Overview
As Bondi Sands expanded beyond self tanning into skincare, suncare and body care, the ecommerce experience needed to evolve with the brand. What began as a category-leading tanning business had grown into a much broader destination for skin health, education and beauty, but the online experience wasn't helping customers navigate that journey.
Process partnered with Bondi Sands to reimagine the customer experience from the ground up. The focus was on improving product discovery, simplifying navigation and creating a more engaging, education-led shopping experience that reflected the strength of the brand while supporting future growth.
The Challenge
Bondi Sands had built an incredible global following, but as the product range expanded, the customer journey became increasingly difficult to navigate.
The existing navigation relied heavily on long lists and category structures that assumed customers already knew exactly what they were looking for. For new customers exploring skincare, SPF or self tan, there was very little guidance to help them find the right products or understand where to start.
At the same time, important educational content around sun protection and skin health was disconnected from the shopping experience. Rather than becoming part of a customer's daily skincare routine, SPF often appeared as a standalone category, limiting opportunities to educate, cross-sell and reinforce the importance of skin protection.
The experience also lacked the community feel that had become such an important part of the Bondi Sands brand. User-generated content, customer stories and social proof were not playing a meaningful role throughout the site, creating a disconnect between the brand's strong social presence and its owned ecommerce experience.
Our Approach
Rather than simply refreshing the interface, we focused on redesigning the experience around how customers actually shop.
Every touchpoint was considered through three key lenses:
- Simpler product discovery
- Better customer education
- Stronger community connection
The result was a more intuitive ecommerce experience that balanced conversion with storytelling, helping customers move through the site with greater confidence while reinforcing Bondi Sands' position as a trusted authority in skin health and beauty.
The Solution
We delivered a comprehensive UX redesign that simplified navigation, strengthened educational content and created more personalised shopping experiences across the site. Every improvement was designed to make the experience feel more intuitive, while creating stronger connections between education, community and conversion.
Smarter navigation and product discovery
Navigation was restructured around customer intent rather than internal product categories.
We introduced clearer hierarchy, stronger visual cues and more intuitive pathways that made it easier for customers to browse by product type, concern and routine. Mobile navigation was also redesigned to reduce friction and improve usability for Bondi Sands' predominantly mobile audience. The result is a faster, more confident shopping experience, particularly for customers discovering the brand for the first time.
Bringing education into the shopping journey
Education became an integrated part of the customer experience rather than existing separately from it.
A custom, location-based, UV index display helps customers understand current UV conditions while recommending suitable SPF products, turning education into a practical shopping tool.
Rather than simply selling sunscreen, the experience encourages stronger skin literacy and helps customers understand why daily protection matters.
Personalised shopping experiences
To make product selection easier, we introduced intelligent discovery tools across key shopping journeys.
Quick Shade Finder functionality on collection pages and product pages helps customers narrow products based on their skin tone, removing uncertainty from the buying process and making it easier to find the right self tanning products.
Rebuy was integrated throughout the experience to support smarter merchandising and personalised product recommendations, helping customers discover complementary products while increasing relevance across the shopping journey.
Connecting community with commerce
Bondi Sands has built one of the beauty industry's strongest social communities, so the ecommerce experience needed to reflect that.
Community Success Stories were introduced throughout the homepage, bringing real customers into the shopping journey and reinforcing the trust already established across social channels.
To further strengthen this connection, Yotpo and Bazaarvoice were integrated to surface authentic customer reviews, ratings and user-generated content throughout the shopping experience. Together, these platforms help customers make more informed purchasing decisions while reinforcing the credibility and community that sit at the heart of the Bondi Sands brand.
Bondi Sands demonstrates how ecommerce experiences need to evolve alongside the brands they represent.
As product ranges expand and customer expectations continue to grow, the best ecommerce experiences don't simply make products easier to buy. They educate, guide and inspire customers at every stage of the journey.
By combining thoughtful UX, personalised shopping experiences and education-led merchandising, Bondi Sands now has a stronger foundation to support its next phase of global growth.
