IHERB (Concept)

Ecommerce Filter optimization & Business strategy

Role: UX Designer

Team: Christine Lee

Timeline: 2 Days

Scope:

  • Customer Journey Mapping

  • Information Architecture

  • UX Design

K-beauty has grown significantly in popularity since its initial breakout in 2011, evolving from a niche trend to a global cultural and commercial force. The market is currently valued at $14.68 billion (2024) and is projected to reach $20.4 billion by 2035.

Herb is an online retailer specializing in health and wellness products. Based in Irvine, California, iHerb operates as a global distributor, offering free shipping to over 185 countries. iHerb’s key messaging focuses on its climate-controlled and GMP/ISO-compliant fulfillment centers; emphasizing it’s commitment to product freshness and quality. The company also commits to sustainability through initiatives such as automatic lighting, battery-powered forklifts, and reusable materials in its operations. Customers must be verified purchasers of products ensuring transparent and trusted user experience.

IHerb’s Target Customers

iHerb’s target demographic encompasses a global audiences with distribution to over 180+ countries. It offers over 50,000 products from over 1,800 global brands.

iHerb’s target audience is primarily female, composing 56% of the customer base. Significant traffic comes from the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

iHerb’s customers are interested in health related products from supplements, beauty, and fitness products. They are reached through online channels and social media. iHerb currently leverages influencer market for reach and localized content to effectively target their diverse customer segments.

The K-Beauty Market

K beauty products are increasingly growing in popularity in the United States.

This growth is driven by the following:

Continuous product innovation

Popularity of K-pop and K-drama streaming

Influencer marketing

Increased demand for clean beauty and sustainability

These product offerings are especially popular with millenial and gen-z consumers.

Powered by K-pop

K-pop’s popularity has seen significant growth in US markets due to several key factors:

Streaming Growth: K-pop bands have gained international listener engagement. Many k-pop groups have made it onto American charts. Radio placement also reflects the audience interest towards k-pop music. KPOP with Jojo is one segment on KIIS FM (the second-highest-billing U.S. radio station generating $44.1M in 2022)

Merchandise Spending: Fan engagment is a critical aspect of merchandise spending. Gen Z K-pop fans spend approximately 2.4x more on related products.

Cultural Exchange: K-pop fosters cultural exchange between Eastern and Western audiences, influencing music, culture, and aesthic trends.

K-pop’s aesthetics and styling has influenced many k-beauty makeup trends through:

  • Iconic Makeup Styles

  • Social Media Impact

  • Brand Collaborations

Music videos carry color themes that translate over to brand collaborations for retail goods

Makeup looks influence new product development

The Problem

Users consult online communities to verify the legitimacy of certain online retailers and the counterfeit products are a large source of customer frustration.

IIn-person purchasing comes with its own challenges. Korean beauty stores are often crowded and packed with a high volume of products, making the shopping experience feel chaotic and rushed.

Pricing is often managed through outdated methods like physical price stickers, and many of these shops are too small to maintain an online presence. This makes it difficult for customers to compare prices or engage in common online shopping behaviors.

Many products become so viral, they are subject to fakes & dupes. Many users on social media are weary of purchasing from dropshipping sites such as Amazon and TikTok shop since the quality can not be guaranteed. Many reviews on Amazon mention the possibility of counterfeit products.

At the same time, these platforms are integral in marketing these products and adding to the virality of the trends.

Competitive analysis

Pro: Is a top result in google shopping search.
Con: YesStyle sells clothing as well as beauty products. Trending away from fast fashion, there is a possibility that quality is a concern. Inconsistent shipping times are also a customer painpoint.

Pro: Brick and mortar stores allow customers to see & try products in person
Con: The store has a limited selection of brands

Pro: Large Korean beauty retailer has high product selection
Con: Is in the process of launching a US subsidiary, but currently international shipping rates still apply.

Jeni’s Journey


Jeni watches the new music video from
LISA - featuring Doja Cat & Raye

Problem Statement

Jeni needs a trusted source for k-beauty products so that she can find the right lip color in order to achieve this inspiring makeup look.

jeni’s perfect product

rom@nd is a popular korean makeup brand. Jeni’s perfect product is the Juicy Lasting Tint - Plum Coke.

