Making selling online much easier for small businesses
Project overview
Pinosell is here to empower sellers by simplifying the process of establishing an online store. Users will be able to create their shop in minutes, utilising their social media feeds without the need for coding or manual content entry. We prioritise mobile-first functionality, ensuring that managing stores is convenient and intuitive directly from smartphones.
Additionally, we aim to provide tools for customising social media content to maximize visibility and engagement. Our platform includes mini applications designed to support effective social media campaigns and promotional activities. To further support sellers, we’re developing an AI-powered assistant. This assistant will offer daily growth tactics, strategies, and personalised action plans tailored to individual business goals, helping sellers navigate challenges and achieve sustainable growth in the competitive online marketplace.
Problem Statement
Small and medium-sized businesses are grappling with significant challenges in the e-commerce realm. In 2024 alone, these enterprises lost around 1 billion dollars due to inefficiencies in their online operations. A staggering 90% of small businesses fail in e-commerce, largely because they struggle to adopt complex and expensive traditional e-commerce platforms. These platforms often perform poorly on social media and lack the personalised mentorship necessary for developing effective digital strategies. There is a pressing need for a more accessible, cost-effective, and supportive e-commerce solution tailored specifically to the needs of SMEs.
Goals
Our main goal with Pinosell was to create a user-friendly platform that meets the needs of non-tech-savvy users. Through extensive research, we found that simplicity is crucial, ensuring even those with basic mobile skills can easily navigate and use our tools. The platform will allow users to set up their online store effortlessly using their social media feeds, without requiring technical skills or content creation. Moreover, we aimed to support users throughout their e-commerce journey by offering personalised assistance and practical advice to help them thrive in the competitive digital marketplace.
Design Process
At Pinosell, we adopted a thorough design approach using the double diamond strategy for each feature. From February 2023, my main task was to revamp the existing high-fidelity designs. From March to June 2023, we dedicated ourselves to enhancing the entire app.
We kicked off each feature with extensive research to gather diverse insights. Drawing on my experience helping small and medium businesses, I played a key role in refining our user personas. Initially, these personas were conceptual; we refined them meticulously to capture precise user expectations and behaviors.
Once our personas were solidified, we delved deep into feature-specific research, documenting every detail. We carefully compared this data against our refined personas to ensure alignment with both business objectives and technical capabilities, focusing on insights critical to each feature’s success.Moving into the design phase, we created wireframes that integrated existing design elements. Through close collaboration, our design team refined these wireframes to meet our newly defined requirements. Subsequent meetings with the CTO, product manager, and developers were pivotal for assessing feasibility and technical alignment. Iterative feedback loops helped us refine our designs, ensuring they seamlessly integrated into our framework.
Following these meetings, we addressed questions and integrated feedback into iterative design refinements, often necessitating redesigns to ensure technical coherence and enhanced functionality. From the end of June, I conducted extensive user testing, including over 10 interviews. These sessions focused intensely on user interaction and feedback, revealing challenges, particularly in the onboarding process.
Based on these insights and informed by the double diamond strategy, we streamlined our approach, eliminating cumbersome steps in the onboarding process. This revision significantly enhanced user engagement by 33%, supported by enhancements like interactive GIFs and videos that guided users through the Pinosell dashboard.
Result
At the outset, the successful development and implementation of the Flare feature marked a significant achievement, initially conceptualised as a solution to enhance content creation for users. Through user testing with business owners and consultations with specialists, more than 50% expressed complete satisfaction with the final result, emphasising Flare's effectiveness in meeting user needs. This positive feedback underscored Flare's rapid adoption within Pinosell, positioning it as a standout feature that became a cornerstone of our marketing strategy. Additionally, Flare's success led to its adaptation into a standalone app, demonstrating its versatility and widespread adoption among our target audience.
