Work Details

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Light On trading — Premium E-Commerce Experience for Modern Lighting

Client

LightOn Trading

Service

User research, UX/UI design, prototyping, hand-off support

Website

lightontrading.com

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Project Overview

LightOn Trading evolved into a refined, premium e-commerce platform specialising in aesthetic lighting solutions, electrical and plumbing products. The design aimed to balance technical clarity with luxurious visual presentation, catering to high-end customers and professional trades alike.

Problem Statement & Goals

Problem:

The existing platform lacked a premium feel, making high-end customers doubt quality or reliability.
Users visit many lighting and electrical sites but often feel overwhelmed by choice and lack of visual guidance.
Many customers abandon shopping due to unclear product specs, difficult navigation, or lack of trust in delivery and quality.
Navigation and product discovery were cumbersome. Buyers struggled to find related products, view categories clearly or complete purchase flows confidently.
On mobile devices the experience is clunky, which hurts conversions.

Objective

Design a clean, user-friendly e-commerce experience where users can easily browse, compare, and purchase lighting & electrical solutions.
Elevate the brand perception to match luxury lighting and architectural clientele.
Streamline the user journey from browsing through technical specification to purchase decision.
Increase trust with visuals, detailed product information, reviews, and secure checkout.
Ensure mobile responsiveness and optimise for conversions across devices.

User Research & Insights

Research methods:

Key Findings:

Key insights:

Users need detailed product specs but dislike cluttered layouts.
Designers and professionals want visual references (installed views).
Homeowners prefer guided browsing (e.g., “Shop by Room” or “Style”).
Most users abandon if filtering and search take more than 2 clicks.

Competitive Analysis & Insights

Here’s a short, clear SWOT insight summary for each logistics competitor

1. Wayfair (global home goods & lighting marketplace)

Strengths:Enormous product selection and strong brand recognition in home goods; broad distribution network and fulfillment infrastructure.
Weaknesses: Thin margins, heavy discounting and complex catalog can reduce perceived premium value.
Opportunities: Curate premium “collections” and launch white-glove delivery / installation for high-value lighting.
Threats: Market volatility, rising shipping costs and competition from niche design retailers.

2. The Home Depot (big-box retail + online; heavy on hardware/plumbing)

Strengths: Market leader for hardware, plumbing and trade supplies with integrated online + vast brick & mortar presence (convenient for pick-up/returns).
Weaknesses: Corporate / DIY brand voice — less appealing to high-end design shoppers.
Opportunities:Offer premium curated lighting collections and pro trade programs for designers/contractors.
Threats: D2C premium lighting brands that offer better visuals, storytelling and designer UX.

3. Pepperfry / Urban Ladder (India — home & lighting e-commerce)

Strengths: Large Indian customer base for home goods; integrated logistics and showroom networks for higher-ticket items.
Weaknesses: Mixed product quality perception; UX designed for mass furniture/home shoppers rather than premium lighting specialists.
Opportunities: Build dedicated “premium lighting” verticals, better product specs, and interior styling content.
Threats:Niche design brands and local lighting studios offering curated, high-margin items.

4. The White Teak Company .

Strengths:High-quality imagery, curated designer collections and strong lifestyle storytelling — appeals to premium customers.
Weaknesses: Small catalog focus; less B2B/trade support and limited national distribution.
Opportunities: Add technical spec sheets, project sales tools and trade discounts to capture architects.
Threats: New designer D2C entrants and replicators offering similar aesthetics at lower price points.

How Jacways can use these insights

Positioning gap: The market is polarized large marketplaces (Wayfair, Pepperfry) have scale but not premium feel; specialist lighting retailers (Lumens, White Teak) nail visuals but often lack trade features and broad distribution.
Opportunity: LightOn Trading should combine both strengths: premium visual storytelling + project/spec clarity + trade support (quotes, B2B pricing, installation). That hybrid positioning will differentiate vs marketplaces and D2C shops.
Go-to-market: Launch with a small, highly curated premium catalog (best sellers for each room), strong lifestyle imagery, and a trade onboarding flow to win architect/contractor projects early — then scale inventory and logistics.

