Crate & Barrel Internal App
My Role: Design Lead
Timeline: 6+ months
I designed a net-new internal iPad app for Crate & Barrel and CB2 store associates. This tool was designed to empower associates with real-time customer data, insights, and tailored recommendations, ultimately enabling them to deliver more personalized service to customers.
Key Challenges & Goals
Store associates were grappling with fragmented customer data, relying on outdated CRM systems, manually tracking interactions, and keeping physical records stored in binders. This not only posed a risk to customer privacy but also contributed to lost sales and perpetuated an inefficient, outdated workflow.
Recognizing these challenges, Crate & Barrel identified a pressing need for a new internal tool. The goal was clear: to streamline associate workflows, build consistency across all store locations, and bolster customer privacy efforts with a modern, scalable solution.
Discovery & Feature Prioritization
I worked with the Product Manager to conduct in-store and virtual interviews with store associates, managers, and the Store Operations team in order to understand key pain points and validate our feature hypotheses.
Next, I co-facilitated a comprehensive feature prioritization workshop with key stakeholders. During this session, we prioritized 20+ potential features using the MoSCoW method and identified nine "must-have" features for the MVP.
A snippet from the feature prioritization workshop.
Design System
I leveraged the existing Crate iOS Design System — originally created for the consumer-facing mobile app — to expedite the design process, begin designing at a mid-fidelity level, reduce guesswork for components and patterns, and ensure the iPad app maintained the same polished design aesthetic present across other applications.
Accessibility
Crate & Barrel maintains stringent accessibility standards, so accessibility was a crucial consideration throughout the design process. The application was designed with these standards at its core and underwent rigorous review by both Crate & Barrel’s in-house accessibility team and external experts from Level Access before development commenced to ensure an inclusive and compliant user experience.
Prototype
I created a full clickable prototype to enable realistic usability testing and showcase the app's core functionality for internal audiences. Note: some complex interactions were simplified due to prototyping limitations.
Looking Ahead
Currently in development, the iPad app is poised to revolutionize associate capabilities, enabling associates to provide more tailored service by delivering real-time customer data, actionable insights, and personalized recommendations.
Crucially, this tool will integrate seamlessly with other associate tools and eliminate the reliance on outdated physical records.
The app is set for a January 2026 rollout across stores.