Merchant Portal

Give our merchants a better way to efficiently manage their e-commerce resell operations.

Client:

Arrive Recommerce

Year:

2024

Disciplines:

User Research, Design Systems, Information Architecture, UX/UI, Cross-functional Collaboration

The Challenge

The Arrive Recommerce team identified the need for an innovative Merchant Portal to empower our partners to manage their e-commerce data and inventory more effectively. There was no existing system for our partners to access, so we created a brand-new software from scratch. This addressed the lack of a centralized platform for managing inventory and providing actionable data insights, which had been causing inefficiencies for merchants relying on Arrive’s Shopify integration.

Phone mockup with the app filter
Phone mockup with the app filter

The Solution

Deliver a scalable and user-friendly Merchant Portal concept, complete with:

  • Inventory Management MVP: A functional interface for managing product details and syncing with Shopify.

  • Comprehensive Style Guide: Streamlined developer handoff and ensured design consistency for future iterations.

  1. Collaborative Conceptualization

    • Partnered with the executive team, merchant success team, product manager, and developers to define project goals and scope.

    • Conducted stakeholder interviews to understand key pain points and prioritize features for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

  2. Design Foundation

    • Built a robust style guide from scratch to ensure consistency and scalability. This enabled developers to work independently of detailed design mocks.

    • Prioritized usability and scalability to support future platform growth.

  3. MVP Definition and Iteration

    • Initial MVP centered on inventory management: allowing partners to upload product catalogs for inventory management and the ability to update product details, seamlessly syncing with each partner's Shopify site, which was created and managed by Arrive. Data was pulled directly from the partners' Shopify accounts.

    • Conducted usability testing and design reviews with stakeholders to refine functionality.

  4. Pivot to Data Dashboard

    • Iterative development revealed merchants valued data insights (e.g., sales, conversion rates, site visits) over inventory management.

    • Refocused the project toward a comprehensive data dashboard, though this pivot wasn't completed before I left Arrive.


Phone mockup with the app details page
Phone mockup with the app details page

The Results

  • The inventory management MVP provided merchants with a foundational tool for updating their product details and automating Shopify integrations.

  • The style guide supported efficient collaboration between design and development teams, enhancing platform scalability.

  • While the pivot to a data dashboard highlighted the importance of iterative learning and user feedback, my time at Arrive ended before this vision could be fully realized.