The first eGifting flow, from zero to $100k in a week.
Retailers were bleeding on returns. I identified an opportunity: let recipients choose size or color before the gift ships. Then I had 72 hours to concept it, sell it to Nordstrom's leadership, and design it into existence.
The problem
Returns eat retailer margins. Gift returns are worse — the recipient didn't pick it, so they don't want it, so back it goes into a warehouse that costs money to run. If the recipient could pick size, color, or swap for store credit before fulfillment, nobody ships nothing back.
The concept was simple. Selling it to a Fortune 500 department store in 72 hours was not.
My role
As Lead Designer:
- Concept and hi-fi mockups within 72 hours
- Competitor analysis (LOOP Commerce, Jifiti) and usability testing
- Direct work with Nordstrom's team on brand and integration
- Both the purchase experience and the redemption experience
Rapid research and concepting
I documented existing processes, sketched initial ideas in Balsamiq, and — without time for the usual round of PM validation — moved directly into Sketch to build flows and visuals. Agile out of necessity, not aesthetics.
Executive presentation and iteration
The first comps went straight to our CEO and VP for a presentation to Nordstrom. The three-hour time zone difference gave me a small buffer for feedback. When change requests came back for Monday's presentation, my weekend was spoken for. I built a clickable prototype to demonstrate the product-based gifting flow. Monday's presentation secured the project.
Testing and validation
Remote unmoderated usability testing with the scenario:
"Your best friend's birthday is coming up soon, and you wanted to send her something special. She just moved across the country and you don't have time to mail a gift. You decided to try sending an eGift of something you think she'll love instead."
Critical insights that changed the design:
- Users needed more explanation of this new concept
- The add-on tax created confusion about who pays
- Preview functionality for the recipient experience was essential
The result
- $100,000+ in the first week.
- Only solution in the industry handling eGifting without direct inventory management.
- Configurable platform — adaptable to other retail partners without another redesign.
- Successfully implemented with Nordstrom's full-price product line.
"Fantastic news. Please make sure Rob knows how much we appreciate his kick ass, late night and weekend work on the Nordstrom mock ups. They were great and I am sure invaluable in allowing Nordstrom to visualize the possibilities." — Matt K., VP Strategic Business Development
What I actually did
- Delivered high-quality design under extreme time pressure — the 72-hour turnaround secured a major retail partner.
- Insisted on user testing despite the timeline, which validated our approach against Nordstrom's independent findings.
- Bridged executive team, product management, and Nordstrom's design team into one aligned vision.
- Designed a configurable solution that scaled beyond Nordstrom without another redesign.
- Advocated for mobile despite it not being in the initial requirements — turned out we needed it.