Flows

The diagrams below depict the steps involved in 3 flows the user might experience when interacting with the MUJI website.

• The first flow is a depiction of how a user might navigate to a product detail page and add that item to the cart

• The second flow is a depiction of how a user would navigate to a top selling product and add it to the cart.

• The third flow is a depiction of the entire checkout process.

  We documented these paths on desktop and on mobile and there are no apparent differences between the desktop and mobile flows.

Sitemap

Next Steps

• Fully responsive redesign for mobile

• Reconsidering return policy. Sale items are currently non-refundable. Many users won’t want take such a risk when making an online purchase.

• Incorporating in-store availability on the product detail page.

• Merging current site with the global site

Reflections

Personally, I was not aware of MUJI until I began this project but it really is a fantastic brand and I can’t help but grin a bit when I pass by their store. And I’m very happy to say, shortly after this project, fate would have it that MUJI has begun updating their online store. Though I’m glad I managed to “UX” it in its previous state, at which point, I think it’s safe to say I didn’t quite need to be Sherlock Holmes. Lotsa’ love, MUJ’!

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