E-commerce personalization
2026
Desktop and mobile web
Protected

Creating a more personalized homepage for returning customers: Welcome Back Module UX case study by Rita Omatsone

A personalized Welcome Back module for The Home Depot homepage that picks up a returning customer's shopping journey instead of starting them from a generic page.

Role: Sr. User Experience Designer
Company: The Home Depot
Product: E-commerce homepage
Feature: Welcome Back module

The Home Depot homepage with the Welcome Back module for returning customers

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Inside this case study

The opportunity
Defining the experience
Designing the module
Exploring and refining
The solution
Reflection

The opportunity

The homepage is where most shopping journeys start. But a generic homepage doesn't reflect what a returning customer needs or what they were in the middle of doing.

Customers come back for different reasons: some are continuing a previous journey, others are looking for something new. A more personalized homepage can feel less generic and more relevant to each person.

Diagram: the current homepage stacks promotions first with personal content below the fold; with the Welcome Back module the four personal slots move above the promotions. Below, three visitor types: signed in, recognized but not signed in, and guests at about 60% of traffic

Defining the experience

The Welcome Back module introduced a dedicated space on the homepage for a personalized returning-customer experience. Instead of treating the homepage as a static destination, the concept explored how it could feel more relevant the moment a customer returns.

The design work focused on three things: how the module fits into the existing homepage, how it communicates its purpose, and how it supports the customer's next step.

Five module options with their collapsed desktop heights: A glance cards about 120 px, B glance images 142 px, C compact cards 192 px, D equal rail 310 px, E lead plus stack 290 px, and five data states from primary to guest

The latest order card in every state: placed, in transit, out for delivery, delivered, delayed, delivery issue, scheduled, partially delivered, ready for pickup, picked up, cancelled, return started, in-store purchase, no recent orders and loading — The order slot changes its headline with the order: thirteen states, plus an empty state and a loading skeleton at the same height so nothing jumps.

Designing the module

Integrating personalization into the homepage

The module needed to feel like a natural part of The Home Depot homepage, not a feature bolted on top.

Visual hierarchyRecognizable within the homepage and clear about its purpose, without competing with other content.
Content and relevanceContent that makes the return visit feel personal and connected to the customer's shopping journey.
Homepage integrationFits the existing page structure and works alongside the rest of the homepage content.

Option A in hi-fi: four glance cards for recently viewed, recent orders, buy it again and lists above the homepage hero — Each option sits on the real homepage, above the hero, so the trade-off between personal content and promotional space is visible at a glance.

Option B in hi-fi: glance cards led by product images, with one slot falling back — Each option sits on the real homepage, above the hero, so the trade-off between personal content and promotional space is visible at a glance.

Exploring and refining

The process explored how the module could appear on the homepage and how its content and layout could support the intended experience, then refined its presentation and its relationship to the surrounding content.

Wireframe: a homepage for getting items fast, search first with recent items and reorder — Before settling on a module, I explored what the whole homepage would look like if it answered the job a customer came back for, and which layouts could carry it.

Wireframe: a homepage for browsing and discovering seasonal projects — Before settling on a module, I explored what the whole homepage would look like if it answered the job a customer came back for, and which layouts could carry it.

The solution

The proposed Welcome Back module brings a personalized element into The Home Depot homepage, with the goal of making a returning customer's visit feel more relevant, while respecting the content, hierarchy and structure around it.

The Welcome Back module on The Home Depot homepage: recently viewed, recent orders with a shipped status, buy it again and your lists, above the seasonal hero

Mobile: glance cards in a horizontal swipe row under the store and delivery bar — On mobile the cards become a swipe row with a 16 px inset; the richer options switch to tabs or pills.

Mobile: Welcome back, Jordan with tabs for recently viewed and recent orders — On mobile the cards become a swipe row with a 16 px inset; the richer options switch to tabs or pills.

Reflection

The Welcome Back module explored how a familiar e-commerce homepage can become more relevant through personalized content, and how a focused homepage feature fits into a much larger shopping experience while balancing relevance, visual hierarchy and page structure.

Chapters

01The opportunity
02Defining the experience
03Designing the module
04Exploring and refining
05The solution
06Reflection