Unlocking Savings: Yahoo Mail Inbox Commerce

Over half of email opens were related to shopping, representing a substantial yearly purchase volume in 2016. However, this potential largely remained untapped in mobile settings and was not accessible through IMAP. Shopping was deeply ingrained in email usage, with a notable 35 million monthly email opens stemming from a mere 15 senders. Furthermore, there was a swift shift towards online purchasing in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector.

We conducted multiple user studies to gauge user reactions to the new concept of having deals in their inbox. These studies provided valuable insights that aided us in refining a set of overarching objectives.

1. Seize Valuable Coupons Make the most of coupons I value.

2. Avoid Overpaying Ensure I never overpay or struggle with payments.

3. Seek Purchase Security Feel protected when I shop.

4. Discover Personalized Deals Find deals tailored to my preferences and nearby locations.

5. Explore Preferred Offers Learn about great deals on products and brands I already like.

6. Enjoy Useful Surprises Experience valuable and delightful surprises.

7. Share Valuable Deals Allow friends and family to benefit from deals they value.

8. Optimize Shopping Find the easiest way to get the goods I want.

9. Time Purchases Wisely Determine the best times to make purchases.

10. Avoid Unwanted Gifts Understand what gifts my friends and family don't want for the upcoming holiday.

Sketched out the initial concept to showcase the redesigned Yahoo Mail user interface. The goal was to introduce the concept of inbox commerce while maintaining the existing product's familiarity and preserving user behavior.

Presented deals and offers from the user's inbox in a clean, organized view. Users could easily explore them by categorization, assess deal quality, and browse by store, location, and recommended options.

Crafted personalized experiences for each of the ten leading categories, spanning wellness, fashion, and dining, among others.

Designed the 'Deals Nearby' experience. The view opens a built-in map that shows deals at retailers in the users area. Stores can further be filtered by deal type and open hours.

Designed subtle yet engaging microinteractions to enhance the workflow and make the product more enjoyable.

As users discovered interesting deals, we extended our assistance in curating and tracking their preferred items. This active engagement contributed to the refinement of precise recommendations and a more personalized user experience.

Created onboarding experiences for new users when they first sign up to use the product. 

Developed themes for the app to support dark mode, enhance aesthetics, and improve readability.

Created designs enable discovery of interesting deals in the mailbox based on relevance, popularity, discounts, sale etc. Also created designs for post purchase assistance.

Created three different styles to communicate deal categories. The team was spilt between the different choices. After testing with our users the image option was a clear winner. 

Content creation presented challenges as we often lacked high-quality product images. To address this issue, I established a guideline for addressing these situations by incorporating alternative solutions. This included displaying other valuable information, such as product offers, retailer logos, or placeholder images, when high-quality product images were unavailable or of subpar quality.

Crafted an encompassing design system, complete with an extensive component library and well-defined UI patterns, which played a pivotal role in establishing consistency and providing a reliable framework. Subsequently, this effort was integrated into the Central Yahoo Design System.

Created a constraint-based auto layout system that dynamically adapts views to different screen sizes. The category images keep their original aspect ratio but are resized so that the shortest height or width can fill in the given dimensions.