Sexy industry needs sexy UX, too

Source: www.fashionthrill.com/2011/04/great-designers-agent-provocateur

There is a genius picture on twitter which perfectly explains how important the user experience(UX) is. When what you provide doesn't meet users' needs, they just turn around and leave. When that happens, everything you did was just a waste of money.

Here are some stunning statistics from homestead.com that tell you why UX is so important.

• 68% users leave a website because of poorly designed UX.

• 44% of online shoppers will tell friends about a bad experience online.

• 62% of customers base future purchases on past experiences.

Doesn't this sound scary? Don't worry. There are many principles to guide you on how to create a good user experience. Personally, I think there are three especially critical rules for marketing a lingerie brand. They are visual appeal, usability of the site, and seamless integration on different devices. (Btw, the lingerie industry is my topic for my digital marketing class final project.) Here, I'll walk you through Agent Provocateur's website and we'll see if they've done their homework.

1. Visual Appeal

Let's be realistic. When female customers buy their bras and underwear, 9 out of 10 of them choose the styles that appeal to them visually instead of how comfortable they may be. Therefore, aesthetics are especially important for a lingerie brand website.

When we first enter Agent Provocateur's website, the black background and large editorial photography create an atmosphere of luxury, which perfectly reflects the positioning of Agent Provocateur: high end, sophisticated, and sexy. This website is definitely eye catching.

If I have to be picky, I would like to see the editorial photography include a slide show. It would add more energy to the website and be a more efficient use of space.

2.Usability
A website needs to have clarity of purpose. In the case of Agent Provocateur, their official website is not only for branding but also for driving sales. The main navigation bar contains drop-down menus, which include various collections and products. It helps users find each category very easily. All the functional buttons are also located in positions that are familiar to users.

On the catalog page, the content is very well-organized. When a user's mouse hovers over a specific photo, the model provides another viewing angle. It's very close to how we try on new clothes in front of a mirror: First, we look at the front view, and then see how it looks from the side and back.


During the transaction process, I especially like this pop-up window. It makes the whole browsing experience smooth and enjoyable. Sometimes, when we shop for lingerie, it's just so hard to decide whether to choose this one with black lace or that one with the cute pattern. I usually throw them all in the shopping cart and make my decision later. On Agent Provocateur's website, without jumping in and out of shopping cart, I can simply click the "continue shopping" button on the pop-up window and stay within the catalog.

3. Seamless in different devices

People use multiple devices nowadays and that's why we have heard a lot about mobile first or Responsive web design (RWD). All these ideas aim to make sure that we provides good user experience in all circumstances. When companies fail to keep the experience consistent across all platforms, they are ruining their brand unconsciously.

Luckily, Agent Provocateur is not one of them. Agent Provocateur's website is responsively designed. It not only scales down to fit a smaller screen, but it also adjusts all functions for mobile users. For example, the main navigation bar is no longer horizontally placed. Instead, it turns into a menu icon in the upper left corner, where mobile users are able to recognize what it is. Search bar also turns to search icon. The website perfectly translates to a mobile format through responsive web design.

Well done, Agent Provocateur!
Female customer are a group of people who are the most easiest to influence ,but you have to do it the right way. Pay more attention to all these non-verbal forms of communication and create a comfortable online and off-line shopping environment, and you will get more unexpected returns from us.