Case Study
Zappos at Work
Modernizing a voucher system for employers and their teams.
Role: Lead Designer
Scope: End-to-end UX & UI
Collaborators: Product, Business, and Engineering
The Hook
Zappos at Work was built to let employers provide safety footwear vouchers to their employees. On paper, it was simple. Upload a CSV. Distribute vouchers. Employees shop
In reality, it was fragile.
The system struggled with large uploads, crashed during peak processing, and gave employers almost no visibility into whether vouchers were actually used. Money was allocated, but not always spent.
This project focused on turning a patchwork tool into a reliable, employer-branded platform that companies could trust at scale.
The Context
The original Zappos at Work flow required employers to upload a large CSV file with employee data. Once processed, vouchers were distributed. After that, visibility dropped off.
There was no clean way to track:
- Who redeemed their voucher
- Who had not used it
- How much of the budget remained.
When uploads failed, the system often required manual support. When employees did not redeem vouchers, employers had to follow up manually.
The challenge was not just stability.
It was accountability and transparency for employer-funded programs.
The Problem (Reframed)
What employers experienced
- CSV uploads that stalled or failed.
- No clear monitoring of voucher usage.
- Extra manual communication to confirm redemption.
- Budget allocated but left unspent.
What employees experienced
- A generic experience that did not feel tied to their company.
- Confusion around voucher status and balance.
- Limited guidance during the shopping process.
The deeper issue was trust.
Employers needed to know their investment in employee safety was actually working.
The Design Question
How might we give employers full visibility and control over voucher distribution while making the employee shopping experience feel seamless and branded?
The goal was twofold:
- Create operational confidence for employers
- Create a smooth, familiar shopping experience for employees
The Investigation
I worked closely with business stakeholders and support teams to understand common pain points. I reviewed support tickets and sat in on conversations with employers who used the platform.
What I learned
- High-volume voucher uploads were a breaking point.
- Employers wanted simple dashboards, not spreadsheets.
- Branding mattered more than expected.
- Many companies struggled to track unused funds.
The voucher system was not just a benefit tool.
It was tied to compliance, safety policies, and employee satisfaction.
The Turning Point
The turning point occurred when we shifted from handling vouchers as a batch process to managing them as a structured program.
Instead of a single CSV upload event, the experience became an ongoing dashboard-driven system. Employers could distribute, monitor, and adjust vouchers in real time.
At the same time, employees would shop inside employer-branded storefronts that felt intentional, not bolted on.
This shift moved the product from reactive to proactive.
The Solution
The final experience focused on clarity, calm, and forward momentum.
The redesigned Zappos at Work experience included:
- Employer-branded online storefronts.
- A robust voucher engine with configurable rules.
- A real-time admin dashboard for monitoring distribution and redemption.
- Clear reporting on usage, balances, and remaining funds.
- Improved bulk upload handling and validation.
Key design decisions
- Surface program health metrics immediately on login.
- Provide redemption status at both individual and aggregate levels.
- Reduce friction in voucher setup with guided steps.
- Keep employee shopping consistent with the Zappos experience.
Intentional restraint
- Avoid overcomplicating the admin portal with unnecessary analytics.
- Keep the employer dashboard focused on actionable metrics.
- Maintain consistency with Zappos design patterns to reduce relearning.
The result felt like an integrated program, not a fragile tool.
The Outcome
The modernized platform provided stability, visibility, and brand alignment.
Impact signals
- Reduced support tickets related to CSV upload failures.
- Improved voucher redemption tracking accuracy.
- Increased visibility into unused voucher funds.
- Stronger employer adoption of branded storefronts.
Employers could finally see how their voucher budgets were performing. Employees had a smoother path to purchasing required safety gear.
Reflection
What worked
- Framing the problem around program management instead of file processing.
- Giving employers visibility without overwhelming them with data.
What I would improve
- Expand automation for voucher expiration reminders.
- Add predictive insights around underutilized programs.
In Closing
This project reinforced something simple.
Operational clarity builds trust.
When employers invest in employee safety, they need confidence that the system supporting that investment is stable, transparent, and easy to manage.
By redesigning Zappos at Work as a monitored, branded program instead of a CSV-driven utility, we created a product that felt dependable and scalable.