0 to 1 service design for a complex, omnichannel retail experience
Led a major cross-functional initiative to develop and launch a new in-store pickup channel for American Eagle and Aerie, unlocking customer convenience and streamlining order fulfillment.
Generated Revenue
Picked-up dollars + attached in-store sales.
Fulfillment Rate
Overall pick-up success rate.
Locations Scaled
BOPIS-enabled stores across U.S. + Canada.
The Problem
American Eagle and Aerie’s legacy "Reserve, Try, Buy" program allowed customers to reserve items without upfront payment. However, the lack of financial commitment and unclear pickup logistics caused the system to buckle under its own weight.
The program faced a staggering 69% abandonment rate and resulted in over 223,000 uncollected units sitting in stockrooms. This widespread customer confusion and operational friction underscored the immediate need for a robust, reliable Buy Online Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) system.
Dual-Track Mapping
Designing for omnichannel means holding two realities at once. I needed the digital interface to perfectly mirror the physical constraints of the stores: the stockroom logistics, the associate workflows, the moments where digital intent meets physical fulfillment. To make sense of it all, I introduced dual-track story mapping.
The Digital Browse track mapped key scenarios to craft user stories for the screen experience. The Store Pickup track ran in parallel, identifying physical, in-store scenarios to orchestrate the actual fulfillment process for both customers and retail associates.
Pilot & Scale
With the wireframes as our blueprint, I led iterative prototype testing to stress-test and refine the solutions. But a digital prototype can only simulate so much of a physical logistics problem.
After validating the initial design, American Eagle and Aerie launched an early rollout pilot program across four stores in the Pittsburgh area.
This localized pilot let me gather live operational feedback and monitor in-store traffic flows. I used that data to push more design improvements, ultimately transforming the initial concept into a highly streamlined, customer-centric solution.
The Final Experience
With the architecture validated by the pilot, I turned attention to the final experience. The goal was translating the raw utility of our wireframes into a checkout flow that felt effortless rather than transactional.
I prioritized clarity at every digital hand-off point, making sure customers knew exactly when, where, and how to retrieve their orders without ever needing to contact support or second-guess the timeline.
Post-Launch Evolution
Shipping the initial BOPIS experience was a major milestone, but I designed the underlying architecture to grow. A good service design doesn't just solve the immediate problem. It creates the scaffolding for what comes next.
Post-launch, I established a continuous research methodology to keep the product honest. That feedback loop directly informed subsequent rollouts, including In-Store Mode and a native integration for Curbside Pickup.
Key Takeaways
- • The screen is only half the experience. I came into this project thinking about flows and interfaces. I left it thinking about stockrooms, associate workflows, and the moment a customer walks through the door. Omnichannel means designing all of it.
- • Answer the anxious questions first. The research kept surfacing the same grey-area fears: who can pick up my order, where do I go in the store. Addressing those upfront was what moved the abandonment rate.
- • Four stores taught me more than any prototype. The Pittsburgh pilot surfaced edge cases no wireframe could have predicted. I'd never skip a physical pilot again.
Strategic Horizon
- • I'd want to close the loop between physical pickup data and the digital hand-off. There's signal in that moment that could meaningfully shape the confirmation and notification flows.
- • The 84% fulfillment rate is strong, but I'd want to understand the 16%. Is it a store operations issue, a communication gap, or something in the digital flow that's setting the wrong expectation?
- • The ready-for-pickup notification is doing a lot of work right now. I think there's a smarter version of it: one that factors in store hours, estimated wait times, and order hold windows so customers always show up at the right moment.
See the experience in action
Explore the American Eagle site to see the checkout and store pickup flows live.