BOLT Amsterdam

An optimised webshop UX to sell Dutch tulips with a twist

BOLT Amsterdam sells high quality tulips that vary greatly in their flower shape (multiple petal layers, cut/frayed edges to the petals etc). And as an extra feature they promote buying tulips with the bulb still attached. Because the bulb contains lots of nutrition it will make the tulip last much longer. The challenge in designing the UX for this webshop lay in informing the user about:

  • all the available options considering ’the look’ of the tulip (petals/shape and color)
  • the concept of buying a tulip with or without bulb
  • letting them choose the size of the bouquet
  • and present upsell options like adding a greeting card to the order.

…all this without overwhelming the user with choices.

Bolt Amsterdam menu

What comes first, the tulip or the bulb?

As much as BOLT Amsterdam wanted to push the bulb as a USP, I had the assumption that the attached bulb is a new/unknown feature and won’t be in the initial mindset of the user. People shopping for flowers start by basing their choice on the shape and color of the tulip.

I started exploring different user journeys where we would guide the user by letting them choose/filter on:

  • bulb / no bulb
  • shape of the flower / petals
  • color

After visualizing the concepts as basic wireframes I tested them with a few people. It turned out that terms as “Exclusive shape tulips” and “Mixed bouquets” created more confusion up front (when they hadn’t seen any images of the bouquets) whereas “Tulips with bulb” spoke more to the imagination and triggered more interest.

There was also a general lack of interest in the filters: people didn’t have ‘predefined requirements’ (aside from maybe a max price), they just wanted to browse through the assortment and get inspired.

A clean and clear product experience

The second challenge was that the marketing strategy was going to focus on leading people to campaign pages and product detail pages. There would need to be a balance in explaining the bulb concept while keeping the buyer journey (with all its add-ons) straightforward. I also wanted to make sure users wouldn’t feel ‘stuck’ by landing on one offer and potentially bounce. The ‘orientating user’ needs to be able to find more types of products, but of course without distracting from making an actual purchase.

The top of the page focuses on the visual and the ability to quickly purchase a bouquet. Below the buy-button we dive into the unique story behind each tulip to give it an exclusive character + information about the bulb (when relevant).

Snippets of the first rough specifications

miro wireframe

The results

In 2020 I was involved in the optimisation of the old webshop which, amongst other efforts, took a lot of pressure off the back office & support and increased the sales. Together with digital creative agency Raevels I have implemented all previous (relevant) learnings and new e-com best practices in this new UX design and also in 2021 bolt-amsterdam sold out their tulips before the end of the season!

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