Industry

Retail & Ecommerce

Connecting with customers online and in person. 

a Music & Arts customer playing the guitar

Our Point of View

When the pandemic made it impossible and even scary to shop in person, most of us went online. Prepared retailers were able to stay afloat or even thrive, and today, nearly 20% of global retail sales are online. Post-pandemic, retailers are trying to stay competitive in a crowded online market while also saving on operating costs.


The most successful retailers today are those who find out what their customers want before making big investments and use personalized content and experiences to connect with shoppers.

 

Variate combines rapid prototyping and user research to validate marketing and digital product concepts. Our holistic view of the customer journey can be easily shared to improve enterprise-wide communication and optimization. It also helps coordinate research, experiments, insights, and success of KPIs across business lines.

a computer generated shape

KPIs

Average order value 
Average revenue per user 
Average review rating
Cart abandonment rate 
Content engagement 
Customer lifetime value 
Customer retention rate 
Employee satisfaction and engagement
Funnel optimization 
Loyalty program subscribers 
Online reputation and ratings 
Personalization engagement 
Sales conversion rate 
Search ranking 
User satisfaction

Expertise

Accessibility design (WCAG 2.2) 
Brand ecosystems
Content strategy 
Design systems 
Experiences design/development handoff 
Loyalty programs 
Native mobile apps
Offer and pricing engines 
Omnichannel design  
Product roadmaps
Retail space 
Rapid prototyping
Responsive design
Search landing 
Search optimization 
Service design 
Shopper journey experience design 
Systematized CRM and personalization
Upsell
User research 
Vision concepts 


Partnerships with Results


What our clients say

I worked with Variate on multiple projects over the last six years. The Variate team consistently delivers thoughtful solutions and especially shines when designing complex projects and new systems to align the overall experience. 

Mariana Cavalcanti

Variate's methodical, customer insights-led approach led to several breakthroughs for our different customer types. Our entire executive and working team found them a joy to work with!

Lara Pierre


Macy's

Uniting the in-store and online experiences

We partnered with Macy’s as they were working to meet increasing demand for online apparel, accessories, and home goods purchases. We designed and produced 10+ digital products including unifying the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s app experiences, enhancing call center software, finding safe ways for shoppers to collect online purchases in person, and creating a new way for work colleagues to manage team wedding and baby registries. Our holistic design approach allowed us to orchestrate components across platforms, brands, and teams.

a rule builder for Macy's return policies
a dashboard for Macy's return policies
a workflow for a Macy's call center employee
a suite of products for Macy's call center employees

Music & Arts

Creating a new brand experience for all digital services

Music & Arts wanted to better serve musicians in every stage by combining all their digital services in one platform. Our new, responsive website allows shoppers to explore the massive inventory of instruments and accessories, book online and in-person lessons, quickly set up rentals for school music programs, and get repairs.

a web responsive website for Music and Arts
category detail pages for Music and Arts
mobile UIs for Music and Arts' educator portal
a search experience for Music and Arts
responsive product detail pages for Music and Arts
Music and Arts educator portal and landing page
buyer guides for Music and Arts
schedule repairs experience for Music and Arts
Rentals pages for Music and Arts
Music and Arts homepage designs
Category page hero images for Music and Arts
a design system for Music and Arts

Target

Helping shoppers make informed decisions

We collaborated with Target to reimagine the video game section for all Target stores. Using new touch technology, customers can learn more about individual games to help make informed purchases

Target logo on a neutral background

LA Museum of the Holocaust

Bringing stories to life through touch and sound

The World That Was is an interactive, communal exhibit that invites visitors to explore an archive of 25,000 photos, many of them portraits, depicting Jewish people and their lives before the Holocaust. We designed an audio guide that seamlessly syncs audio on the device to videos shown on interactive screens throughout the exhibit. Rather than the typical “touch to begin” method, our system allows visitors to better connect with the visual and emotional qualities of the images. 

LA Holocaust Museum logo on a neutral background

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Informing and inspiring through interactive experiences

We created interactive exhibits that share the foundation’s mission to reduce income, health, and educational inequities around the globe.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation logo on a neutral background

Case Studies

Retail & Ecomerce

Music & Arts

Create a seamless customer journey across all platforms and services.


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