Omnichannel UX Team Lead
At JCPenney, Christopher led omnichannel UX spanning native apps, web, the Lincoln design system, and in-store innovation. His work transformed the retail experience, driving 52% YoY app revenue growth and establishing a foundational design system used across all channels.
Transformation path
Identify friction across the app and web retail funnel and all in-store touchpoints.
Refresh the native app before peak retail season.
Reduce friction in loyalty identification, coupons, and payment at checkout.
Launch Lincoln as a foundational, device-agnostic design system.
Prototype flagship store concepts across fitting rooms and beauty.
Context
Following his redesign of the omnichannel customer account management system, Christopher was promoted to lead the JCP Design Team with a mandate to transform the customer experience into true omnichannel design.
He organized a native app redesign, launched the Lincoln Design System, and led the team to innovate in-store concepts—all positioned to drive measurable revenue growth.
JCPenney Native Apps Redesign
Conversion lagged competitors and customer satisfaction was declining. The business needed a turnaround before peak retail season in 2018.
The action
Discover and solve all existing friction points—aligned with the broader customer journey.
The results
After redesigning app navigation, taxonomy, and key workflows, the team created a customer wallet and geo-fenced in-store experience—all backed by research and iterative testing.
Top 10 app for most downloads on Black Friday (a JCPenney first).
JCPenney Wallet
Let customers quickly associate loyalty identity with the checkout flow.
Bring rewards and coupons into the flow without awkward handoffs.
Support a smoother payment experience in-store.
Improve satisfaction while lowering abandonment at the register.
Lincoln Design System
The problem
Product, engineering, and marketing were building without a single source of truth. Inconsistent typography, color, and components made the omnichannel experience feel disjointed and raised build and maintenance cost.
The action
Define a new design language across typography, color, iconography, patterns, motion, and interaction—with clear documentation and governance so every team could ship consistently.
The solution
Lincoln became the canonical system for product, engineering, and marketing, elevating consistency across a fragmented omnichannel ecosystem and reducing duplicate work.
Flagship store innovations
As the design team evolved from siloed products to full omnichannel thinking, the next opportunity became clear: How might we apply Design Thinking and omnichannel principles into physical spaces through service design?
The Flagship Store project provided the testing ground. The team researched, prototyped, and piloted concepts ranging from app-powered checkout (no lines, no wait) to dynamic associate notifications to reimagined fitting room experiences. While some pilots were still being refined, many evolved into features that JCPenney continues to deploy across locations.
Interactive fitting rooms
As part of JCPenney’s in-store digital innovation, we piloted interactive fitting rooms at the flagship store in Hurst, TX. Customers could scan items and use touchscreens integrated into fitting-room mirrors to request different sizes or colors without leaving the fitting area. This experiment aimed to streamline try-on and improve the overall shopping experience.
AR + AI beauty mirror
We also designed an AR + AI makeup experience using the same interactive mirror technology, but it proved too complex to finish before the flagship store’s grand reopening. Though not fully developed in time, the project demonstrated how virtual try-on and AI could enhance beauty shopping when integrated with in-store mirrors.
Ping an associate
The Hurst flagship had a large, multi‑floor footprint with amenities like a coffee shop, kids’ area, cooking classrooms, demo zones, and charging lounges. To support customer service in that space, the UX team designed a “ping an associate” feature using micro‑geofences to summon staff to a customer’s exact location for help with sizes, colors, or locating departments.
Why it matters
JCPenney demonstrates a design leader directing a team with intention—improving current business performance while prototyping the future of retail across web, apps, and physical spaces.