She’s in luck since iHerb carries this product!

Can IHERB Deliver?

iHerb Homepage - Beauty Dropdown

The main drop down shows a number of sections and sub categories, but the K-beauty section ia lacking subcategories.

There are two relevant sub categories in the “Makeup” section.

  • - K Beauty Makeup

  • - Lips

iHerb K-Beauty Page

The K-Beauty Makeup page returns a mix of eye, face and cleansing products

iHerb Homepage - Beauty Dropdown

There’s no way to filter the type of makeup we are looking for

iHerb Homepage

How about a search?

Search results for “dark k beauty lip”

The search results produced different recommended categories

The K-Beauty Makeup page returns

  • - cheek blushes

  • - makeup remover

  • - eyebrow pencils

  • - face foundation

Trying the “Product form” filter

The “Product form” filter further refines products by formulas. All products come in a variety of formulas from gloss, stick to creams and this filter is too broad.

ex. concealer sticks vs lip sticks

Trying the “Color” filter

Can we narrow by color? The selection of colors under the “Color” filter does not reflect lip colors.

We would expect colors like:

  • - coral

  • - pink

  • - red

  • - mauve

  • - berry

  • - brown

The closest options are “Brown” and “Red”, but those are very broad colors as well.

After selecting the “Color” filters, the results are narrowed bu terms such as:

  • - Dark Brown

  • - Gray Brown

  • - Light Brown

  • - 01 Good Brick

  • - 02 Apple

  • - 02 Strawberry

  • - 07 Dark Cherry

  • - RD01

We can see all of the filters (these are specific brand product color descriptions rather than more universal terms )

Additionally, cheek blushes fall under this categorization too.

There is no way to filter by type.

Existing Options

Herb does have a K-beauty Lip Care page, but what is “Lip Care”?

The correct rom@nd product appears on the Lip Care page, but it takes 7 scrolls for it to appear

Additionally, the product is not a “care” product it is purely for color application

To minimize user frustration and decrease bounce rate, we can help users tailor filters even further to find the exact products that they are looking for.

The “Lip Care” page returns a variety of products from lip oils, lip masks, and lip tints.

Lip care emphasizes oil as a main ingredient aimed at providing moisture and renewal.

They typically come in formulas such as:

  • scrubs

  • balms

  • masks

Lip colors are not considered “Lip Care”.

  • Contrastingly, lip colors are valued for their color payoff and lasting formulas.

  • Lip colors also vary in effects from matte, satin, staining, blurring, and glossy.

Trying the “Lip Care” Page

Solve #1: Add filters for product type

Adding filters for Product Type will allow users

  1. Start with a search

  2. Further refine their search for types of products they are looking for

This gives users more control, rather than navigating to the “Lip Care” page to have more of a discovery experience

Lip colors are not considered “Lip Care”.

Proposed “Product Type” filters

Solve #2: Reorganize product filters based on customer needs

Currently, the available filters are not ordered in terms of importance to the user. The first three filter are weight, color, and package quantity. These filters do not support user’s search habits, as users make purchasing decisions based on product features rather than packaging.

My proposed filter order prioritizes product features & user needs to match their mental models.

Changes:

  • “Skin Type” & “Skin Concern” are moved closer in hierarchy

  • “Package quantity” & “Weight” moves down to the bottom because customer’s aren’t basing their purchases around the physical dimensions of a product.

  • “Gender” & “Certification and diet “stay low in the hierarchy, because makeup is not a gendered product and it returns low #’s of products

Conclusion

I had the opportunity to present my pitch deck and ideas to a Product Design Manager at iHerb, which proved to be an incredibly valuable experience.

His feedback was both insightful and encouraging. He confirmed that K-beauty is indeed a significant market for the company and expressed that he wished his entire team could have seen the presentation. As a follow-up, he also mentioned that he would be forward my deck to his director.

This was a rewarding outcome and a meaningful step forward!