Home Depot | Customer Experience
Empower DIYers to take on lighting improvement projects safely.
Preview:
The Home Depot is known for championing DIYers, but what happens when doers don’t actually get more done? What if those doers try to do too much and end up causing a fire. We staked out a Home Depot lighting aisle to better understand the current DIYer. We found ways to make them more confident in their lighting project, and ensure that confidence doesn’t lead to something tragic.
My Role:
Lead Design Strategist
1:1 Interviews with DIYers + Employees
In-store Ethnography
User Testing
Deck Narrative + Flow
Desk Research on Electrical DIY
THE BRIEF
Ask:
Get people to feel confident while taking on lighting home improvement projects.
Homeowners across the country attempt DIY projects every day. However, 80% of people attempting DIY projects make mistakes.
These mistakes can lead to frustrated customers, increased refunds/exchanges, and negative feelings associated with The Home Depot.
Problem:
Lighting projects are full of pain points and can lead to fires.
Faulty lighting installation can cause electrical issues or even worse, fires. There are 51,000 house fires caused by electrical systems every year, with some due to unskilled DIYers attempting their own electrical work.
We want to make the lighting aisle more approachable for non-contractors, particularly new DIY homeowners - and give them the education tools to know what they can and can’t do.
Strategic Approach:
Observational Research + Interviewing
We spent a week visiting the lighting section of the Home Depot to observe the aisle in its natural habitat, as well as interviewing customers and employees to better understand pain points on both sides.
Opportunity:
There are times when a DIYer needs help, but doesn’t turn to professionals.
We split our findings between phases of a Home Depot visit, detailing key problems during and after a purchase from the lighting fixture aisle:
THE SOLUTION
Combating overconfidence at every stage.
THE CREATIVE
Creative Concept:
Light the Way
Evoking the Home Depot’s old tagline, “You can do it. We can help,” we developed digital and in-aisle solves that educate DIYers on lighting installation at every touchpoint.
During Store Visit Solve
We made it easier to clearly identify which products need assistance from an electrician and which products a new DIYer could safely install on their own through the use of color-coded price tags. We included these colors both in stores and online.
After Store Visit
To help customers easily identify which employees have specialized knowledge in a given area, we developed a simple pin. Employees can wear any number of these on their apron for the benefit of customers.
For our yellow and red tagged items, we gave clear instructions on how we can connect customers with recommended electricians in the area. This was developed as an additional way to further develop a relationship between Home Depot and contractors.
User Testing
Gratitudes and Learnings
This project taught me the power of qualitative research. No amount of internet sleuthing could have provided me with the insights of a Home Depot customer quite like speaking directly with the source. Research doesn’t have to cost a penny to still be valuable. And although it felt awkward approaching strangers, my work was better for it. I enjoyed solving a problem that transcends traditional advertising.
The Team