PacSun
Scope
Website
Role
UX Researcher
Duration
1/25-3/25
Overview
The PacSun website serves as an online storefront to provide an engaging experience for customers. Consumers can explore and purchase from PacSun’s range of apparel, footwear, and accessories. They can purchase online and have it shipped to their house or pick it up in a nearby store.
Objective
Redesign the website to improve usability, streamline product navigation, and better align the online experience with user expectations.
This project was completed as part of ICM 514: Understanding Your Audience, a graduate ICM course at Quinnipiac University.
Getting Started
To understand and address user pain points on the PacSun website, I followed a user-centered design approach, focusing primarily on the first two phases:
Phase 1: Empathize
Phase 2: Define
Phase 3: Ideate
Phase 4: Prototype
Phase 5: Test
*Phases 3–5: Ideate, Prototype, Test – not covered in this case study*
Research Methods
Background research
Competitive analysis
Personas
User interviews*
User surveys*
Diary study*
Card sort
Heuristic evaluation
Usability testing
*These Methods were proposed but not executed with users during this project. They were included to demonstrate potential next steps in the research process. For additional context, please refer to the process documentation at the end of this case study.
Background Research
To start the research process, I began by collecting background information to better understand PacSun as a brand and the features of its current website. This foundational context helped shape the direction of my research and informed decisions in later phases.
About the Organization
Pacific Coast Sunwear, or PacSun, is an American clothing brand founded in 1980 as a small surf shop in Seal Beach, California. Since then they have expanded to 325 stores across the United States and Puerto Rico.
They pride themselves on inspiring the next generation through fostering a community where fashion, music, art, and sports intersect.
The main office is headquartered at: 3450 E MIRALOMA AVE, Anaheim, California 92806.
Innovation of new products to compete with the dynamic and ever-changing market.
Operation of online and brick-and-mortar stores.
Creation of events and experiences to remain relevant and at the forefront of consumers’ minds.
Lead sustainability and social cause initiatives within campaigns to raise awareness and educate the next generation.
PacSun’s Activities
About the Website
Website URL: Https://pacsun.com
Website Purpose: The PacSun website serves as an online storefront to provide an engaging experience for customers. Consumers can explore and purchase from PacSun’s range of apparel, footwear, and accessories. They can purchase online and have it shipped to their house or pick it up in a nearby store.
New Arrival and Reward Section: At the top of the page, PacSun immediately tries to direct its users to shop new arrivals, their sales, and to take advantage of member rewards. This actively encourages users to explore the site using the links provided in each section.
Mega Menu: PacSun's mega menu organizes its wide range of products into clear categories and sub-categories, making navigation intuitive and efficient.
Key Website Elements
Competitive Analysis
PacSun is one of many fashion retailers catering to trend-conscious shoppers, especially within the Gen Z demographic. To understand where PacSun stands in the competitive landscape, I conducted a comparative analysis of similar e-commerce websites, including Abercrombie, Urban Outfitters, and Tillys. This analysis revealed each site’s strengths, weaknesses, and standout features, insights that helped identify key opportunities for improving PacSun’s online shopping experience
Opportunities for PacSun to Improve
Add pause functionality to carousels and videos.
Introduce curated lookbooks or themed collections.
Expand on existing sections like “Trending on TikTok” and “Only at PacSun”
Enhance accessibility tools
The PacSun website led to the development of three user personas: Beth, Chris, and Jared. Each represents a distinct segment of PacSun’s customer base, with differences in age, lifestyle, shopping motivations, and digital habits.
Personas
Since PacSun serves a broad and diverse audience, capturing this range was essential to ensure the redesign met varying user needs, expectations, and behaviors.
The card sort included 33 cards representing product categories, shopping features, and site content from the PacSun website. Three participants took part in the open card sort, conducted in person. Each participant grouped the cards in a way that felt natural to them and explained their reasoning throughout the process. I used Proven by Users to analyze the results and uncover trends in mental models.
Card Sort
The resultant similarity matrix
General Observations
Participants created between 6 to 8 categories each.
