Harrods Pre-Order Feature Design

What I Needed to Discover

I needed to understand how luxury customers perceive:

• Early access and exclusivity
• Convenience without compromising prestige
• Trust and reassurance when purchasing unreleased products

I also evaluated whether pre-ordering could deliver business value without diluting the premium experience Harrods customers expect.

"Luxury shopping should be effortless and exclusive. When I want something, I expect access before everyone else." — Victoria Sterling, VIP Customer

Research Approach

To balance customer expectations, competitive standards, and business goals, I used a mixed-method approach:

• Customer Surveys & Interviews: Insights from Harrods customers across segments revealed strong demand for guaranteed access and transparency.
• User Journey Analysis: I mapped limited-edition purchase journeys to identify friction points, anxiety moments, and drop-off risks.
• Competitive Analysis: I analysed how other luxury retailers handle pre-ordering, identifying gaps and differentiation opportunities.
• Business Impact Assessment: I evaluated how pre-ordering could improve inventory planning, revenue forecasting, and customer retention.

Research Synthesis

Key Findings

What I Needed to Solve

I synthesised research into a core challenge centred on:

• Security (confidence in reservation)
• Simplicity (effortless flow)
• Exclusivity (service-oriented, not transactional)

The solution needed to feel like a luxury service, not a standard ecommerce feature.

Problem Statement

High-intent luxury customers lacked early access and transparency for limited-edition products, resulting in missed purchases, frustration, and lost loyalty. A pre-order experience needed to restore confidence while reinforcing Harrods' exclusivity.

I anchored design decisions around a high-value luxury shopper persona to maintain focus on premium expectations.

How I Explored Solutions

I generated multiple concepts using structured ideation techniques, then evaluated them against:

• User impact
• Technical feasibility
• Alignment with luxury experience standards

My goal was to reduce uncertainty and effort without adding complexity.

Concept Exploration

Using Crazy 8s and rapid sketching, I explored different reservation models, then applied a value-vs-effort matrix to prioritise concepts that:

• Enhanced exclusivity
• Integrated seamlessly into existing shopping flows

User Flow Design

I designed end-to-end flows to ensure the pre-order journey felt:

• Familiar and predictable
• Integrated into Harrods' existing experience
• Free of disruptive or standalone processes

Information Architecture

I integrated pre-ordering into Harrods' existing structure to ensure intuitive navigation and minimal cognitive load.

How My Solution Came to Life

I evolved concepts through iterative design and testing, delivering a mobile-first experience that balanced luxury aesthetics with clarity and usability.

Every decision aligned with Harrods' brand standards and customer expectations.

Design Evolution

I started with low-fidelity wireframes to validate:

• Core flows
• Information hierarchy
• Terminology clarity

Only after validation did I move into high-fidelity design, ensuring polish was built on a solid foundation.

Final Design Solution

I delivered a complete end-to-end mobile experience—from discovery to confirmation—ensuring consistency and confidence across all touchpoints.

High-Fidelity Mobile Experience

The final designs demonstrated:

• Clear product availability messaging
• Transparent pre-order details
• Reassuring confirmation and shipment updates

Stakeholder Alignment & Brand Excellence

Led stakeholder alignment workshops with Harrods' luxury retail team, navigating brand guidelines and technical constraints while ensuring the design met their premium standards. Through collaborative sessions with commercial stakeholders and the product team, I balanced competing priorities and secured buy-in across departments, maintaining focus on both customer experience and business objectives throughout the design process.

What I Validated

• 100% task completion across test users
• Users consistently described the experience as "intuitive" and "premium"
• Clear understanding of pre-order terms and timelines
• Seamless integration with the existing Harrods shopping experience

Improvements I Made

• Simplified product detail layouts
• Strengthened CTA hierarchy
• Refined notification timing and preferences
• Clarified payment terminology

What I Achieved

I designed a luxury-grade pre-order experience that:

• Reduced customer frustration
• Unlocked demand forecasting opportunities
• Increased confidence and conversion potential

This project demonstrated how UX strategy can enhance luxury retail while delivering measurable business value.

Key Learnings

• Luxury requires simplicity — removing friction enhances perceived value
• Early access drives loyalty — exclusivity strengthens emotional connection
• Transparency builds trust — clarity increases confidence and conversion

Next Steps I Recommended

• Launch a pilot within a select product category
• Track conversion rates and demand-forecast accuracy
• A/B test messaging and flow variations
• Expand the feature to desktop and in-store kiosks