Macy’s E-Commerce

Virtual AR Try-On Optimization

Enhancing Awareness and Navigation in Macy’s Virtual AR Try-On to Improve Online Shopping Visibility and Engagement, High-Consideration Product Pages to Increase Purchase Confidence & Customer Conversion

  • The objective of this thesis project was to enhance Macy’s online shopping experience by introducing and optimizing an AR-driven virtual try-on system for the jewelry category.

  • The goal was to create a more immersive, confident, and user-friendly shopping experience that improves engagement and purchase decisions.

The objective was to improve:

UI Design and Prototyping

Duration: 6 Month

Graduate Retail UX Research Initiative
New York Institute of Technology - Master’s Thesis Project
Fall 2024

My Role : UX/UI Designer & Research Lead

Tools & Process: Figma, Miro, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Dovetail.ai, Google Sheets, Visily.ai, Attention Insight.

Process & Responsibilities:
UX/UI Design, Advance Research / Navigation / Unity for AR / End-to-end research / LO-FI, HI-FI Wireframing/ Prototyping / User Testing / Competitive Analysis / Data Analysis / Performance Evaluation / Project Management

A Quick Peek Into the Solution

We launched a functional MVP of the project, with:

  • A deep understanding of the problem around lack of AR awareness and usability

  • Identified gaps in navigation, visibility, and product interaction

  • Designed and tested an AR-based jewelry try-on experience

  • Created low and high fidelity prototypes

  • Validated the solution through user testing and data analysis

What was the gap?

  • The key gap identified was:

    • No AR feature for jewelry try-on

    • Low awareness and visibility of existing AR features

    • Poor navigation and discoverability

    • Non-intuitive AR icons and flows

    • Lack of product details within AR interface

    As highlighted in your thesis, users were unable to visualize products in real-world context, leading to hesitation and abandoned purchases

How will the solution benefit Macy’s?

Enhancing the AR experience can:

  • Increase user engagement and time spent

  • Improve purchase confidence

  • Reduce return rates

  • Boost conversion rates and sales

  • Strengthen Macy’s competitive position in e-commerce

Your research also showed that AR can significantly improve decision-making and satisfaction, making it a strong business opportunity.

A woman writing on a wall covered with research papers, charts, and sticky notes.

Research and Analysis

  • Literature Review

    Understood & Read Research paper on AR & its Pros/Cons.

  • Competitive analysis

    By synthesizing cross-industry research and market data, we found that AR creates high-value retail confidence in other industry.

  • Impact of AR in Shopping

Macy's Partnership with AR Companies

AR Advertisements 

  • Macy's partnered with Verizon Media to create AR ads

AR mirror Disney Princess Try on.

  • Macy's partnered with Zero10 to create an AR mirror experience  

AR VR Furniture View 

  • Macy's partnered with 3D Cloud to develop AR and VR furniture

AR Cosmetic TRY ON

  • Macy's partnered with Modiface

Understanding Existing Feature

 Navigation Hierarchy of macy's

  • Navigation Flow

    When you search on Google, it shows two different sites.
    (Red Box Shows the Hierarchical Relationship )

  • Navigation Hierarchy of macy's Through Modules and Element


    Red Box=Hierarchical Relationship

    Green = Associative Relationship

    Yellow= Dependency Relationship

  • Visual Relationship OF macy's Current flow

LOW fI & HI FI WI (Existing and Proposed feature)

User Testing & Research Methodology

To evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned AR experience, I conducted scenario-based usability testing comparing Macy’s existing experience with the proposed AR solution.

Approach:

  • Observational, scenario-based usability testing

  • Mixed methods: qualitative + quantitative analysis

Process:

  • Pre-test: Assessed user familiarity and comfort with AR

  • Task-based testing:

    • Find AR feature in jewelry category

    • Navigate Macy’s existing AR (beauty flow)

    • Use redesigned AR jewelry try-on

  • Post-test: Gathered feedback on usability, clarity, and experience

This ensured both behavioral insights + measurable validation

Final Impact

  • Increased user satisfaction and engagement

  • Improved purchase confidence

  • Reduced reliance on guesswork

  • Strong preference for AR-enabled shopping

Users described the redesigned experience as: “intuitive, engaging, and confidence-building”

Key Tasks Evaluated

  • Discoverability of AR features

  • Ease of navigation

  • Product understanding within AR

  • Confidence in purchase decisions

  • Overall user experience

Final Reflection

This project reimagines Macy’s shopping experience by introducing AR as a core interaction layer rather than an add-on feature. By addressing gaps in visibility, navigation, and product visualization, the solution enables users to make more confident and informed purchase decisions.

The redesigned experience improved engagement, usability, and purchase confidence, while also supporting business goals like increased conversions and reduced returns.

Ultimately, this project highlights how AR can bridge the gap between digital and physical retail, creating a more immersive, intuitive, and future-ready shopping experience.

"Design is not just what it looks like. Design is how it works and how it makes you feel seen.