At a glance
-
4
terminals of airport stores, in one online shop
-
10
categories, plus brands, services and Changi experiences
-
30 days
ahead of a flight, the earliest travellers can shop
-
12 hours
before a flight, the latest travellers can order
The brief
Changi Airport Group wanted its online shop, iShopChangi, to feel like its airport stores: brands from across four terminals, duty-free prices and service to match, for travellers and for people at home in Singapore. We designed the experience for desktop and mobile.
The challenge
What you can buy depends on your trip: when you fly, where to, and whether you are leaving, arriving or transiting. Airport stores run on lean stock, so availability had to be real. Customs limits and collection points had to make sense to people short of time.
My role
My experience department at Born ran this work. I set the UX strategy and led the design with the team.
I articulated it through UX and UI for desktop and mobile: the homepage, navigation and search, category, listing and product pages, cart and checkout, account, Changi Rewards, emails and campaign templates.
What we did
- Designed shopping around the flight: travellers add their flight and see what they can buy for that trip.
- Gave travellers clear ways to get their order: collect on departure or arrival, or have it delivered in Singapore.
- Built customs limits and timing rules into the bag and checkout.
- Designed navigation for ten categories plus brands, services and Changi experiences, on desktop and mobile.
- Designed product pages for every category, with states for travellers and non-travellers.
- Covered account, orders and refunds, Changi Rewards, emails and campaign templates.
Two kinds of shopper
Travellers can shop 30 days ahead and up to 12 hours before their flight, then collect at their terminal on departure or arrival, or opt for delivery in Singapore. Non-travellers shop for local delivery, with tax and duty absorbed by iShopChangi. To collect, travellers bring their electronic collection slip, boarding pass and passport.
Built around the flight
Availability depends on the trip, so the flight comes first. A short form asks for the travel date, flight number and arrival city, “to determine if items are available for your trip”. Shoppers can then switch between saved flights, or add another.
From then on the site knows what can be bought for that journey. A switch in the navigation shows only items available at departure, and at checkout the flight is tied to the order.
Customs and timing
Duty-free comes with rules, and the design explains them where they matter. Singapore Customs allows each customer up to 10 litres of alcohol on departure, and travellers to China and the United States are asked to buy on the last leg of their trip. Liquor limits appear as soft restrictions.
Hard restrictions are firmer. If there is not enough time to process an order before the flight, checkout stops, explains why and returns the shopper to their bag.
Navigation and product
Ten categories, from beauty and electronics to wine and spirits, sit alongside brands, services and Changi experiences. Megamenus lead into category, listing and search pages, with filters and sort.
Product pages flex by category and by shopper: fashion with size charts, electronics with AppleCare, and wine for travellers and non-travellers. Staff prices, back-in-stock alerts and restricted items each have their own state.
Account and rewards
Changi Rewards runs through the shop. Members earn from 10 points per S$10 at Member level to 30 at Platinum, and turn 1,000 points into a S$5 rebate. The account brings orders, refunds, addresses and payment methods together, and emails cover everything from order confirmation to ready for collection.
The result
A complete design for iShopChangi across desktop and mobile, covering hundreds of screens and states. It gave Changi an online shop that works the way its travellers do: plan around the flight, know what you can buy, and pick it up at the terminal or have it delivered.
