AI | RETAIL TECH | B2C
Refind - a retail app that transforms thrift shopping by providing instant insights on garment value, authenticity, and quality, helping users shop confidently.
PROBLEM
Thrift shoppers often struggle with uncertainty about the value and authenticity of second-hand fashion. With 56% saying price is their top consideration, this lack of clear information can lead to regret after buying and make it harder to trust their choices.
Lack of Product Information
Clueless about Product Pricing
False Brand Claims
Post Purchase Regret
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TOOLS
Figma | Adobe Illustrator | Miro | MS Ppt | Adobe Indesign
PROJECT TYPE
RETAIL
DURATION
8 months
CHALLENGE
How might we reduce the perceived value gap for thrift shoppers when shopping for second-hand fashion?
"From racks to reality:
exploring pre-loved finds"
GOALS
Why is addressing the issue of authenticity of second-hand fashion important?
It directly impacts how people feel while shopping. Customers who aren’t confident about item pricing often feel uncertain and hesitant to purchase. Clear and transparent pricing empowers shoppers to make informed decisions, creating a more satisfying experience for everyone.
92%
DECREASED TRUST
Consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family over any form of advertising, highlighting the importance of trust in consumer relationships.
80%
REDUCED RETENTION BUSINESS
Customers with a positive experience with pricing will likely become repeat customers.
67%
FINANCIAL STRAIN
Consumers reported experiencing financial strain due to unexpectedly high prices, leading to overspending concerns.
INSIGHTS
Users wanted more information about thrifted items, like their quality, condition, and fair pricing, but felt stores were not upfront.
Many users said they struggled to trust prices, especially for brands they didn’t know, and felt some stores were marking up branded items unfairly. Others were frustrated by missing details about an item’s wear and tear, making it hard to feel confident about their purchases.
CLUELESS ABOUT PRICING
9/12 felt clueless about the pricing of thrifted items, especially for unknown brands.
QUALITY & HYGIENE
8/12 users were worried about the quality and hygiene of donated clothes.
AUTHENTICITY OF BRANDED ITEMS
6/12 users questioned the authenticity of branded items, unsure if they were worth the price.
Google Form
Lahari, 24 y/o, Grad Student
Nikita, 29 y/o, Grad Student
Angela, 43 y/o, Creative Head
Sunaina, 33 y/o, IT Developer
Fateyma, 28 y/o, Fashion Designer
Sumeet, 30 y/o, Grad Student
Malvika, 19 y/o, Undergrad Student
Yash, 24 y/o, Grad Student
Zasia, 27 y/o, Fashion Designer
Sania, 26 y/o, Fashion Stylist
Laveena, 28 y/o, Financial Analyst
HOW IS REFIND DIFFERENT?
Poshmark
Shopsavvy
Good On You
Google Lens
Refind
Price comparison options.
Curated high quality items.
Ratings & insights for social impact.
Visual search and image recognition.
Provides pricing transparency
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Condition test assessment
​
Estimate & compare prices
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Explore & learn
from community
IDEATION
Visualizing the Thrift Experience
It is my way of visualizing the user’s journey for clarity by highlighting their motivations, actions, and emotions step by step.
PRIORITIZING FEATURES
I prioritized features to focus on what mattered most to users. This helped me refine my ambitious ideas into the app’s main highlights: image recognition, value estimation, and DIY condition tests.
CHALLENGES
Balancing user needs with technical feasibility was challenging, as some ideas, like value estimation, required advanced algorithms. Another was finding open APIs for the features to provide information accurately.
Wireframing Refind : Your Ultimate Thrift Guide
I created a user flow to visualize how first-time users would onboard and interact with the app in both in-store and off-store scenarios. This helped me identify user needs, preferences, and potential pain points, enabling a seamless and intuitive experience for ReFind.
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STYLE GUIDE
I created a style guide to ensure consistency and accessibility throughout the app.
DESIGN OUTCOME
The final design outcome shows the main tasks of Refind
SCAN AN ITEM
Scan a clothing piece at any thrift store, enter its brand label, and get to view information about the scanned garment and also compare prices.
DIY CONDITION TEST
The user can assess any garment at the store with this feature. The test consists of 5 questions that the user can answer and at the end, the app gives them a score in return.
PRICE ESTIMATE VALUE
After receiving the score from the test, you can check the price estimate of the garment you scanned and provide a store rating.
EXPLORE COMMUNITY
This section of the app does not happen in the store and is just for users to explore finds based on their location. Follow, like, save, and create your inspiration boards but
in thrift style.
PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION - REFIND PRO
ReFind Pro, as the name suggests, is a premium subscription model that offers exclusive features. Users must subscribe to Pro to access features like unlimited scans and price estimation.
ONBOARDING SCREENS
The onboarding experience features colorful screens inspired by the thrifting culture with minimal animations and brief descriptions of what the app offers.
LOGIN SCREENS
The login screens are simple with a two-step process and the user can also log in through Google, Facebook, and Apple.
TESTING
I wanted to test out the solution in four separate ways
The first approach involved conducting a usability test of the prototype to evaluate its effectiveness. The second approach focused on running 3 experiments without the prototype to gauge audience interest in the solution.
USER SUCCESS RATE
The goal was to assess the solution's success rate alongside Ease and Confidence scores through a 6-task usability test with 5 participants, with each task rated out of 5.
Received 90% success rate
Received 77% confidence rate
Received 80% ease rate
USER IN-STORE PERFORMANCE
I assisted thrift shoppers in evaluating garment conditions and collected feedback via a Google form. Success was measured by 3 out of 5 shoppers showing interest in taking the test.
3 out of 5 users were successful
USER INTEREST
I aimed to get at least 10% of users to sign up for ReFind within a month of viewing the ad. To test this, I created a fake website, ran Instagram ads, and designed a poster, leading to a sign-up page.
Received 10 sign-ups
Received 63 visitors
USER PURCHASE DECISION
I was aiming to check if users would want to make a purchasing decision with the app. Success was measured by at least 1 out of 5 users deciding to buy an item on their first visit.
3 users were successful
1 user unsuccessful
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USABILITY TESTING
I encountered a few challenges along the way
After the usability test, I marked the major concerns in 'Red' to understand the issues where users struggled the most during their tasks. The main blockers were: 'Share Find', and 'New Find' and they did not understand the difference between premium and regular find.
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?
I’d spend more time understanding the emotional journey of thrift shoppers to better align the app’s features with their needs.
I would spend more time researching pricing models specific to thrift stores to better address user concerns about value estimation.
Involve more diverse user groups during testing to ensure the app caters to a wider range of thrift shoppers.
WHAT DID I LEARN?
Testing early, during the wireframe stage, really helped me find and fix issues before moving forward.
It's important to balance making the app look good with making sure it's easy to use.
Real-world experiments, like interacting with users in thrift stores, gave me deeper insights than just surveys or interviews.