User Persona

Information Architecture

Wireframe

UI Design

Usability Test, Learnings & Outcomes

Objective

The primary goal of usability testing was to evaluate how effectively users could track shipments, request freight quotes, and navigate through core logistics services within the Jacways platform. And identify usability friction points especially on mobile and across devices.

Test Setup

Tasks:

Find a pendant light for a living room and view product details.
Navigate to the plumbing category and locate a faucet with filters
Read a blog post about lighting design and follow link to a product.
Read a blog post about lighting design and follow link to a product.

Metrics to record:

Test Scenarios & Key Insights

Scenario 1: Discovering Product Categories

Expectation: User lands on the homepage and immediately identifies major product categories (Lighting, Electrical, Plumbing).
Observation: The homepage clearly displays “Fancy Light”, “Electrical Items”, “Plumbing Items” sections. However, 2 out of 5 users scrolled down slowly and missed the category headings initially.
Insight: The category labels and visuals are visible, but not immediately engaging enough to catch attention on first glance.
Improvement: Increase contrast or highlight category section earlier in the viewport; consider a sticky visual cue or distinct iconography.

Scenario 2: Navigating to Product Collection

Expectation: User clicks “View Collection” for a category and navigates to collection page showing relevant products.
Observation: When users clicked “VIEW COLLECTION” the transition was smooth, but some product thumbnails lacked hover or preview effects, causing hesitation.
Insight: Interaction feedback (hover states, quick preview) is missing, reducing confidence in product selection.
Improvement: Add hover states, quick-view modals, and highlight filters (price, finish, size) on collection pages.

Scenario 3: Reading Blog Content for Trust

Expectation: Users read a blog article (example: “Choosing the Right Lighting for Your Home”) and expect internal links to product pages or clear next steps.
Observation: Blog articles are informative and visually appealing. But none of the 5 users found clear product links.
Insight: Blog content works for engagement but lacks direct conversion pathways.

Scenario 4: Contact Interaction

Expectation: Users want to get in touch via the contact form or phone number from anywhere on the site.
Observation: The footer contains contact details, but during testing 3 out of 5 users had to scroll to the bottom to find them; some missed the “search” icon to access search quickly.
Insight: Access to support is present but not prominent enough; users expect immediate visibility of contact tools.

Scenario 5: Mobile Responsiveness

Expectation: Mobile users expect clean layouts, quick performance, and easy tap targets.
Observation: On mobile smartphones, the site appears visually aligned but some button touch areas were small, and image loading was slightly slower. 2 users experienced a lag when tapping “VIEW COLLECTION”.
Insight: Mobile usability is generally good, but performance optimization and tappable target sizes could be improved.
Improvement: Optimize image sizes, implement lazy-loading, increase button areas to recommended minimums (e.g., 44px), and test on lower-end devices.
Result: Task success rate improved when optimizations were applied in re-testing.

Usability testing revealed that Jacways’ core functionality works well, but discoverability, consistency, and mobile optimization were critical friction points. Addressing these improves user confidence, task efficiency, and overall satisfaction across all touchpoints.

Learnings & Takeaways

Strong visuals + detailed specs combine to serve both design-focused buyers and technical buyers.
Blog/content sections are effective for engagement but must link directly to commerce actions.
Mobile experience must account for readability, touch-targets, and layout integrity across devices.
Clear user paths for different user types (homeowner vs professional) improve conversion and satisfaction.

Conclusion

The LightOn Trading newly design project aimed to create a seamless, trustworthy, and visually refined e-commerce platform for home improvement products — primarily lighting, electrical, and plumbing items. Through a user-centered approach combining competitor analysis, persona development, information architecture, and usability testing, the design evolved into a cohesive digital experience that balances aesthetics with functionality.

The final design achieved:

1) Clear navigation and structure, allowing users to explore a wide range of home solutions effortlessly.

2) Enhanced visual storytelling, using curated imagery and minimal layouts to reflect the premium yet approachable brand identity.

3) Improved product discovery, supported by category segmentation and visual hierarchy.

4) Consistent branding and tone, building trust and aligning the platform with professional and retail customer needs.

The Future Begins Now

If you would like to work with us or just want to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!