Smart Markdown

Optimizing Retail Pricing and Clearance Workflows

Overview The Clearance Tool helps Nordstrom’s Merchandising team manage markdowns by analyzing product data and making price decisions. The vision is to evolve it into a more data-driven tool that enhances decision-making.

What I did

  • Wrote UX user stories in JIRA to guide the development process

  • Created user flows to map out the overall user journey

  • Designed wireframes and prototypes to visualize user interactions

  • Attended daily standups and collaborated with the tech team to integrate design with development

  • Worked closely with the UX Researcher to gather insights and validate design decisions

  • Contributed to the enterprise design system, ensuring consistency across the platform

Company Nordstrom

Role UX Designer

Duration 8 months (2021-2022)

Skills & Tools
JIRA
Sketch
Zeplin
Usability Testing
Design Systems

Problem Statement

“It’s challenging to identify the right products to mark down and determine the appropriate percentage while staying within budget.” – Merch Manager

The markdown process at Nordstrom is overly manual and reliant on tribal knowledge, with limited visibility into critical data. This creates inconsistencies in which products go into clearance and at what percentage, making it especially difficult for new employees. A more streamlined, data-driven system is needed to support consistent, margin-protecting decisions.

Scope & Constraints

  • Align designs with enterprise tools

  • AG Grid limitations

  • Partner with a consulting firm in the second half to ensure cross-team alignment

Research

AUDIENCE

  1. Assistant Merch Inventory Specialists (AMIs): Execute product markdowns within their departments and manage cycle budgets.

  2. Merchandise Managers: Oversee department budgets and share inclusion/exclusion decisions from the Buying Office.

  3. Buying Office: Manages vendor relationships, price updates, and product inclusion/exclusion decisions.

User Flow

Understanding the current tool and validating pain points with users and the team ensures design improvements address real issues and streamline the process effectively.

Design

Existing Application

Users face a blank starting screen, overly broad searches, a data-heavy interface with ~90 columns causing scrolling issues, and an unclear, hard-to-follow workflow.

Initial Landing Screen Designs

Design Decisions

  • Provide a meaningful starting screen instead of a blank one

  • Enable buildable, focused search queries

Landing screen Iterations

I worked with our UX Researcher to interview AMIs, run review sessions, and gather survey feedback to iterate on Clearance Tool improvements.

Project Pivot
After several months, Nordstrom brought in a consulting group to integrate data science insights and develop a new version of Smart Markdown aimed at saving millions in inventory margin. While my work remained in place, the team adapted workflows to collaborate with the consultants.

A New Approach
The consulting team brought a standardized methodology from similar projects but relied on our team to tailor it to Nordstrom’s unique business needs and build a customized experience.

Design System

With the consulting team onboard, I shifted to a supporting role, leading weekly design pattern meetings to review updates, document decisions, and maintain consistency in the enterprise design library.

Final Design

Although the consulting group led the design, I worked closely with their designer to apply the new system’s look and feel, supported design reviews, and leveraged my deep clearance process knowledge to contribute effectively in the final stages.

Final Thoughts

This was my first project at Nordstrom, where I took ownership of the space, developed my design approach in a new team, and navigated the shift from agency to in-house design, gaining valuable experience in relationship-building and adapting to a new environment.

Challenges

  • Tech Collaboration: Joining mid-project meant advocating for UX input in a team used to working without it.

  • Consulting Collaboration: The arrival of a consulting group shifted roles and dynamics, requiring careful coordination.

  • Constant Rework: Developing the product while aligning with the design system led to frequent iterations and rework.