Role | UX Lead
B2B2C
Overview
The primary purpose of this B2B2C web app was to provide a solution for efficiently increasing inventory to a large set of independent retailers specializing in pet food and supplies. When PetFlow merged with Phillips Pet Food and Supplies, one of the nation’s largest pet supply distributors, there was an immediate need to leverage PetFlow’s design and technology strengths to provide direct benefits to the distributor’s main customer base. These customers were primarily comprised of independent pet food and supply shops, who often struggle to maintain brick-and-mortar businesses in the landscape of an ever increasing competitive online market.
Initial Research
When we asked independent retailers what they felt they needed to help improve their own sales, we were overwhelmingly met with the same response. Out of 45 respondents – who categorized themselves as independent small businesses – 85% said they were regularly losing sales for not having enough variety in their shop to offer their customers. Less than half of these respondents also had an online shop to accompany their brick-and-mortar.
In order to help close the gap, we launched a digital platform to allow retailers to special order items for their customers in-store, without the hassle and extra expense of physically carrying additional products. All they would need is an active account with Phillips and a web-enabled device for online access. From a business sense, not only were these small retailers able to offer more products to their own customers, but it also provided an opportunity for Phillips Pet Food and Supplies to distribute more items, yielding to higher profits.
The Inventory Issue
In order to design an experience which meets the needs of independent pet shop retailers, we expanded our initial research pool and asked 200 brick-and-mortar retailers (Phillips Pet Food and Supplies customers) which item categories their customers inquired about most which they did not have enough space for in their physical shops. These results informed which product categories we prioritized within the Endless Aisles platform.
The Retailer Landscape
We wanted to learn a little more about the businesses we were planning to help so we asked the same group of 200 respondents whether they had physical shops exclusively or if they had both online and physical shops.
This information helped us decide which retailers would benefit the most from the first version of Endless Aisles. Although 38% of independent retailers currently had both an online shop and physical store, we decided to primarily focus on the value we could provide to retailers without an online shop. Integrating to existing e-commerce stores would prove to be relatively straightforward, since Shopify was the predominant e-commerce platform among our online retailers.
Endless Aisles
A simple and convenient web app designed for retailers to instantly get items special ordered directly to customers, boosting their variety by thousands
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The Problem
Most independent pet supply retailers are frequently short on square footage in their brick-and-mortars but want to offer their customers more product variety without compromising on physical shop space.
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The Solution
Endless Aisles empowers pet supply retailers to expand their offerings and secure sales without the need to stock thousands of extra items. Customers can choose to have orders shipped directly to their door or conveniently pick them up in-store.
Personas
After conducting several rounds of research, we settled on two main independent retailer personas. These two user types allowed us to focus on the features that would meet the needs of Phillips Pet Food and Supply customers (the independent retailers) while also providing a rich opportunity for increased distributor and retail product sales.
Limiting personas helped prevent scope expansion as this platform was the first version of the launched product. Also, we were able to more efficiently meet the needs of our retailer users without compromising any core Phillips Pet Food and Supply business benefits.
Persona A - The Solopreneur
Persona B - The Can-Do Shop Owner
Defining How It Works
To provide a clearer understanding of how Endless Aisles would actually function, I developed a flowchart to visualize the UX. The chart below outlines how a retailer would typically utilize the Endless Aisles platform in an in-store scenario. This visual representation of the user experience proved instrumental in fostering alignment among stakeholders and team members, while also offering an opportunity to address and resolve potential conflicts before the actual design and development processes began.
In-Store Platform Flowchart
Initial Sketches
The in-store experience
Next, we conducted a series of collaborative sketch sessions to explore interface design concepts. Recognizing that effective design emerges from diverse perspectives, developers, designers, and product managers all contributed by sketching their ideas. As the design lead for this project, I synthesized the most promising concepts from the session into a more refined and comprehensive version.
In-Store Platform Wireflow
We underwent several rounds of user testing with a sample of our retailers to validate the overall UX flow. Once we had confidence in our approach, I made a flowchart using the wireframes to provide a comprehensive overview of the various screens and interactions. This documentation was a great reference to help bridge any gaps between stakeholders and the design and development teams.
