2024 UX Researcher Apprenticeship
Appointment Booking
Nordstrom iOS Usability Study
Company
Nordstrom
My Role
UX Researcher
(Group of 5)
Timeline
May-Aug, 2024
Responsabilities
Concept Design
Preliminary Research
Prototyping
Design Iterations
Customer Interviews
Design Systems
Project Brief
Our team of five partnered with Nordstrom to investigate how users discover and book styling services through the iOS app. We planned and ran a moderated in-person usability study with six participants, focusing on the entire appointment flow—from discovery to rescheduling.
Through this process, we identified 12 usability issues and proposed both quick wins and long-term improvements. After synthesizing findings, we presented our insights and design suggestions to 50+ stakeholders across UX, research, product, and in-store teams.
The feedback we received confirmed that our work addressed long-standing gaps in the experience, especially around visibility, staff selection, and rescheduling. Several ideas were praised by stakeholders as actionable and aligned with what users had been asking for.
Scope
iOS Nordstrom App beauty expert appointment booking flow
Scenario 1
You’re getting ready to attend a wedding on the evening of March 30th and you would like to get your makeup done professionally at Nordstrom for the event.
Scenario 2
You realized the date is wrong and the wedding is actually March 23rd at 6pm. Show me what you’d do next
User Flows
We focused on the end-to-end experience of booking a beauty appointment through the Nordstrom iOS app—from initial discovery to confirmation and rescheduling. Our study examined how users searched for services, selected available times, and managed appointments after booking.
Rescheduling
Booking
Discovery
Participant Criteria
iOS user
Ages 18+
Nordstrom customers
$500+ annual spend on beauty, skincare, & clothing
Experience/interest in services
Methods & Data Collection
In-Person Moderated Testing
Screener survey
(22 responses, 6 participants)
Usability test
1 moderator
2+ observers
2 scenarios / 7 tasks
Post-task questions
Post-test questionnaire
Quantitative Data
Difficulty of task (Likert scale)
Task success rate
(S) Success
(SS) Succeed but struggled
(F) Failed
(FS) Failed, but thought they succeeded
System usability scale (SUS)
Qualitative Data
Think aloud
Observation
Probing
Nordstrom Severity Ratings
High
Prevents completion of tasks
Medium
Could cause significant delay, frustration or added task time
Low
Minor effect on usability
Opportunity
Future enhancement
Quick Fix
Long Term
Perceived recommendation effort level
Task 1: Appointment Booking Discovery
Difficulty Ratings
To understand how easy it was for users to locate the appointment booking feature, we asked participants to rate the task on a scale from 1 (very difficult) to 5 (very easy).
Only 2 out of 6 participants rated the task as very easy — both were expert users already familiar with the app. Novice users struggled more, often relying on trial and error or the search bar to find the booking flow.
Finding 1.1
Severity: High
We found many participants were not able to find appointments immediately.
2/6 users failed to find appointments
3/6 users succeeded but didn’t expect book appointments to be in the “store page”
“What might be confusing is having it under the store section. Like it’s not immediately obvious to me… It makes more sense to me to go to a page that’s for makeup or in store service” [P2]
Recommendation 1.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
Make it easier for users to find appointments on "Store" page.
Reorganize store address & phone number to surface appointment above scroll line.
Surface services in carousel.
