UX Research
Usability Study
AI Tool
In a Nordstrom-sponsored study through UW's HCDE program, I worked with a team of four to evaluate how well Nordstrom's AI Gift Finder supports the end-to-end gift-shopping experience, from discovering the tool to trusting its recommendations.
WhAT IS THE AI GIFT FINDER?
NORDSTROM AI GIFT FINDER -
A conversational tool that turns a recipient description into a curated gift list.
Launched during the 2025 holiday season, the AI Gift Finder lives on Nordstrom's All Gifts page. Shoppers describe who they're buying for and their interests, and the AI generates personalized product recommendations.
Study Purpose
OUR GOAL IS TO -
Understand whether Nordstrom’s AI Gift Finder supports the user’s end-to-end gift-finding journey, from needing an idea to feeling confident in a gift choice.
QUESTIONS -
Four tasks, each designed to answer one research question.
Can users discover the AI Gift Finder on their own?
How do they interact with it, and how useful are the recommendations?
How do they expect to save products, and does the experience match?
Can they find and use the feedback mechanism?
NO CONTAMINATION -
We let participants buy a gift naturally before introducing the AI Gift Finder at all.
If we'd told them a gift-finding feature existed, they would have been hunting for it, not shopping the way they naturally would. We wouldn't be able to separate organic discovery from knowing what to look for.
Methodology
PARTICIPANT CRITERIA -
We chose to test occasional shoppers because they are familiar enough to navigate naturally, but not habitual enough to have workarounds that hide real usability issues.
We screened 118 respondents and select 5 occasional Nordstrom shoppers (shopped at least once in the past year, no more than once a month) to conduct remote usability tests.
Tool: Zoom Session
Length: 40–60 minutes
SESSION STRUCTURE -
Pre-test:
Unstructured Interview
Test:
4 Tasks
Post-task questionnaires
Post-task Interview
Post-test:
Questionnaire
Unstructured Interview
DATA COLLECTION -
Quantitative:
Task success
Satisfaction rate
Ease Level
Usefulness of System (SUS)
Qualitative:
Think-a-loud commentary
Behavioral observations
General Feedback
Key Findings
OVERALL -
Overall Strong Usability.
SUS score: 83.9 (excellent usability range)
3/5 participants would use it again.
but… we found issues too…
USABILITY PROBLEM 1 -
AI Gift Finder sat outside users’ natural flow.
0/5 organic discovery success.
2/5 participants still did not notice the AI Gift Finder even on the All Gifts page.
RECOMMENDATION -
If the goal is to increase adoption/usage:
A/B test alternative placements and compare discovery rate, engagement rate, purchase/conversion rate.
If the goal is to be a fallback tool /optional support:
Make the AI Gift Finder more visually recognizable and easier to interpret in its current placement.
USABILITY PROBLEM 2 -
Frustration Kicked In Once Users Tried to Refine Results
3/5 participants experienced cases where the AI did not follow explicit instructions.
Even after users specified prompts, there were mismatched results.
RECOMMENDATION -
Long term:
The AI should better interpret and retain explicit user instructions, including exclusions, style preferences, and ratings.
Quick win:
Surface contextual notes when constraints may be hard to fulfill to reduce frustration and building trust through transparency.
USABILITY PROBLEM 3 -
Feedback icons are not noticed or understood
3/5 participants misunderstood the thumbs up/down icons for what they were.
Participants associated the icons with the AI's individual question, not the overall recommendations.
RECOMMENDATION -
Add hover labels clarifying the icons rate the overall system.
Visually separate icons from the AI's question to reduce misattribution.
We presented our findings to both Nordstrom’s research team and the product team behind the AI Gift Finder. We turned observed patterns into clear recommendations the team plans to carry into future iterations.
FINDINGS DELIVERED
6
STRATEGIES INFORMED
3
