UNIQLO boosts user engagement with a mobile app

UNIQLO wanted to continue global expansion and increase its revenue with a dominant direct-to-consumer engagement channel. Modus Create built a new mobile app using React after extensive user research. The application dramatically reduced load times, increased engagement metrics, and helped boost UNIQLO’s revenues in international markets.

Our work involved

• Application architecture and design
• Product road mapping
• Agile product management
• QA automation
• Angular to React migration

Impact

Founded in 1949, UNIQLO is a global unisex casual wear designer, manufacturer, and retailer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO has collaborated with a number of key figures in the fashion industry, from Alexander Wang to KAWS. The brand employs over 40,000 people worldwide and operates 2,249 stores in 17 countries.

Challenge

Erratic app performance impacted overall revenue

The existing mobile web app, built on Angular, was facing performance issues on 3G and Android devices

The high initial and image load times, along with problems in rendering components, contributed to erratic app performance.

As a result of the above, this has affected overall revenue from mobile eCommerce. Modus Create’s team of designers, engineers, and consultants worked closely with UNIQLO’s IT department to understand the root cause of the problem. They concluded that building a new app using React would address most of the existing performance issues.

The team decided to first build a prototype for UNIQLO Taiwan’s mobile site in order to minimize business risk. They architected, designed, and built an updated prototype using React and presented it to the stakeholders.

Impact

From prototype to a global app

The prototype received a great response from the users in Taiwan.

Following its success, the team made updates such as reordering CSS, consolidating features into components, and implementing lazy loading. This led to a dramatic performance improvement in lower-bandwidth environments and on lower-powered devices.

Following the success of the prototype, Modus Create’s consultants began their work on a global app that would allow UNIQLO to reach their customers directly, no matter where they are on the planet. Due to the prep work on the prototype, the final application was successfully developed and deployed much before the scheduled date of delivery.

Embracing the agile mindset

Modus Create’s engineers and consultants worked closely with UNIQLO’s IT department to increase the adoption of Agile best practices. This created a strong foundation within the company, not just for the development of the existing mobile application, but for future IT projects.

Additionally, QA automation helped increase the accuracy of mobile testing and enabled faster delivery times. By delivering an innovative digital product and a framework for long-term success, UNIQLO’s team was left with the confidence to improve and scale the application as they grow.