Current
Recommendation
Finding 1.2
Severity: High
Search results don’t bring participants to appointments which caused them to give up
2/6 participants (over age 40) expected to find appointments through search
“In the search function. I start with makeup appointments. And it gives me a bunch of makeup. Which I don't want. So I try and search again…. I'd probably give up at this point” [P4]
Recommendation 1.2
Quick Fix
Long Term
When users search for queries related to "appointment"
Show a direct path to appointments in autocomplete
Current
Autocomplete Recommendation
Recommendation 1.2
Quick Fix
Long Term
When users search for queries related to "appointment"
Show appointments and services as a search result
Current
Search Result Recommendation
Task 2: Selecting Services
Finding 2.1
Severity: High
Service category terminology doesn’t match participant’s mental model
4/6 participants reported confusion over “Beauty Expert” and “Beauty Floor”
3/6 participants reported confusion over “In-Store Beauty Expert” when being asked to “get their makeup done professionally”
“The term for each options on selecting these services is confusing, (they are) not what I look for for preparing an event.” [P2]
Recommendation 1.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
A/B testing copy alternatives
Current
Recommendation
Recommendation 1.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
Surface service type e.g. “Makeup Application” so users can better identify services
Consider highlighting the service is “free”
Current
Recommendation
Task 3: Selecting Staff
Finding 3
Severity: Medium
Beyond brands, participants expect more information on staff profiles, Lack of information on staff profiles
6/6 participants expect to see more detailed information about staff to make informed choices
3/6 participants defaulted to selecting “No Preference” due to indiscernible differences between options
“I don’t love that I cannot really know much about these people so I don’t know who should I choose specifically” [P1]
Recommendation 3
Quick Fix
Long Term
To make it easier for people to find a desired staff, consider adding more staff information
Staff’s bios (3/6)
Staff’s expertise (2/6)
Staff’s years of experience (2/6)
Staff’s makeup style / Social media links (2/6)
Current
Recommendation
Task 4: Selecting Availability
Finding 4
Severity: Medium
Beyond brands, participants expect more information on staff profiles, Lack of information on staff profiles
6/6 participants expect to see more detailed information about staff to make informed choices
3/6 participants defaulted to selecting “No Preference” due to indiscernible differences between options
“I don’t love that I cannot really know much about these people so I don’t know who should I choose specifically” [P1]
Recommendation 4.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
While participants who selected “no preference” found availability, others found their desired staff unavailable
Forced return to “Select a Staff Member”
2/3 participants had to return to “Select a Staff Member” to find an available stylist
1/3 participant dropped off when switching staff
Current
Recommendation
Recommendation 4.2
Quick Fix
Long Term
To avoid switching between screens, consider combining Step 1 “Select Staff” and Step 2 “Select Availability” on the same screen
Consider testing full screen vs. popup
Current
Recommendation
Task 5: Selecting Availability & Booking Confirmation
Finding 5
Opportunity
Quick Fix
Long Term
6/6 Participants successfully added personal information and reviewed booking confirmation but expected to see more information on the “Confirmation” screen
Edit appointment (3/6)
Add to calendar (3/6)
Staff’s name (3/6)
Precise in-store location (2/6)
Current
Recommendation
Task 6: Reschedule Booked Appointment
Difficulty Ratings
Only 2 participants found it very easy (mostly experts). Others found varying degrees of difficulty.
Finding 6.1
Severity: High
Mismatched expectation for ‘booked’ appointment retrieval
6/6 participants expected to retrieve booked appointments in the app under “account”, not email
4/6 failed to reschedule entirely
Fragmented information in email
6/6 participants missed rescheduling details in dark mode
Recommendation 6.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
Mismatched expectation for ‘booked’ appointment retrieval
6/6 participants expected to retrieve booked appointments in the app under “account”, not email
4/6 failed to reschedule entirely
Fragmented information in email
6/6 participants missed rescheduling details in dark mode
Current
Recommendation
Finding 6.2
Severity: High
Mismatched expectation for ‘booked’ appointment retrieval
6/6 participants expected to retrieve booked appointments in the app under “account”, not email
4/6 failed to reschedule entirely
Fragmented information in email
6/6 participants missed rescheduling details in dark mode
“I was surprised how cumbersome [appointment booking] was. When you're shopping at Nordstrom, trying to buy something, it's super easy to find brands, colors and sizes.
[Appointment booking] feels like something they’re trying vs. something they’re doing. It feels off-brand having been a Nordstrom shopper my whole life.
I hope they improve it so that people like me can find it when I need it” [P5]
Recommendation 6.1
Quick Fix
Long Term
Mismatched expectation for ‘booked’ appointment retrieval
6/6 participants expected to retrieve booked appointments in the app under “account”, not email
4/6 failed to reschedule entirely
Fragmented information in email
6/6 participants missed rescheduling details in dark mode
Impacts
Feedbacks
After the study, Our team presented our findings and proposed solutions to over 50 Nordstrom stakeholders.
“So glad to have these teams validate what we’ve been wanting for months!" – UXR stakeholder
“Your research is incredibly helpful and will be referenced again and again!" – UXR stakeholder
Special Thanks
Special thank you to Angela Sharer and Hannah Nursalim for their support and guidance!
Thanks for the Nordstrom Team and my teammates.