While there was overlap in how items were grouped, each participant labeled their categories uniquely.
All participants were able to complete the sort without major confusion, though some hesitated when organizing apparel-related cards.
Participant Behavior
All three participants created an account-related category, grouping items like “Order Tracking,” “Rewards,” and “Returns” together.
There was disagreement on how to organize clothing categories. Some were sorted by type (tops, bottoms), while others were preferred style or occasion.
Participants expressed a desire for gender-neutral sorting, preferring filters over pre-separated Men’s/Women’s categories.
Some shopping tools like “Find Your Fit” and “Trending on TikTok” were perceived as features rather than categories, leading to varied placement.
Suggestions Based off Data
Combine overlapping product categories into broader, user-friendly groups to reduce decision fatigue.
Replace gendered mega-menu categories with universal ones that allow users to filter by style, fit, or occasion.
Create a separate section for shopping tools like “Find Your Fit” and “TikTok Trending” to increase discoverability without cluttering navigation.
Heuristic Evaluation
To evaluate the usability of the PacSun website, I conducted a heuristic analysis based on Nielsen Norman Group’s 10 usability heuristics. The evaluation focused on key shopping areas: the homepage, product listing pages, the “Quick Shop” feature, and the checkout process. The goal was to uncover usability flaws that could negatively impact user experience and conversion.
Suggestions from Heuristics
Allow users to pause or control carousel animations to reduce cognitive load and increase browsing comfort.
Standardize the placement and functionality of sizing tools like “Find Your Fit” across all product categories.
Consolidate reward and promo information into an easy-to-access FAQ or sidebar during checkout.
Enhance accessibility features
Usability Testing
As the final step in this research process, I conducted usability tests with three participants: two remotely via Zoom and one in person. The goal of this testing phase was to uncover user pain points within the PacSun website. I designed five specific tasks for each participant to complete while navigating the site. During each session, I tracked the time it took to complete tasks, observed behaviors and interactions, and asked questions about their thought process throughout.
After conducting the sessions and analyzing the data, I was able to identify several patterns and extract recommendations to enhance the overall user experience.
The Tasks
Task 1
As a loyal PacSun shopper, you’re interested in all the perks that come with having a membership account. Find what benefits PacSun has to offer and if there are any rewards for making more purchases.
Task 2
You find a lot of fashion inspiration from PacSun’s TikTok and Snapchat. Figure out how you can find trending print or trending items on TikTok.
Task 3
Your spring break is coming up, and you are looking for a quality swimsuit. Pick out a swimsuit and determine your sizing.
Task 4
You prefer to use discounts when available. Add an item to your cart, checkout, and apply a discount code.
Task 5
You’re looking for a new pair of jeans, but not sure what style you want. Navigate the different styles PacSun offers and then determine which fit would be best for you.
User Feedback
Participants struggled to locate TikTok-trending items due to unclear navigation labeling. They expected to find it under “Featured,” but it was hidden deeper in the site structure.
The size guide and “Find Your Fit” tools were inconsistent across products, leaving users unsure about which size would work best for them.
All participants found the site visually appealing but felt overwhelmed by the large number of categories, which created decision fatigue.
Users expressed a desire for a “Lookbook” or curated outfit collections to inspire styling and make shopping more efficient.
One participant noted that while accessibility features existed, they were not prominently displayed or intuitive to use.
Task Timing
Selected Recommendations
Ensure a consistent "Find Your Fit" and size guide experience across all product categories to minimize confusion and support confident purchasing decisions.
Introduce style guides and inspiration pages to help users visualize outfit combinations and stay up-to-date with current fashion trends.
Move the "Trending on TikTok" feature into the main navigation or featured section rather than housing it under filters, improving visibility.
Add a gender filter on category pages to allow users to easily switch between men’s and women’s clothing.
Enhance the accessibility panel to support a wider range of disabilities, promoting a more inclusive and user-friendly experience.
Include pause/play controls for carousels and video content, giving users more control over their browsing experience.