Nuuly 2026
Project Overview: I created a customer journey map to better understand how users interact with Nuuly’s clothing rental process, while focusing on their behaviors, thoughts, and emotional response before and after the redesign. In addition, I designed a prototype within Canva that introduces customer-selected backup items and improved notification features to make the rental experience feel more reliable, personalized, and user-centered when inventory issues occur.
The Challenge: The issue within the current customer journey occurs when an item becomes unavailable after a customer has already selected it for their rental order. Even if the platform shows an item as available, customers may later discover that the item can no longer be fulfilled before shipment.
Currently, when this occurs, the Nuuly fulfillment team chooses a replacement item on behalf of the customer without their approval or customization. Then, customers are notified through email and the user frustration begins when items are often:
- Unrelated to the customer’s original selection
- Unsuitable for the customer’s intended occasion
- Not aligned with the customer’s personal style
- Items the customer would never realistically wear
The customer enters the process with excitement about a specific outfit or event, only to feel surpised and let down when the package arrives. Nuuly typically apologizes for the error and offers an additional item in the next rental cycle. While that may seem like a suitable solution from a business perspective, it does not sole the immediate emotional disappointment customers experience in the moment. Which ultimately affects the chances of user satisfaction and their chances of returning to and trusting the platform.
The Process: To improve the customer journey, I propose introducing a substitution selection directly within the rental process. Customers would have the ability to pre-select backup items before submitting their order. If one of their original selections becomes unavailable, the system would automatically substitute a customer approved alternative instead of an unrelated, undesired replacement.
Phase 1: Research based on real stories
Annabelle was excited to discover that Nuuly offered NFL licensed apparel and rented a Detroit Lions jacket to wear to an upcoming game. She highly anticipated the arrival of her order, only to later receive an email informing her that the jacket was unavailable, but her order was on the way. Instead of allowing her to choose an alternative, Nuuly automatically replaced the item with apparel from a rival NFL team.
At that point, the replacement item has absolutely no value to her. The experience transformed excitement into frustration because the platform failed to understand the purpose behind her rental choice.
While Nuuly may not always know the exact context for every rental, this situation highlights the importance of giving customers more control when substitutions become necessary. Annabelle’s story is not an isolated incident either. Many customers have shared similar frustrations across platforms like Reddit and TikTok, using social media to bring awareness to the unpredictability within the current rental experience.
Phase 2: User Journey Mapping
Creating both the current-state and future-state customer journey maps helped me better understand how small moments within a digital experience can have a major emotional impact on users.
The original journey map revealed that the biggest frustration was not simply the unavailable item itself, but the lack of communication, transparency, and customer control throughout the process. Mapping the user’s thoughts and emotions made it easier to identify where trust in the platform began to break down.
In contrast, the redesigned journey map demonstrated how adding customer-centered touchpoints, such as substitution preferences and real-time notifications, could transform feelings of disappointment into confidence and reassurance. Comparing the two journeys showed me how thoughtful UX and CX decisions can significantly improve not only usability, but also the emotional relationship users have with a platform like Nuuly.
The Results:
Phase 3: Prototyping
Inspired by food delivery platforms, this redesign is not simply about replacing clothing items. It is about getting the products the users want in their hands, and understanding why this matters. This redesign experience would include:
- Giving the users to surpass substitutions
- Pre-selected substitution options
- Real time in-app, email, and messaging notifications
- Customer awareness before shipment
- Smarter replacement recommendations based on style, occasion, and preferences
- Increased transparency around item availability
By introducing these touchpoints, customers would feel more informed, in control, and involved throughout the fulfillment process.