H&M Redesign: Case Study

The Challenge

The catalogue grew. The experience didn't keep up.

H&M offers one of the largest fashion catalogues globally, but our research showed the digital experience wasn't fully supporting how modern shoppers discover, compare, and choose. These weren't isolated usability bugs; they eroded confidence across the whole journey.

Discovery feels like searching

Users had to browse through countless products before finding something relevant to them.

Shopping lacks personalisation

The experience rarely adapted to a user's preferences, the season, or their changing style.

Uncertainty delays purchases

Limited context and no styling guidance made purchase decisions feel like a gamble.

01. Research

Understanding the people behind every purchase

Before exploring solutions, we set out to understand how people discover, evaluate, and decide what to buy, surfacing the behaviours, motivations, and moments of hesitation that shaped the experience.

User interviews

Diverse users across age, location & shopping behaviour

Competitors analysed

Benchmarking key fashion apps for strengths & gaps

Heuristic evaluation

The H&M app tested against usability principles

Pain points identified

Synthesised through affinity mapping & thematic analysis

02. Key Insights

Different shoppers. Surprisingly similar pain points.

Shopping habits varied widely, but the same frustrations kept surfacing, around personalisation, product confidence, membership value, and checkout. Pulled straight from our affinity-mapping wall:

"I always wanna check how the shirt looks on someone, but the models don't look like me: hard to tell how a colour will actually sit."Personalisation

"Yaar, no use being a member: I rarely see any offers, and I'm a frequent customer!"Membership

"Checkout takes too many steps. I lose patience halfway through if I'm not sure about the size."Checkout

"Some clothes are cute, but hoodies in this Mumbai heat? Kaun pehnega!? They don't feel made for Indian weather."Context

"The app is simple to use, but it doesn't feel very exciting. I just check prices or availability."Engagement

"The app never remembers what I like. Every time I open it, it's like starting from zero again."Personalisation

03. Design Opportunities

Turning research into direction

Rather than chase every issue, we focused on the four opportunities that would move both user confidence and the shopping experience the most.

Make discovery effortless

Remember preferences and surface relevant products faster.

Turn membership into value

Reward users through personalised benefits and engagement.

Deliver personalised picks

Adapt suggestions to style, season, and shopping behaviour.

Build purchase confidence

Provide richer product information and comparison tools.

Design Strategy

"One connected shopping experience: personal, contextual, and confidence-driven, from discovery to checkout."

The H&M Omni-Channel Experience

How the experience comes together

Four moments, one seamless journey, designed so information flows between the app and the store rather than stopping at the screen.

Browse

Find your look online or in-app

Reserve

Book a trial room slot instantly

Try-on

Personalised room, ready for you

Buy

Skip the queue with mobile checkout

04. Solutions

Bringing the experience to life

Four features, each solving a specific need surfaced in research, together forming a shopping experience that feels personal, contextual, and confidence-driven.

Feature 01

Personalised Discovery

Instead of one homepage for everyone, the redesigned homepage adapts to individual preferences, browsing behaviour, seasonal trends, and local weather, surfacing products that feel immediately relevant.

Product page with smart size suggestion and visual size chart

Detailed size guide with how-to-measure instructions and measurement table

Feature 02

Find Your Perfect Fit

Interactive size guidance and measurement tools make it easier to understand fit, reducing hesitation and building confidence before checkout.

Virtual try-on split view comparing red and green blazer

Upload photo screen with AR active and colour options

Feature 03

Virtual Try-On

Upload a photo or use the live camera to visualise outfits in real time, exploring styles with confidence before committing to a purchase.

Browse and search for the item to book a trial for

Product page with an option to book a trial slot

Select a nearby store with live room availability

Select a date and time slot for the trial room

Booking confirmed with a QR code for entry

Feature 04

In-Store Trial Booking

Book a trial room directly from the app, choose a preferred store and time slot, and walk into a seamless in-store experience.

What Worked Well

Omni-channel as one continuous experience

Rather than designing the app and store separately, we treated them as a single connected ecosystem, where information flows seamlessly between channels.

"I hate it when I see something online and can't tell if I'll find it in store."Before

"Looking at the queue just honestly makes me wanna avoid shopping there."Before

Design Challenges Faced

What made this hard

Balancing personalisation with simplicity

There was a constant tension between surfacing smarter recommendations and keeping the experience lightweight and easy to navigate.

Introducing AI without overwhelming users

The challenge was never building the AI features; it was making them feel familiar, trustworthy, and naturally integrated into existing shopping habits.

Future Scope

Where the omni-channel idea goes next

A few directions we'd explore beyond this project's scope:

Smart fitting rooms

Associate-assisted recommendations

Live inventory visibility

Store navigation

Instant pickup lockers

Smart fitting room with an AI-powered smart mirror

Smart fitting rooms

AR phone view identifying an item on the store rack

In-store navigation

Click and collect instant pickup locker kiosk

Instant pickup lockers

AR overlay showing live stock and pricing on rack items

Live inventory visibility