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Nordstrom

Where did the gift cards go?

Role: Principal UX Designer — Scope: diagnosis + findings + recommendations — Tools: analytics + qual triangulation + heuristics

The problem

A sharp drop in gift card conversions triggered an investigation.

• reduced visibility: key sitewide driver / intent signals were less prominent

• multiple funnel changes shipped at once (nav, CTAs, layout)

• new decision tree increased steps / changed mental models

• performance regression signals observed in speed testing

What made this tricky:

It wasn’t one “bad screen.” It was an ecosystem shift: navigation, CTAs, layout, and intent signals.

The investigation

Method:

1. Diagnose — heuristic + technical analysis

2. Measure — analytics + funnel trends (what changed, when)

3. Validate — recordings/surveys/testing to confirm behavior

Key findings (high-level):

• gift card intent signals became easier to miss

• the path to “buy a gift card” became less direct

• smaller targets / inconsistent UI treatments increased hesitation

• concurrent changes made attribution hard → required triangulation

The recommendation

Restore clarity first, then iterate with instrumentation

Immediate stabilizers:

• restore the primary gift card CTA in the header / sitewide driver

• restore the landing experience (larger hit areas, clearer CTAs)

• improve gift card CTAs across the site; reduce “hidden link” behavior

Build a safer iteration loop:

• add session recordings + tag manager alignment

• consider trust signals at payment moments

• reduce choice overload where appropriate

• avoid changing too many variables at once

Walkthrough available on request (full deck contains detailed analysis + artifacts).

©️2026 Robert Pitt.