Selena Jiang

About

Preview customization flow that increased acquisition

My role

Sole designer

Team

Leadership, product, merchandising, and engineering

Platform

Responsive web

Timeline

2-3 weeks

Responsibilities

Design direction

Research

Interaction design

Visual design

Prototyping

OVERVIEW

Customization was hard to explain without experiencing it

FabFitFun sells seasonal subscription boxes where members pick the products inside. But customization is hard to understand without experiencing it, and prospects who didn't get it weren't subscribing.

That's why our acquisition rate dropped from 5.25% in 2020 to 3.02% in 2021. The business responded with discounts and paid marketing, but we didn't see much improvement.

ROLE AND CHALLENGES

I built a new experience within the existing system

I was the sole designer on this project. The challenge was to make the solution work within existing merchandising restrictions, security constraints, and member-tier fairness. I partnered closely with stakeholders to make the existing customization system work for a brand new experience, without breaking what was already in place.

IMPACT

We saw an increase in acquisition rate and more

After an 8-week experiment, the preview experience outperformed the standard funnel across the board.

12%

Acquisition rate

83%

Annual membership sign-up

16.9%

Membership related support tickets

Final solution

MY DESIGN PROCESS

Before

After

DISCOVERY

Customization is more complex than it looks

Customization happens four times a year, during short windows. In each window, members choose 4 to 6 products from 100+ seasonal products.

The experience changes a lot depending on the membership. Annual and Seasonal members get different access, timing, and choices. If someone misses the customization window, the system randomly fills the box for them.

This is where both potential customers and some existing members get confused.

Annual vs Seasonal memberships

Season opens

# of products

Customization

Shipping

Annual

Seasonal

First week of the month

3 days later

Can select all 6 choices

Can select only 4 choices
Remaining items selected by FFF

Earlier

Later

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

The challenge of making this solution work for every team

We had an idea of allow prospects to preview the customization experience. This was a great idea, but making it work required navigating the needs of many stakeholders.

Every decision affected multiple teams. My role was to understand each team's needs, balance trade-offs, and help the team align on the right solution.

Merchandising

Protect inventory and prevent sellouts

Security

Prevent bots and abuse of the flow

Engineering

Reuse the existing customization flow

Reuse existing customization flow

Marketing

Increase sign-ups with organic acquisition

Leadership

Maintain fairness between prospects and members

DISCOVERY

What potential customers were confused about

Beyond stakeholder needs, I also needed to understand customer needs and pain points. So I looked into forum discussions, support tickets, and session recordings. And two insights stood out:

Customization was unclear to new customers
- It was hard for them to understand how many choices they would get and how selection worked
The difference between Annual and Seasonal memberships
- They assumed the difference was just how many boxes they would get

These insights shaped the design. I focused on explaining how customization works, how each membership plan differs, and what trade-offs customers make before committing.

Beyond stakeholder needs, I also needed to understand customer needs and pain points. So I looked into forum discussions, support tickets, and session recordings.

And two insights stood out:

Customization was unclear to new customers
- It was hard for them to understand how many choices they would get and how selection worked
The difference between Annual and Seasonal memberships
- They assumed the difference was just how many boxes they would get

These insights shaped the design. I focused on explaining how customization works, how each membership plan differs, and what trade-offs customers make before committing.

How customization actually worked

Botkier

Bond Tote

Recommended for You

Botkier
Trigger Backpack

Recommended for You

Surprise Me

$10

Why they couldn't select all the popular products

How the Annual and Seasonal memberships differed

$45.00 / box

Billed Annually @ $179.99

Annual

Best Value

🔥

Customize entire box

✅

Seasonal Box (6+ Products)

✅

Early access to Customize

✅

Cancel anytime

Earlier Shipping

✅

Unlimited Swap for Credit

✅

Early access to Add-Ons & Edit Sales

$49.99 / box

Billed Quarterly

Seasonal

Customize entire box

😭

Seasonal Box (6+ Products)

✅

😭

Early access to Customize

✅

Cancel anytime

Earlier Shipping

✅

Pick 4 choices

✅

Unlimited Swap for Credit

😭

Early access to Add-Ons & Edit Sales

What they were committing to long-term

IDEATION

Designing the journey from curiosity to commitment

I explored multiple directions for the three core screens: sign up, customization, and checkout.

Sign up screen

I considered how to capture contact information in a way that prevented bots and abuse while keeping sign-up friction low. The sign-up flow only required the necessary inputs and was broken into a multi-step flow to make the process feel simpler.

Customization flow

I explored different ways for potential customers to switch between Seasonal and Annual plans to see how their ability to select items changed. I chose the version that clearly conveyed the differences without getting in the way of experiencing customization.

Checkout screen

I tried out different nudges for Seasonal prospects to upgrade to the Annual plan, and ultimately chose the solution that made the value plainly obvious.

Customization

Checkout

You’re experiencing the Seasonal Membership

change Membership

Select Plan

Create Account

Customize

Customize Your Box

Choose a product below. You can pick more products per choice at an additional cost.

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Polaroid

Zip Instant Photoprinter

Retail Value $110

Learn More

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Stila

Stay All Day Liner + Huge Mascara Bundle

Retail Value $25

Learn More

You’re experiencing the Seasonal Membership

Annual Membership

1 box/season | $179.99 billed annually | $45.00/box

Seasonal Membership

1 box/season | $49.99 billed seasonally | $49.99/box

Select Plan

Create Account

Customize

Customize Your Box

Choose a product below. You can pick more products per choice at an additional cost.

How Customization Works

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Polaroid

Zip Instant Photoprinter

Retail Value $110

Learn More

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Stila

Stay All Day Liner + Huge Mascara Bundle

Retail Value $25

Learn More

Your selections will be saved and processed upon checkout.

BACK

Annual

Seasonal

View Membership Details

Select Plan

Create Account

Customize

Customize Your Box

Choose a product below. You can pick more products per choice at an additional cost.

How Customization Works

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Polaroid

Zip Instant Photoprinter

Retail Value $110

Learn More

Annual Only

Click to Unlock

Stila

Stay All Day Liner + Huge Mascara Bundle

Retail Value $25

Learn More

Your selections will be saved and processed upon checkout.

BACK

Winner

Reason for choosing the winner

Showing info upfront and collapsing it on scroll kept the experience clear and focused

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

Getting ahead of leadership concerns

My product manager and I shared the designs with executives, and a few concerns came up. Many of the concerns raised were ones I had already anticipated and addressed below.

By positioning this as a simplified experience instead of full customization, we preserved membership value and reduced confusion.

I clarified that the preview only shows how customization works, not the full experience.
It leaves out member-only sales and advanced features.
That way, the core value is clear, while the full perks stay gated.

I clarified that the preview only shows how customization works, not the full experience.
It leaves out member-only sales and advanced features.
That way, the core value is clear, while the full perks stay gated.

Final designs

Meet the new Fabfitfun preview customization experience where you get to see and feel the thrill of customizing your box like a member without having to commit to anything.

Experience customization for free and subscribe when you're ready

Want to choose all your choices instead?
No problem, you can always upgrade at checkout

Final designs

Meet the new Fabfitfun preview customization experience where you get to see and feel the thrill of customizing your box like a member without having to commit to anything.

Experience customization for free and subscribe when you're ready

Want to choose all your choices instead? No problem, you can always upgrade at checkout

IMPACT

Better experience, stronger results

We ran this experiment for 8 weeks and saw stronger acquisition and higher quality sign-ups, with more customers choosing annual over seasonal membership.