Expert Interview — Nicola Reade, Boxer

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I’m Nic Reade, Boxer’s Head of Brand, Marketing and CX. They say a modern career path is less of a ladder and more of a jungle gym, and I am the perfect example of that – I’ve covered many sides and rungs of my career jungle gym—from comms to brand, to content, product and CX, and lots of areas in the mesh in between, including motherhood. Always with a digital thread running through it – I have always loved technology.

What was it that attracted you to Boxer?

I had never worked in a startup before, and the proposition was very compelling. To bring something to market globally was a pretty wild opportunity. And, like many of the jobs I’ve loved, the brains and talent of the team I worked with were also a major drawcard.

What problem is Boxer solving, and for whom?

Boxer is there to help with the uncertainty of cross-border shopping—the anxiety of not knowing if you’re going to end up with what you purchased actually in your hands at the end of the day when you’re buying from stores you don’t know, in countries you may have never been to. Buying Boxer cover on your way through the checkout means you can be sure that if something goes wrong with the purchase, you won’t be left high and dry.

Boxer partnered with Osynlig for UX Research & Prototyping. What is your view on UX Research & Prototyping? Why is this something worth spending time and money on for Boxer?

It was very important for us to do some UX research before we launched the product, so we could paint a picture of how our target customers were experiencing the product, and what the critical tweaks or pivots were for the product before it went out to market.

What value did your work with Osynlig bring? What have you taken forward?

Osynlig was a great partner, and one of the most incredible parts of that was the speed with which the Osynlig team acquainted themselves with our service, which is extremely complex and nuanced. The rapid prototyping was indeed rapid, and the user research was a joy to observe. Most notably, the team had only met us a couple of times and spent one day in our offices before we were all dispatched home for what ended up being Auckland’s four-month lockdown.

Do you have any tips for anyone that has not actively worked with UX Research & Prototyping? What should they keep in mind?

I’d say it’s critical to ensure you’re clear on the audience profile/s you’re recruiting, and have a rock-solid recruitment plan, so the research you’re doing is ultimately useful. Be crystal clear on what you want to be answered from the research, and don’t try to jam too much into each round. Another key tip is to be uber-organised if you’re testing prototypes and iterating as you test. Build in enough time to de-brief as a team, tweak the prototypes and go again. It’s full-on for the team, so make sure in particular your interviewer has enough downtime between interviews to re-set.

Can you give a short description of Boxer?

Boxer is a cross-border e-commerce service. If a customer buys Boxer cover alongside their purchase from an overseas store, they know they can count on local support if their purchase isn’t delivered, turns out to be non-genuine or is faulty.

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Boxer, Fireside Consulting & Osynlig worked together to imagine and validate the future state of the Boxer customer experience. The program of work included 3 months of a dedicated Product Design Squad + User testing recruitment. The Boxer team has since the engagement been able to grow its design maturity with an internal design team to manage product delivery.

If you want to learn more about Boxer, or get Boxer on your own retail site then click here.