Defining Additional Views
Sketches
To ensure a well-defined scope beyond the overall UX shown above, we focused on identifying all the essential views for this first iteration of Endless Aisles. After several sketch sessions, our team reached a clear consensus on what needed to be built. The following illustrates key retailer-facing views, designed to support their needs and enhance their experience with the platform.
The Endless Aisles Dashboard
key highlights
The dashboard is designed to give users a clear, actionable overview of their business performance at a glance. With a focus on usability and efficiency, it highlights key metrics like Total Orders, Top Products Sold, and Total Shipped, and Order Activity, ensuring that independent retailers can quickly access the insights they need. The layout is intuitive, with data visualizations and interactive elements that make tracking trends, exporting data, and identifying opportunities seamless.
A robust date range filtering system allows users to customize their view, switching between standard presets (such as the last 7 days or YTD) or defining custom timeframes. This flexibility ensures that businesses can analyze performance over relevant periods easily. Each dashboard element is designed with clarity in mind—whether it’s a real-time order activity feed, sortable product rankings, or quick-glance KPIs.
Beyond just displaying data, the dashboard is built for action. Users can view specific metrics, export reports, and view key sales trends in top-performing products. The experience is smooth across devices, ensuring accessibility whether users are managing operations from a desktop or on the go. By balancing powerful analytics with an intuitive interface, this dashboard empowers small businesses to stay agile, informed, and ahead of their competition.
The Infinite Aisle Experience
Seamless Shopping, Smarter Filtering
Creating a frictionless browsing and shopping experience was essential to making product discovery effortless for independent retailers and small businesses. As a fully responsive web application, this platform adapts seamlessly to all device sizes, ensuring a smooth and consistent interface across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
In alignment with Miller’s Law, the product listing pages are intentionally designed to display no more than 7 to 9 products at a time, minimizing cognitive load and making browsing more intuitive and efficient. By presenting information in digestible chunks, users can explore inventory without feeling overwhelmed.
A standout feature of this design is its intuitive and dynamic filtering system, which enhances the shopping experience by providing real-time feedback. As users refine their search, the system instantly updates to display the number of matching results, giving them full control over their selections and eliminating guesswork. This approach streamlines decision-making, reducing frustration and making it easier to find the right products quickly.
The clean, modern UI ensures an efficient shopping experience, allowing users to browse extensive inventories with ease. By combining responsive design, smart filtering, and an intuitive interface, this platform redefines how users engage with inventory available to them for their customers.
A shop associate is using the Endless Aisles Platform to special order an item that isn’t available in-store.
key highlights
Left: The dynamic filtering system provides real-time feedback, instantly displaying the number of matching results before users apply their selected filters.
Right: The product detail page presents available options and a concise description, aligning with familiar shopping experiences. Additional product details remain accessible without overwhelming the user, ensuring a streamlined and intuitive product browsing experience.
Store and Team Management Views
editing and managing
To ensure a seamless experience for retailers of all sizes, we focused on keeping views clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate. The design prioritizes clarity and efficiency, enabling users to manage their stores effortlessly, regardless of their operational scale. By leveraging Google MUI, we accelerated the design and development process, ensuring a consistent, scalable UI while reducing time to market.
From a UX and product design standpoint, maintaining parity across different management tasks was a key consideration. Managing stores and staff settings shared similar interaction patterns, so we designed these flows with consistency in mind. This approach minimizes cognitive load, allowing users to quickly understand and navigate between related tasks without unnecessary friction. The result is a cohesive, user-friendly experience that streamlines essential operations for retailers.
Order view shows a recent transaction displaying important customer information, order status, tracking details, and option to refund.
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“It’s so easy for me to order something that I don’t normally stock in-store. I can finally say yes, I can order that for you.”
— Jennifer, Hound About Town
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“Endless Aisles allows us to have more products on our website than ever before.”
— Gary, Pets On Broadway
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“Endless Aisles is easy to use and fulfilling orders only takes a few clicks!”
— Ryan, All Is Well Pets
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Access to the whole catalog for our online shop and physical store has been a game-changer for us.”
— Alex, CB Pets