MerchNOW!
TYPE
Bespoke eCommerce Platform
ROLE
UX design, UI design, research
PLATFORM
Web & Mobile
DESIGN TOOLS
Miro, Sketch, Photoshop
Working with a new brand entity to create a powerful bespoke eCommerce platform that simplifies the complex process of buying branded promotional merchandise and turns customer journeys into sales.
Introduction
MerchNOW was established in early 2025 with the ambition of becoming the UK’s leading provider of branded promotional merchandise. I worked closely with their in-house marketing team to design and deliver a beautifully crafted, bespoke eCommerce platform that would bring the new brand to life online.
The brief
The challenge was to create an experience that felt modern, credible and commercially focused, while making what can be a complex process of browsing, configuring and purchasing branded merchandise feel simple and intuitive for customers.
The platform was designed to provide a strong foundation for the new brand, combining considered UX, engaging UI and a scalable eCommerce experience designed to support growth.
The opportunity
- Establish a new digital brand
Create a distinctive online presence that brings the new MerchNOW brand to life and positions it as a credible, modern player within the promotional merchandise market. - Simplify a complex buying journey
Make it easier for customers to discover products, understand their options and move from browsing through to ordering, despite the complexity involved in branded merchandise. - Turn browsing into conversion
Design an eCommerce experience that removes friction, builds confidence and encourages customers to progress from product discovery to enquiry or purchase. - Make product discovery effortless
Help customers quickly find relevant products through clear categorisation, search, filtering and intuitive navigation. - Create a scalable eCommerce platform
Build a flexible foundation that can support a growing product catalogue, new functionality, campaigns and future commercial opportunities. - Differentiate through experience
Use UX and UI to create a more engaging and premium experience than a typical promotional merchandise website, helping MerchNOW stand out in a crowded market. - Support customers throughout the decision-making process
Provide the right information, guidance and reassurance at each stage, particularly where customers may need to consider quantities, branding, specifications, pricing and delivery. - Create a consistent design system
Establish reusable components and patterns that allow the platform to grow while maintaining a consistent, high-quality experience.
Desktop-first approach
Following thorough research and exploration of the potential user personas, we identified desktop as the primary device for the MerchNOW audience, particularly given the considered nature of the purchasing journey and the professional context in which customers would typically use the platform.
We therefore began the UX process with desktop-first wireframes, establishing the core information architecture, layouts and key user journeys before moving into the visual design.
However, mobile was considered from the outset rather than treated as an afterthought. Every component and interaction was designed with responsive behaviour in mind, ensuring the experience could translate naturally across smaller screen sizes without compromising usability or the overall customer journey.
The solution
We created a bespoke eCommerce experience designed around the complexity of buying branded merchandise.
Rather than forcing the business into a pre-existing template, we designed the platform from the ground up — combining a distinctive new brand experience with intuitive product discovery, simplified purchasing journeys and a scalable design system.
The result is a modern, conversion-focused platform that makes a traditionally complex buying process feel simple, while providing MerchNOW with the flexibility to evolve as the business grows.
The platform was delivered in phases, allowing us to launch quickly, learn from real customer behaviour and continuously improve the experience through iteration.
Phased Delivery & Agile Approach
To get the platform up and running as quickly as possible, we recommended delivering the project across a number of focused phases, prioritising the features and functionality that would provide the greatest immediate value to the business and its customers.
This approach also allowed us to work in a more agile and iterative way. Rather than trying to design and build the entire platform upfront, we could release features, gather feedback and real-world insight, learn from how customers interacted with them, and then use those learnings to inform subsequent iterations.
This created a continuous cycle of design → build → release → learn → improve, allowing the platform to evolve alongside the business rather than relying solely on assumptions made at the beginning of the project.
It also meant MerchNOW could start generating value and learning from the platform sooner, while continuing to enhance and expand the experience over time.
Soft launch & user testing
Once the site was soft launched, we trialled the checkout journey with a number of users to validate the experience with real customers and real-world scenarios.
The testing highlighted two key areas where the journey could be improved:
- Delivery dates needed greater prominence — users wanted to understand expected delivery times earlier and more clearly within the ordering process.
- The distinction between an order and a quote needed to be clearer — users were not always immediately sure whether they were committing to a purchase or simply requesting a quotation.
These insights allowed us to make targeted refinements to the checkout experience, improving clarity and user confidence at a critical point in the customer journey.
It also reinforced the value of the phased approach: rather than waiting for the “perfect” solution, we were able to launch, test with real users, identify friction and iterate based on evidence.
Multiple Print Locations Enhancement
As part of the ongoing development of the platform, we identified an opportunity to make the artwork submission process more flexible and intuitive, particularly for products requiring branding across multiple print locations.
Previously, customers could upload artwork, but the process did not fully support products with multiple branding positions. We introduced an enhanced artwork upload experience that allows customers to upload and manage separate artwork files for each required print location — for example, front, back, sleeve or chest.
The new experience makes it clearer which artwork is required, where it will be printed and whether each location has been completed, giving customers greater confidence before submitting their order.
This turns what could be a confusing part of the ordering process into a clear, guided experience, while also reducing the potential for errors and additional artwork queries for the MerchNOW team.
The conclusion
Since launching in early 2025, MerchNOW has quickly established itself as a growing digital commerce platform, providing a strong foundation for the next stage of the business.
£10k+ in sales
Generated through the platform since launch.
2,500+ products
Now available for customers to browse and purchase.
100s of customers & registered users
Building an active customer base and generating valuable real-world usage data.
These early results demonstrate that the platform is already delivering commercial value, but the opportunity doesn’t stop at launch. With a growing customer base and an expanding product catalogue, we now have the opportunity to use real customer behaviour, analytics and feedback to continually improve the experience.
Future development will focus on introducing new features, optimising key customer journeys and removing friction based on what the data tells us — rather than relying on assumptions.
The platform has therefore been designed not as a finished product, but as a scalable foundation that can evolve with MerchNOW, supporting continued growth through a cycle of launch → measure → learn → improve.
Let's work together
Im looking for my next adventure, so if you think I could be a good fit within your team or a role you are looking to fill, please get in touch!