UX/UI Designer | Game Narrative Designer
Kpretty Website Redesign
Improving a Standout K-Beauty E-Commerce Site
I was approached by the CEO of JP Import LLC, DK Kim, and a web developer, Steve Kim, to conduct user research for their K-beauty product e-commerce site. JP Import LLC (JPI) is a manufacturing and shipping company that sells blankets, Moira products, and K-beauty skincare products and cosmetics. In order to sell their K-beauty skincare products, they set up an e-commerce website called Kpretty.com. However, Kpretty had seen very little traffic and customer growth, so they requested my assistance with conducting UX research to identify ways to improve Kpretty’s website experience and marketing.
Project type
UX research project to find ways to improve users' experiences navigating a new K-beauty skincare product e-commerce site.
Tools
Google Suite, Figma, OBS
Role
UX and Market Researcher
Clients
DK Kim
Steve Kim
Timeline
January 2025 - August 2025
Client Presentation Link
Meeting with the Client
I met with DK Kim, the CEO of JPI, and Steve Kim, the developer for the Kpretty e-commerce website to learn more about the website and determine current pain points with driving up traffic and attracting buyers to Kpretty.
During our meeting, Steve told me more about JP Import’s pain points with running Kpretty and the current challenges with attracting customers, which stemmed from Kpretty being in its beginning stages and not having a strong web presence through ads or social media.
Along with figuring out ways to market Kpretty more effectively, Steve asked me to conduct user research on the existing site to see if there were any improvements we could internally that improved customers’ experiences shopping on Kpretty.
Initial Heuristics Analysis
In my initial evaluation of the Kpretty website, I observed that the top of the homepage followed design patterns I’d seen previously in other e-commerce sites with a large product banner and a menu for different product categories above it.
However, the ad banner occupied most of the screen, requiring the user to scroll down to see any products. Then even when the user scrolled down, the first thing they saw were video shorts on skincare routines. During the usability tests, some users noted that having skincare routine tutorials was a positive element that they haven’t seen on other skincare product e-commerce sites before, but having them in a higher place in the hierarchy than any products was not helpful for quickly browsing or shopping.​
For the product carousels further down on the homepage, the first carousel in the hierarchy showcases popular brands. Then the next carousel below that showcases different product types. In the usability tests, most of the users placed more importance on searching by product type rather than by brand to find what they need. This was especially true for users not familiar with K-beauty products.
User Interviews and Usability Testing
The target demographic that Kpretty wanted to market to was young adults in their 20s and 30s in America. The team at that point only had insights into what Korean skincare products were popular in Korea and the marketing strategies implemented there, so they wanted me to find out the trends surrounding Korean skincare products in America, so that we could most effectively market to potential customers and expand the Korean skincare product market as a seller in America.
For my research, I decided to conduct user research via user interviews and usability testing on Kpretty’s existing website.
For the user interviews, I interviewed 8 people within the target demographic of young adults in their 20s and 30s and focused on learning about their behaviors in 3 key areas that were relevant to improving Kpretty’s online presence:
Online ad engagement behaviors
Online shopping behaviors
Skincare product shopping and usage behaviors
Research Synthesis and Analysis
Following my interviews and usability tests, I made two affinity maps (one for research and the other for usability tests) to identify common trends across all the users.​​
Interview Analysis
Online Ad Engagement Trends:
“I generally avoid and don’t engage with online ads (with pop-ups being the most annoying).”
“I engage the most with product listing ads and interactive demo ads.”
“I mostly discover new e-commerce sites from social media.”
Skincare Product Shopping and Usage Trends:
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*I asked separate questions about users’ general online shopping habits and specific shopping habits for skincare products. Due to overlap in sentiments between both categories, for the research synthesis, I decided to combine the insights together.*
“I care more about buying skincare products that work for me, regardless of the notability of the brand.”
“I use a variety of skincare products from several different brands.”
“I want to know the ingredients, information, and customer reviews of products before buying them.”
Full Affinity Maps (interview affinity map (left), usability affinity map (right)):
User Persona
The major goal for Kpretty was to attract and convert new customers. In my research, I found that people who were new to skincare or liked experimenting with different products were more likely to seek out new products they may not already use, which would sometimes lead them to discover or search for new sellers. However, some sellers may not be engaged with or even discovered because of their usage of obtrusive online ads, which people in the target demographic are not wholly receptive to.
With these factors in mind, I created a user persona, Emily Lee, who was someone somewhat new to skincare and wanted to find new Korean skincare products, but did not know about Kpretty because it did not have an online presence she was aware of or receptive to.
Proposals for Site Improvements
Based on the usability testing of the Kpretty website, the main proposals I gave to the team were focused on updating product description pages and adjusting the formatting of the homepage so users could easily access product information that was more immediately relevant to them.
The most pertinent information that users wanted to see on product pages were product descriptions, a list of ingredients, and customer reviews. Additionally, for those unfamiliar with how to use certain products, step-by-step routines for usage were also essential to include.​
Add product descriptions, lists of ingredients, and customer reviews (if available) to ALL product detail pages.
Rearrange information architecture on the top dropdown menu and on the homepage to prioritize skin needs, skincare routine, and product type as major categories for users to look through over brands.
Emphasize Kpretty’s mission statement/value proposition on the homepage to show why it stands out from other skincare product and K-beauty sellers.
Within a few weeks, Steve and a designer at JPI, Gene Pak, made updates to the Kpretty website UI based on my data and proposals.
Proposals for Advertising
Based on the information I gathered previously about how users in our target demographic engaged with online ads and/or discovered new e-commerce sites, the ads that they engaged with the most were ads and influencer promotions of brands on social media.
The main proposal I gave for increasing Kpretty’s online presence was for Kpretty to cultivate a social media presence both through social media ads and influencer promotions. Users noted that they found influencers promoting products and demonstrating them more persuasive than other ads since seeing people actually using a skincare product helped verify the quality.
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Creating and posting advertisements with influencers on social media would require team expansion and a devoted social media and marketing manager. As JPI is a small company in the early stages of developing a marketing plan, finding a social media manager and creating social media ads and campaigns are things that will be done later down the line.
Key Takeaways
The main problem to solve was helping Kpretty gain an online presence, so I extended my research to go beyond the site itself to gather information on how to improve the avenues through which new users discovered the e-commerce site, which consisted of online ads and social media promotions.
As the site is still in its early stages of development and outreach, in the future, I would focus on conducting more specific research on other competitors to see how they began their businesses and gained traction online. Learning about different online advertisement methods and social media campaigns for competitors is helpful, but these methods that I researched were usually implemented a while after the competitors’ brands gained traction and popularity. Therefore, this research will be more relevant and helpful once Kpretty reaches that same stage.