Overview: Reducing uncertainty in community event engagement

Finding and joining community events should be simple, but for many Lululemon members the process was unclear or inconsistent. Our team explored how event discovery, motivation, and inclusivity could be improved to help people connect more easily with the brand’s community offerings. Through a one-week cross-disciplinary hackathon, we combined UX design and data science to surface insights, design solutions, and test new ideas for boosting participation and trust.

lululemon UX Case Study Preview

  • Project Type: Academic - Cross-disciplinary Hackathon

  • Duration: 1 week

  • Role: UX Researcher, UX Designer

  • Platform: Web & Mobile

  • Focus: Event discovery, motivation, inclusivity, trust

  • Tools: Figma, Miro, Canva, FigJam, Photoshop, HTML/CSS

The team

Two disciplines, one week

A cross-disciplinary team of two data scientists and two UX designers, working together to reimagine lululemon’s community experience.

  • Data Science
  • UX Design

  • Ethan Shelburne

    Data Science

  • Anish Karnik

    Data Science

  • Samaneh VajdiThat’s me

    UX Design

  • Cassie Morris

    UX Design

Discovery

What’s The Problem?

Why Loyalty Fails

Lululemon members struggle to easily discover and engage with local community events through the app, limiting opportunities for deeper connection, belonging, and long-term loyalty.

Assumptions & Hypotheses

Assumptions

  • 1 Motivation is unclear: Users don’t always see the value or reason to attend beyond fitness.
  • 2 Event discovery is difficult: Members struggle to find upcoming lululemon community events within the app or outside.
  • 3 Non-members may not feel invited: Community events may seem exclusive to lululemon customers.
  • 4 Low visibility reduces engagement: Without reminders or past-event highlights, users may forget or not feel encouraged to join.

Hypotheses

  • H1: If events are made more visible on the app homepage, then more users will discover and consider attending.
  • H2: If event cards emphasize social connection and inclusivity, then motivation to attend will increase beyond fitness-only reasons.
  • H3: If the flow allows easy registration and reminders, then participation rates will rise and drop-off will decrease.
  • H4: If non-members can see the value of events, then brand trust and potential conversions into members will grow.

How Might We

leverage the Lululemon mobile app to better understand and scale community engagement that transform siloed insights into experiences that build stronger, long-term loyalty?

Research Findings

To understand how members discover and engage with lululemon events, we combined survey responses with secondary research on community engagement. Sample sizes are not reported here, so findings are shown as patterns rather than percentages. They highlighted how visibility and motivation directly affect attendance.

These insights shaped our design priorities: increasing visibility of upcoming events, simplifying the registration flow, and surfacing the social value of lululemon’s community experiences.

Members struggled to discover events

Participants noted that finding information about lululemon events was not intuitive. Events were hidden in submenus or discovered outside the app, limiting participation.

Motivation depended on social value

Attendees felt more inspired to join when events emphasized community, inclusivity, and connection rather than fitness alone.

Sign-ups were forgotten or abandoned

Participants said they intended to sign up for an event but forgot or abandoned the process, citing a lack of reminders or unclear registration steps.

Design

User Persona: Amanda Springs

Bio

Amanda stays active through yoga, running, and group fitness, which she values for both exercise and connection. She enjoys new experiences but often avoids events when details are unclear or the setting feels intimidating.

Goals

  • Stay active year-round
  • Build meaningful friendships through fitness
  • Find supportive, welcoming communities
  • Balance variety with consistency in routines

Frustrations

  • Hard to connect at large, one-off events
  • Hesitant to join if event info isn’t clear
  • Feels less motivated in unwelcoming or overly competitive spaces

Behaviors

  • Chooses indoor events in summer + outdoor for winter
  • Attends structured classes but tries new ones occasionally
  • Finds events on Instagram and wellness apps
  • Connects most in small, recurring groups
“I love trying new activities, but if details aren’t clear or it feels intimidating, I usually skip it.”

Effortless Path to Event Discovery

The flow mirrors how members naturally look for and join events, making the experience clear and inviting at every step. From browsing upcoming activities to registering and receiving reminders, each stage was designed to reduce friction and highlight the community value of lululemon’s events.

Solution Overview

I designed a community events experience that makes discovering and joining lululemon events simple, inclusive, and engaging. The solution streamlines event visibility, surfaces social motivation, and ensures members feel supported from discovery to attendance.

  • Discover Events: upcoming events are highlighted directly on the app homepage and community tab to reduce friction.
  • Browse & Filter: members can sort by activity, location, or time, making it easier to find what fits their lifestyle.
  • Event Details: clear descriptions emphasize inclusivity, community, and motivation beyond fitness.
  • Register & Reminders: one-tap sign-up with confirmation and automated reminders to reduce drop-off.
  • Post-Event Highlights: members see photos and stories that reinforce connection and encourage continued participation.

Outcome: a guided path from discovery to attendance, designed to increase participation, strengthen community bonds, and reinforce lululemon’s role as more than an apparel brand.

Wireframe Preview

High level wireframe preview
View Figma

Outcome

A researched concept, not yet a tested one.

A one-week hackathon with data scientists and designers. The hypotheses below shaped the design; none has been tested with members.

  • HypothesisH1 · Events made visible on the app homepage will increase discovery.

    Design responseUpcoming events on the homepage and community tab, with browse and filter.

    Untested

  • HypothesisH2 · Cards that emphasise connection and inclusivity will lift motivation beyond fitness.

    Design responseEvent details that lead with community and who the event is for.

    Untested

  • HypothesisH3 · Easy registration and reminders will raise participation and cut drop-off.

    Design responseOne-tap sign-up with confirmation and automated reminders.

    Untested

  • HypothesisH4 · If non-members see the value of events, trust and conversion to membership will grow.

    Design responsePost-event highlights with photos and stories open to non-members.

    Untested

Next test: a moderated usability round on discovery and registration, plus success metrics (visibility, registration, repeat attendance) defined with the data science team.