

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.
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.
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.
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
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.
We created interactive exhibits that share the foundation’s mission to reduce income, health, and educational inequities around the globe.
Create a seamless customer journey across all platforms and services.