Redesigning order history from a data dump to something you can actually use
What started as a request to add store purchase history revealed a bigger problem underneath. The existing order history experience was hard to scan, hard to navigate, and not built to scale. We fixed the foundation before layering anything on top.
A feature request that uncovered a bigger problem
The original ask was simple: add store purchase history to the existing order history page. The existing page made it impossible to do that well.
The current experience displayed orders in a spreadsheet-style list, hid product images behind clicks, and made customers work hard to find what they were looking for. Layering store purchases on top of that would have made it worse.
UX partnered with product and engineering to reframe the initiative from a feature add into a foundational redesign. One that improved findability, reduced customer effort, and set the groundwork for supporting both online and in-store purchases without repeated rework later.
My contributions
Strategic context
Problem & Solution
From spreadsheet to something you can actually scan
The existing experience treated order history like a database export. Every piece of data was present but nothing was prioritized. The redesign flipped that: lead with what customers use to recognize an order, not what's easiest to store.
A data-dense list that customers couldn't navigate
Orders displayed in spreadsheet rows. Product images hidden behind clicks. No visual anchors. Customers had to remember dates or prices to find what they needed. That is recall-based design in a recognition-based context.
Card-based layout leading with product images and key details
Front-facing product images for up to five items per order. Order number, status, date, and total surfaced immediately. Condensed card layout replacing spreadsheet rows. The same framework built to support online and in-store purchases without redesigning later.
Key tradeoffs I made
Research
Customers recognize orders. They don't remember them.
I reviewed order history experiences across major retailers and observed customers navigating competitor pages in a listening lab setting, watching for where friction and hesitation showed up.
The research focused on what information customers look for first, how they identify an order they care about, and what makes the difference between a quick find and a frustrating search.
Visual first
How customers scan
Customers rely on product images to identify orders, not order numbers or dates
3 signals
What they look for
Order total, date, and product image are the three pieces of information customers look for immediately
Recognition
Not recall
Customers can recognize an order much faster than they can recall the details needed to search for it
"Product images paired with order totals and dates dramatically reduce search time and cognitive load."
The design direction became clear: lead with recognition. Surface what customers use to identify an order visually, without requiring additional clicks to get there.
