CASE STUDY: MAYNOOTH ONLINE EXPERIENCE
When Shopping Feels Risky
Online furniture shopping often lacks tactile experience and confidence in purchase decisions. Maynooth Furniture wanted to improve the online experience by making it easier for customers to visualize furniture in their space and feel confident about their choices, addressing common concerns around shipping, returns, and product fit.
FUN FACT
Til this day, this is my favorite project.
unModerated Testing
To evaluate how users interacted with both the physical miniature samples and the digital experience, I conducted unmoderated usability testing with participants who matched our target customer profile. The goal was to understand whether the mini sample idea could build trust and drive return visits — and what barriers remained on the site itself.
How the Sample Shined — and the Site Fell Short
Most users were delighted by the miniature sample, calling it “adorable,” “surprisingly accurate,” and “a great way to see how it fits.” Nearly all participants reported they’d be more likely to buy furniture online if this experience was part of the process.
However, when asked to revisit the website after interacting with the sample, several users expressed confusion around the site’s layout — particularly in the product detail page and checkout process, where they expected clearer descriptions and images showing scale.
These insights helped validate the power of tactile interaction in building trust, but also emphasized the importance of aligning the digital journey with the physical one. If the sample created excitement, the website needed to sustain that momentum. This meant prioritizing clearer visuals, reorganizing information hierarchy on key pages, and refining the checkout flow to reduce hesitation at the point of purchase.
A participant unboxing the mini sample during testing — followed by a session using the Maynooth pro
