Wayfair Consolidated Delivery
Simplifying Complex Logistics.
Role Lead UI/UX Design | User Research | Team Lead
When customers tackle large home projects, receiving dozens of packages on different days creates chaos. I led the UX effort to create "Consolidated Delivery"—a tool allowing users to group shipments into a single, predictable delivery date. My focus was on transforming a complex backend logistics initiative into an intuitive, self-service customer experience.
Modern shoppers need more than just a tracking number; they need a project management tool.
Our vision was to move beyond simple order tracking. We aimed to provide to-do lists, timelines, and "Consolidation Boards" that help users manage budgets and schedules. The goal was an MVP that proved we could reduce "delivery fatigue" by ensuring everything shows up when it’s needed, all at once.
Discovery & Design Process
This project didn't start from scratch; I began by synthesizing similar legacy initiatives to identify where previous efforts had stalled. Working across Figma and Miro, I moved the designs through eight versions, constantly refining the scope. A major pivot occurred when we realized "My Deliveries" shouldn't be its own experience, but rather a seamless integration within the existing "My Orders" ecosystem.
User Testing: The "At Risk" & IA Challenge
We conducted usability testing via Usertesting.com with three distinct groups: frequent shoppers, targeted professionals, and mobile-first users. We focused on "Findability"—could users distinguish between an "Order" and a "Scheduled Delivery"? We utilized the UMUX Lite metric to get a standardized usability score, landing at a 60% average which signaled a clear need for terminology refinement.
Synthesis: Identifying Friction Points
Our testing revealed significant friction around the terms "Consolidated Delivery" and "At Risk." Users felt "At Risk" was too alarming without context (At risk of what? Damage? Cancellation?), and many defaulted to clicking "Chat Support" when they felt lost. This insight was pivotal—it proved that our heuristic labels were getting in the way of a "self-service" goal.
The Result & Next Steps
Based on the 4.3/5 "Ease of Use" ranking but the lower UMUX score, we made a strategic decision for the next phase: Remove the "My Deliveries" tab entirely. Instead, we are developing a treatment within "My Orders" that denotes grouped items more naturally. We are also investigating more descriptive verbiage to replace "At Risk" and minimizing the "Chat Support" crutch by making the UI more transparent.
