WOOHEE BYUN

Kim’C Market

Brooklyn-based Korean grocery platform Kim’c Market recently faced business challenges, including low conversion rates, high bounce rates, and high cart abandonment rates. To gain clear insights into users’ behavior and tackle the issue through a UX approach, the team conducted extensive research, from a diary study to an eye-tracking heatmap, to deliver recommendations.

Timeline –

02.2025-04.2025

Role –

Team Lead
UX Designer

Team –

Samantha Guzman, UX Designer
Elizabeth Ward, Graphic Designer
Nouman Wajid, UX Designer
Joee Cortes, UX Designer
Roshan Pereira, UX Designer Problem –

Kim’C Market faces several critical performance challenges: a high bounce rate of 58.04%, a low conversion rate of just 1.76%, and unclear insights into retention behaviors.

Outcome –

Final deliverables to the client include the 10 most prioritized findings and recommendations. A 40% implementation rate by the client, featuring expanded user reviews, hidden fee visibility, and promotion banner overlay.

Final Design –

Better product discovery

Improved filters, intuitive categories, and lifestyle visuals make it easier (and more enjoyable!) for users to find what they’re looking for—without the hassle.

Clear value justification

From premium sourcing to its ingredients, product pages now highlight why each item is worth the price—making quality feel transparent, not mysterious.

No more hidden fees

No more guessing games at checkout—shipping fees and delivery info are now easy to spot upfront, helping users shop with confidence and clarity.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!

Business Challenge –

Conversion Metrics That Sparked the Redesign

Despite strong product quality and a loyal customer base, Kim’C Market faced friction in key parts of the user journey. High bounce rates, cart abandonment, and low mobile conversions pointed to usability gaps that directly impacted growth.

Diary Study –

Learning from daily behaviors

To understand the first-time and returning user experience, we conducted a diary study across mobile and desktop. Participants were asked to document where they encountered friction, hesitated, or dropped off.

Eye Tracking Heatmap –

Validating friction through gaze and clicks

We ran usability testing using Tobii eye-tracking and Microsoft Clarity with 8 end users. Session recordings and heatmaps revealed hesitation in navigation, pricing sections, and product pages.

Follow-up interviews added qualitative depth and helped explain visual and behavioral drop-off points.

Problem Identification –

Patterns that emerged from cross-channel research

We identified consistent UX challenges, which helped us reframe vague performance issues into concrete, designable problems.

UX Direction –

Design goals and strategic focus

We identified key UX goals that aligned with both user needs and business challenges. These goals served as the foundation for our redesign direction, supported by usability heuristics and UX laws.

Solution –

Making everyday orders feel effortless

We proposed targeted design solutions that addressed the most critical usability challenges. From product discovery to pricing clarity, each change aimed to reduce friction, improve trust, and enhance the overall shopping experience.

❌ Product images are lacking in relevancy and detailed information about their premium quality.

✅ Contextual visuals guide users with clear details on product size, texture, and cooked appearance.

❌ Out-of-stock items blend in with available products, disrupting product discoverability.

✅ Out-of-stock items are visually differentiated and clearly separated from available products.

❌ Lack of visibility and clarification of the Package Protection Fee.

✅ Clearly indicate the hidden fee with the same level of hierarchy as the subtotal.

❌ Lack of visual differentiation between products.

✅ Overlaid images on thumbnails to improve comparison at a glance.

❌ Insufficient filters lead to confusion and frustration.

✅ Add subcategories on the product page to enhance discoverability.

❌ Sticky side banner overlaps with navigation menu.

✅ Sticky banner placed at the top to reduce content overlap and maintain visibility.

Implementation –

What’s live now

Several of our design suggestions have already been implemented by Kim’C Market, including a promotion banner and a filtering system. These early adoptions signal strong alignment between user needs and business priorities.

Outcome & Impact –

Where It Landed

I had an amazing opportunity to present the case study at a workshop hosted by NYC User Experience & Digital Product Designers. We hosted a demo session alongside the presentation, allowing participants to try the eye-tracking heatmap and Microsoft Clarity.

Reflections –

What did I learn from this project?

Tackling real-world problems is challenging yet rewarding.

Designing for a live business with real performance issues pushed me beyond assumptions. Working with actual user data and stakeholder goals sharpened my ability to prioritize and problem-solve with purpose.

Navigating difficult conversations is part of the job.

This project taught me that UX designers often deliver tough feedback. Presenting usability issues to the client wasn’t easy, but necessary. It reminded me that advocating for users sometimes means being honest about what’s not working, and doing so with clarity and care.

©Woohee2025

woohee.ux@gmail.com

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