Aristocrat Kids
Real case about a fairy tale online store. How we created a software which grew customer base by 55%
About
Industry: E-Commerce, Retail, Clothing
Location: Latvia
Type of software: ERP
Scope of work: Back-end, Front-end, UI/UX Design, Quality Assurance, BA
Aristocrat Kids is a company based in Riga, Latvia, that creates exclusive child’s clothing. With their fashion, every kid may play a role of a fairytale character and this is what makes them unique. Aristocrat Kids has a wide targeting in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the USA, and other countries. This project has the heart and soul of the whole team because they’ve been with us since 2016!
All this time was spent not only on unique custom software creation but also on a great journey to their business evolution and success.
How did all that affect the software we developed? When did the Aristocrat Kids’ story begin and how are they doing today?
Check it out in our case!
Technologies
Symphony
JQuery
Hammer.js
Reveal.js
Slick
Key features
- A fully functional menu allows the operator/manager of the store to create necessary menu items or categories of goods with multilevel hierarchy, as well as to make corrections to already existing items and categories
- A new order notification module is also available to reduce response time and improve customer service
- The multifunctional module of work with orders allows the store manager to: sort orders by a selected criteria and inchronological order; track the status and customer payments in real time, view the customer profile with the entire history of their orders
- The "Product Slider" module offers products of the "YOU MAY ALSO LIKE" category. Block automatically selects goods based on the history of views and orders of the user, as well as added products to the wishlist. This block is displayed on the main page and on product cards.
Challenges
Combine user-friendly design and brand's aristocracy
The real challenge for us was to combine the unique customer’s requirements with a technical solution. Our clients had a detailed approach to each step in the project development, so we had to create a solution that would fully convey the essence of their idea.
Probably the most difficult thing was to express the aristocracy of the brand in design without violating the general rules of UX-building. Online stores should have been wide-functional, but the brand’s reputation, their charisma, was in the first place. We used only subtle, soft shades in design and avoided “basic” solutions.
Thanks to this, the design doesn’t distract the user from the product, focusing all their attention on the clothing line. In addition, our customers have been very careful when it came to visuals and photos; each shooting was different from another, and, of course, very different from the way of usual stores doing. Each collection is unique, has its own history and location, more so, its own identity.
From the very first minutes of working with Aristocrat Kids, we realized that this project and this business overall haven’t been “usual” not ever. It wasn’t just a store, it was a brand with its own character, and our main goal was to transfer this character to life through quality UX.
Project Team
Oleksandr
Project Manager /
Business Analyst
Mira
UX /UI Designer
Dmytro
Team Lead
Artem
Developer
Maria
QA Engineer
Project Workflow
STAGE 1. Discovery
- We studied client's requirements and the ways to fulfill them;
- Searched for a quality solution to integrate and adapt new technologies in the system;
- Created the terms of reference and work plan (first part);
- Approved the work plan.
Alexander
PM/BA
It was nice to work with people who know their target audience. Our clients carefully studied the TOR and SRS, and knew exactly what they wanted from the technical solution. That’s why UX, design, and development of the software were based on research of the latest market trends and target audience.
STAGE 2. Design & Prototyping
- We created and approved the strategy of work on the project
- Developed site pages prototypes;
- Developed system requirements specifications (the second part) and work plan;
- Approved SRS and work plan (the second part);
- Started work on the site design.
Mira
Designer
We had plenty of options to present each clothing line individually but later we decided that we needed to unify everything. I felt responsible for my work, and I’m very happy that I was able to deliver what our customers were looking for!
STAGE 3. Development
- We made a layout of the software product, created software architecture;
- Distributed team resources to match the deadlines better
- Tested the product;
- Completed the work and presented the finished product to the customer;
- Checked the finished product for compliance with all requirements and specifications.
Dmytro
Team Lead
Of course, it was the longest stage. The most important thing I would like to note is the team commitment and our understanding of the clients’ project. We created something unusual for its time, which continues to surprise and excite people who buy through Aristocrat Kids even today. For example, the solution on a non-standard, horizontal site menu, which was unique back in the days and remains interesting today. In general, both we and our customers are really satisfied with the final product and its quality.
STAGE 4. Evolution
This is a current stage of this project’s development. The changes we made on the evolution stage are rather small but still significant. For example, Stripe payment system integration that helped to make a software much quicker and better operating.
Alexander
PM/BA
From the list of tasks that we had recently, perhaps the brightest thing was the integration of the current version of Stripe payment system. Upgrading the project with this much of a background is a very important task. The project uses PayumBundle, which processes payments on the software. The Stripe payment service that is integrated into it had to be updated. But PayumBundle supported Stripe integration up to version 4, and we had to implement v.7, so we eliminated all conflicts between components manually.
Results
Realized the easier way for the clients to navigate through pages and make purchases by ensuring that site works well, loads at a good speed, and has zero bugs.
With our software they have the opportunity to continually improve, evolve, and scale their business. We are always in touch, and ready to implement customer’s new requirements to allow their business to remain relevant in the market.
Linda Dzirne
The Aristocrat Kids Representative
I’m really happy to work with MassMedia Group. You not only did your job, but you also gave us options for solutions, and explained things to us patiently. The extra effort you put into this really made a big difference for our company. At last clients can buy items in our online shop easily. Thank you!