Alias Search Redesign

Company
Alias, a selling platform within the GOAT Group e-commerce ecosystem.

Project Details
Turning the Search Page into a robust discovery experience that allows sellers to easily find products to list while also increasing awareness of new selling opportunities via curated collections.

Timeline
July 2024 - September 2024

Role
Product design lead

Overview

Search Page (Before)

Problem

Business Problem

  • Limited apparel supply on the buy side

  • No scalable way to connect buyer demand with seller supply

User Problem

  • Sellers were not getting the insights they needed to make informed listing decisions

  • No guidance on what apparel products were in high demand

Goal

  • Increase supply in key categories that surface high-demand products to sellers

  • Improve the UX of the existing search page, which previously displayed ambiguous groupings like "recently added" or "trending" in a long, scroll-heavy list

Solution

  • Introduced CMS-driven collections to surface relevant, in-demand products to sellers

  • Redesigned the search experience for better searchability and more intuitive navigation

  • Updated the mobile UI to feel cleaner, more engaging, and less monotonous, making discovery easier and fun

Impact

  • Increase in product awareness and browsing behavior, with product page views jumping from 1,000 (non-collection) to 22,000 via collections in May 2025.

  • Created stronger listing creation for high-demand products, with 32.26% of users who started a listing from the collection page completing it — while maintaining a much lower drop-off rate (6.45%) than non-collection flows (19.35%).

UX Process

Competitive Analysis

After understanding the problem space from user analytics gathered from the PM, I conducted a competitive analysis. Mostly from platforms that had modular layouts that create a clear hierarchy for various metadata within a product cell.

Early Ideation

  • Collaborated with the Director of Product Design to talk through overarching content ideas and focusing on alignment with business goals and design requirements

  • Explored scalable CMS design concepts that could be reused across future discovery-focused features like a Saved List, while acknowledging and designing around scope limitations.

Sketches for key screens. Highlighting main UI components such as a collection list on Home, Search Page, and filters.

From Sketches to Wireframes

I moved to lo-fi wireframes to process some of the ideas more visually. Below are some key concepts that I explored to see how our collection pages could fit into our Search Page.

Early on, there were discussions if we should combine our Shoes and Apparel tabs within Search. I advocated for combining them so sellers could have easier access selling those items, which would ultimately support our business goals.

Search Direction 1: Separate Tabs

Search Direction 2: Combine Tabs

Stakeholder Alignment

  • Shared a range of early concepts to get a pulse check from leadership. The goal was to get clarity on what was working and why, so we could start narrowing in

  • To keep the scope clean, we removed special deals/rebates and decided sellers would tap into a collection to view more inside—leading them to an interior page rather than expanding everything inline.

Polishing the Details

  • Rescoped designs after a project pause to reflect updated CMS goals and technical constraints.

  • Worked with Merchandising team to support brand-curated collections and lists.

  • Partnered early with Engineering to explore feasibility and expand logic capabilities (like the Calendar)

  • Refined designs across multiple feedback rounds to align user experience with stakeholder priorities and scalability.

Final Design

Execution & Collaboration

  • Partnered with the Brand team to refine typography and visual assets, ensuring the experience aligns with evolving brand guidelines.

  • Collaborated closely with Engineering during handoff, staying deeply involved through QA design reviews and real-time feedback to ensure pixel-perfect implementation.

  • Proactively addressed edge cases and UX gaps during development, making fast yet thoughtful adjustments to preserve design intent within tight timelines

Takeaways

Measuring Success

User Engagement

  • Unique users engaging with the collection page increased from 600 at the end of April to 26,000 by mid-May — a major signal of improved visibility and interest.

Product Page Views

  • Collection-driven navigation contributed to a 2,100% increase in product page views, rising from 1,000 views (non-collection) to 22,000 views via collection pages in May.

Listing Behavior

  • Users who started listings from the collection page had a lower abandonment rate (6.45%) compared to those starting listings elsewhere (19.35%), suggesting higher intent and confidence when entering through curated content.

Reflections

  • With the lack of resources to conduct user testing, I relied on best practices, internal feedback, and quick iteration

  • Adapted rapidly to shifting priorities and constraints after a project pause, maintaining cross-functional alignment.

  • Created a Figma widget system to track progress, improve visibility, and streamline communication across teams (see below).

Figma Widget for tracking progress during pre and post handoff.