Research
Mental Model: Dashboard, not Directory
Our users didn't view the homepage as a table of contents to navigate through. They expected it to be a dynamic, curated dashboard-like inspiration platform to discover from.
Use Case 1 (Inspiration-Seeking): Users looking to "burn Miles" arrived without a specific item in mind. They wanted to be shown compelling ideas and opportunities immediately.
Use Case 2 (Campaign-Driven): Users arriving for a specific campaign (e.g., from an email) expected to see that campaign featured prominently, not to have to hunt for it in a menu.
Qualitative interviews
14
Online questionaires
1466
Key findings
4
Design Evolution
Legacy redemption platform
This is what the UI looked like before the redesign. The homepage consisted of directory components leading to product categories.
Campaign driven UI
Exploratory campaign dashboard introduced as the core component on the homepage.
Product driven strategy
Streamlined the user path to inspiration by designing a flexible, modular layout that surfaces curated content.
Problem + Business Goal
High Drop-off Rate & Low Engagement: A 30% drop-off rate signaled that the homepage was failing to capture user interest, indicating a fundamental disconnect.
Overwhelming, Impersonal Design: Cathay Shop suffers from overwhelming selection of products. The page was described as an "expensive department store". This lacked clear themes, failed to tell a story, and felt generic, not like a premium Cathay experience.
Failed "Inspiration" Goal: The core user need was to "get inspired" and find new ways to use their Miles. The existing layout, which lacked intentional curation, met this need with friction and cognitive load, causing users to drop off.
“I felt bored with the store homepage.”
“The homepage didn’t encourage me to keep shopping.”
“Nothing immediately captured my attention.”
Decreased
Drop-off rate
5.4%
Increased
Add-to-cart events
6.18%
Deeper
Scroll engagement
2.3%
Flexible Layout for Personalization
The new homepage is built on a component-based UI. This modular system isn't just a technical choice; it's a strategic one. It provides the flexibility to easily reconfigure the layout and curate content for different user groups, enabling a truly customized and relevant experience.
Annotated Journey
Product Driven Homepage Design
Shifted from a Product Listing Page driven layout to a Product Details Page driven experience. Highlighted more product cards on the homepage to decrease page depth and shorten decision-making time. Increased visibility of attractive deals, promotions, and trending products.
Content Guideline
The multi-merchant nature of Cathay Shop presented content standardization challenges, including inconsistent product imagery and overly complex descriptions. The platform revamp created an opportunity to establish clear merchant guidelines for content formatting, ensuring a cohesive and professional presentation across all product listings.
Our content guidelines were developed to establish a distinctive retail voice that aligns with
Cathay's premium brand identity.
Establish format and structure standards for dynamic content
Ensure consistency in product names and descriptions
Improve quality control of the content output
Elevate customers’ product browsing experience
Redefine “Mile-burning”
A Homepage UX Strategy to Boost E-commerce Engagement
CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS
PRODUCT DESIGNER
UX + STRATEGY + GUIDELINE
2024
2025 UX Design Award
Nominated
I led the homepage redesign for Cathay Shop, a critical part of its strategic transformation from a legacy miles platform into a premium travel lifestyle ecosystem. I am grateful for the opportunity to define a fresh design strategy and establish new retail content guidelines, ultimately giving the product a new, inspiration-led identity.
