/ Strategy, Design, Digital Experience
Yodobashi Lifestyle - Digital eXperience
Yodobashi, one of Japan's major retailers, is facing increased competition from foreign giants like Amazon, domestic players such as Rakuten and Mercari, and traditional rivals like BicCamera and Yamada Denki. In response, Yodobashi has initiated the "Yodobashi 2040" project, signaling a commitment to reinventing itself for ongoing relevance in the changing market. A key component of this transformation is Yodobashi Lifestyle, an innovative offering aimed at the GenMZ audience, developed by the creative team at ZOOOM Productions, Yodobashi's lead creative agency, to redefine the modern shopping experience and counter competitors' advancements.
*This service is under development and is set to be released in 2024 with other services in the Yodobashi ecosystem.
**As "Yodobashi 2040" is an ongoing project, the final products and services may look different from the presented materials on this page.
Project Duration
January 2022 - October 2022
Primary Role
Product Strategist & Lead Designer
Function
UX Research, UI Design, DesignOps Management & Leadership
Diving deep for new knowlege
Obtaining insights into the end-users
As we are developing a new B2C service, it goes without saying that we need to dive deep into understanding our end-users. Who are they? What are their behaviors? How can Yodobashi approach and establish a strong relationship with them?
To answer these vital questions, our team, with the support of the SNS team at ZOOOM Productions and consulting teams at Google and Deloitte, conducted interviews and surveys in order to obtain new insights into this particular target audience.
How can we recreate the online shopping experience?
Reaching GenMZ, the most important target audience
With the gained insights, our team proposed a novel business model for Yodobashi: a brand-owned social media platform with transactions at its heart.
This new business model separates Yodobashi from other retailers as it allows Yodobashi to approach its target audience from a new angle. In addition, as Yodobashi is already an established mass retailer, the brand will also have significant advantages over other social media platforms as it can create a smoother shopping experience for users.
Yodobashi 2040 and Yodobashi Lifestyle
With the support of Yodobashi's executive board, our team chose the name Yodobashi Lifestyle for the soon-to-be-developed social platform.
This platform is fully connected to and supported by the Yodobashi ecosystem and is positioned primarily as a customer-facing product.
Supporting business development with creativity
In the development of Yodobashi Lifestyle, a paramount consideration is creating a product that authentically caters to the preferences of its users rather than imposing a predefined business-centric approach.
As a result, our team prioritized design principles that focus not only on the most optimal user experience but also on creating an emotional connection between the users and the product. The three key principles that underscore Yodobashi Lifestyle's design are: Content-first, Personalized, and Flexible.
Available in multiple language
With the Yodobashi Design System as the core infrastructure and other functions in the Yodobashi ecosystem in support, our team can quickly design and develop Yodobashi Lifestyle in multiple languages with minimal effort.
However, although the Yodobashi Design System supports development in 6 languages, considering the user base in Japan, Yodobashi's home ground, our team honed in on four primary languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. These four languages are sufficient for the product to cover 95% of the use cases in the country. By default, the product is set to follow the user's device settings.
Bringing the power of customization to Yodobashi Lifestyle
To build an emotional connection between the user and the product and to fully capture the essence of Yodobashi Lifestyle, we must bring personalization and customization to the hands of our users.
With the support of the Yodobashi Design System's token definition scheme and generative algorithms, our team developed a system that allows users to customize the look of their Yodobashi Lifestyle according to their preferences using pictures. The same generative algorithms are also responsible for bringing more flairs to the contents on Yodobashi Lifestyle.
Gamification - encouraging an active community
While not a groundbreaking idea, gamification was initially unfamiliar territory for Yodobashi, a company traditionally focused on sales. The executive board initially questioned the relevance of incorporating gamification into Yodobashi Lifestyle, given its primary sales-oriented focus.
However, recognizing the vital role of community engagement in the success of Yodobashi Lifestyle, our team, with the backing of Yodobashi's president and chairman, decided to introduce a straightforward gamification element to the product. This took the form of a simple achievement system designed to encourage users to actively participate in various activities. In addition to this achievement system, our team also opted for an open approach that allows users to share their achievements on social media outside of the Yodobashi ecosystem.
And a seamless Yodobashi shopping experience
At the core of the service lies its essential function: in-app transactions. Our team seamlessly integrated Yodobashi Lifestyle with Yodobashi Shopping using dedicated APIs, ensuring that users enjoy a consistent and smooth shopping experience within the app.
Beyond this, we went a step further by providing users with opportunities to enhance every element within their content, offering a novel and personalized shopping experience. This approach not only simplifies transactions but also empowers users to curate their interactions and make the shopping journey uniquely their own.
A special thanks to the project team
