Industries

New Retail UX
Research in China

Uncover insights on the New Retail phenomenon in China, what drives consumers, and how to transform your customer experience through UX research & design.

Deep dive into the user experiences of New Retail in China to learn what and why it works

With the digital maturity of Chinese consumers it was no surprise that we saw the birth of New Retail in China in 2017 with the blending of traditional brick and mortar stores with online experiences to create an integrated customer experience. Since then New Retail has become the new normal in China with digital and online experiences now an expected integration to offline shopping from Chinese consumers.

New Retail in China has been a win win for both consumers and brands

  • Customer experiences have become richer and more interactive, giving shoppers more control and choices with less effort. Augmented reality (AR) ‘try-on’ kiosks, and self-checkout apps and mini programs are becoming common in Chinese offline stores.
  • Membership and loyalty programs are extended to provide discounts, promotions, and benefits for both offline and online customers.
  • 360° data capture of users online and offline means that brands have a more powerful ability for tracking, segmenting, and targeting.
  • Increased conversions for brands with more opportunities to up and cross-sell products (when experiences are properly optimized).
UX testing the Walmart WeChat mini program - Shop and Go

UX testing the Walmart WeChat mini program - Shop and Go

Kiosk AR makeup UX testing

Kiosk AR makeup UX testing

New Retail UX research and design in China

At UX Spot we harness UX research and design to uncover insights and learnings on New Retail in China to understand consumer habits, behaviours and interactions through a range of testing methods including:
  • In-lab usability testing and UX benchmarking of apps, WeChat mini programs, websites and other digital products used in New Retail.
  • In-lab exploratory sessions of qualitative focus groups and user interviews.
  • Shop-a-long contextual inquiry and usability testing in-store of New Retail digital experiences in real-life scenarios.
  • Diary studies to capture consumers shopping habits offline and online over a period of time.
We then help you design digital products and solutions to fit your New Retail needs, using the data from UX research to drive the design and business decisions to create meaningful experiences for your users and earn you more conversions and new customers.
23% of Chinese consumers have scanned a QR code to access a brands Wechat mini program

This figure jumps to 33% for the 18-24 age demographic and down to 16% for 45-54 yrs.

66% who had scanned a WeChat mini program QR code did so in a retail store

44% found the QR code on their own and 22% were encouraged by retail staff.

Membership loyalty rewards was their main motivation (49%)

And out of 77% who hadn’t scanned a QR code to access a brands mini program, 42% said they would be motivated to scan by membership loyalty rewards.

To uncover custom New Retail UX insights

Our new retail UX case studies

Researching both consumers and staff through user interviews, focus groups, mystery shopping and usability testing across four markets in China to design a consumer data capture tool.

Discovering pain points, creating and validating concepts for a mobile app through a review of previous research findings and focus group discussions with multiple user groups.

New Retail UX research & design solutions to win you more customers

Usability test apps with Chinese consumers

Don’t enter the market blind. Test your apps and mini programs to see how they perform with target Chinese users through usability testing, and UX benchmarking to compare with best-in-class New Retail experiences in China.

Optimize your customer loyalty programs

Customer loyalty programs are one of the driving forces behind New Retail in China. Learn what your customers want through focus group interviews and user interviews then harness the data in UX design to create your strategy.

WeChat mini program New Retail solutions

WeChat mini programs are a popular interface between offline and online retail in China. Our team designs and builds WeChat mini programs to drive online sales, capture consumer data and encourage customer loyalty programs.

Design omnichannel customer experiences

Successful New Retail case studies, have one thing in common. Seamless omnichannel customer experiences. Find out what omnichannel in China looks like for your brand through UX expert reviews, and UX design.

Capture consumer data to drive marketing value

Unlock big data on your customers in China. Learn how to capture and track consumer data across all offline and online touchpoints through UX expert reviews, and UX design. We design custom data capture solutions in China.

Interactive in-store tech solutions

How can your brand boost in-store customer experiences using technology? We use focus groups and user interviews to uncover insights and ux design to create new and interactive experiences.

Get a quote for your project

Let's start a conversation today. Share your project details and our team can put together a quote within 48 hours. research@uxspot.com

In this UX study, we use AR as a lens to better understand cosmetic customers' needs: we aim to uncover how beauty tech users are engaging with these apps, and synthesize prescriptive solutions.

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