Thematic Analysis of Fashion Retail Apps - Interaction Design Elements
Description
In order to explore how current m-Commerce apps relate the sectors of the UX Design Paradigm Framework, this section analyses the most prevalent m-Commerce apps on the iOS App store. To provide a valid insight into the current state of fashion m-Commerce apps and their design ethos, Apple’s iOS 11 platform (Apple, 2017) was selected. This is due to its consistent performance as the most profitable m-Commerce platform, being responsible for a 63% share of all m-Commerce revenue (Moss, 2017). Regarding the apps, it is essential to focus on a cross section of brands in order to uncover the variety of approaches to app design and consumer engagement. Therefore a selection of apps were chosen representing 1) the most popular retail apps on the iOS Store (December 2017), 2) the most commonly recognised fashion retail brands according to a survey of 15,000 individuals (Business Insider, 2017), and 3) the most profitable luxury fashion retailers (McCarthy et al., 2017). The apps meeting this selection criteria are displayed within Table 1. It is also important to note that the 22 apps selected bisect each market level form discounter to high end luxury. Table 1.Selected iPhone Apps for this exploratory study (Filtered for iPhone App Store Presence) Category App Names Most popular iPhone Shopping Apps (December 2017) 1. Amazon 2. Wish 3. eBay 4. Groupon 5. Joom 6. Shpock 7. Gumtree 8. JD Sports 9. ASOS 10. Depop Most popular fashion brands (Business Insider, 2017) 11. Nike 12. ADIDAS 13. American Eagle 14. Under Armour 15. H&M16. Gap Global Power of Luxury Goods by Sales (McCarthy et al., 2017) 17. Louis Vuitton 18. Cartier 19. Estee Lauder 20. Gucci 21. Omega 22. Chow Tai Fook Apps were downloaded onto an iPhone X (iOS11) in December 2017. All apps were extensively used, explored, and tested to uncover features both prominent and discoverable within the app. Whilst using the apps in this way, thematic analysis of screenshots was conducted with the aid of NVivo 11 (QSR, 2016) in order to systematically record the brand communication, sales focus, seductive interaction, and passive presentation elements. This was done in line with the guidelines set in Table 2. Table 2. Categories of the UX Design Paradigm Framework Brand Communication - Application of mixed media that supports brand engagement and loyalty over the purchase of specific products. (Parker and Doyle, 2018) Sales Focus - Application of mixed media that supports the consumer in finding specific product or items to meet their needs. (2004) Seductive Interaction - Multisensory engagement of the senses to elicit emotional experiences for the user. (Anderson, 2011) Passive Presentation Non-Interactive presentation of images and text to achieve the aims of the app. (Norman, 2002; Krug, 2005)