JD Sports - Product Customisation
Duration: 3 Sprints. (1 sprint for requirements, 2 sprints for design)
Squad: Product Owner. BA. Technical Product Manager. Onshore Developers.
Key Stakeholders: Merchandising, Trade, Content, Copy, Studio, Distribution Centre
Project Context & Strategic Importance.
With the World Cup 2026 approaching, JD Sports faced a peak season of 13 million national shirt buys, including 8.5 million England and Scotland shirts. Product customisation—including football shirt printing, bag strap printing, and cap embroidery—became a strategic priority to enhance the customer experience, increase conversion, and reduce operational friction.
The goal wasn’t just to allow customisation—it was to deliver a premium, scalable experience during one of the highest-volume periods of the year, while protecting brand integrity and operational efficiency.
Problem & Opportunity
Through initial discovery, I identified several key challenges across the customer journey:
Printing placement confusion: Customers didn’t know where their name/number would appear, leading to potential CS contacts and dissatisfaction.
Returns on customised items: Customised products aren’t eligible for returns, requiring clear messaging to prevent disputes.
Stock limitations: Not all sizes were available for customisation, needing clear communication to avoid failed orders.
Profanity risk: There was no formal process for blocked words in multiple languages, which could damage brand safety.
The opportunity was to design a coherent experience across touchpoints (PLP, PDP, checkout, order history, and order confirmation) that solved these issues while also creating a visually delightful experience for the customer.
Discovery & Research
I started by performing a competitor analysis to understand best practices in product previews, messaging, and profanity handling. Insights included:
Most competitors offer either generic previews or live text previews, but few balance realism with operational feasibility.
Clear messaging on returns and stock availability reduces disputes and customer frustration.
Profanity filters are essential for brand safety but are rarely implemented across multiple languages.
I also collaborated with Merchandising, Studio, and Distribution Centre teams to understand operational constraints, ensuring that any proposed solutions could scale efficiently.
Design Challenges & Strategic Decisions
1. Preview Placement on PDP
Challenge: Customers needed to know exactly where their custom print would appear.
Options Presented:
Generic plain product with plain printing
Real product with dummy text
Live text update (would require a 3rd party integration we didn’t have time for)
Decision & Influence:
I advocated for option 2—real product with dummy text. I presented the trade-offs to PM and Engineers, showing that it offered a more accurate and visually engaging preview while remaining technically feasible within sprint constraints.
Additional Trade-Off:
Curved vs straight printing. After reviewing current Premier League and international shirts, 80% used curved printing, so I prioritised curved previews for accuracy.
Impact:
Reduced CS contacts by managing expectations
Enhanced trust in the brand
Created a visually engaging experience that impressed stakeholders, including director-level presentations
2. Stock Visibility & Returns Messaging
Challenge: Only some sizes were available for customisation; customised products cannot be returned.
Solution:
Inline stock messaging to show unavailable sizes
Clear PDP and checkout messaging for non-returnable items
Impact:
Operational clarity for distribution centre
Reduced potential disputes and returns
3. Profanity Handling
Challenge: No formal process for blocked words in multiple languages.
Solution:
Worked cross-functionally to define a banned words list across English and other key languages
Integrated messaging to inform customers when an entered word is blocked
Impact:
Ensures brand safety
Maintains a seamless and trusted customer experience
3. Profanity Handling
Challenge: No formal process for blocked words in multiple languages.
Solution:
Worked cross-functionally to define a banned words list across English and other key languages
Integrated messaging to inform customers when an entered word is blocked
Impact:
Ensures brand safety
Maintains a seamless and trusted customer experience
Execution & Delivery
Sprints: 1 sprint for business requirements → Jira tickets; 2 sprints for full product design
Artifacts: PDP previews, messaging flows, profanity filter system, stock availability flows
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with Product, Engineering, Merchandising, Studio, and DC teams to validate feasibility and operational alignment
Strategic & Scalable Impact
Although not live yet, estimated impact includes:
Revenue: ~£15,000,000 uplift from an additional 1M shirt sales due to improved preview and confidence in purchase
CS Reduction: Expected decrease in post-purchase queries about print placement
Operational Efficiency: Clear preview and messaging reduces manual handling errors
Scalability:
The preview system can be extended to other customisable products
Collaboration with Merchandising, Studio, and DC ensures accurate placement across all future customisation initiatives
Visual Design
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Final Reflections
This project demonstrates strategic leadership in product design:
Balancing business goals, technical feasibility, and customer experience
Influencing stakeholders with data-driven and visual storytelling
Setting scalable systems and processes (preview logic, banned words, stock messaging) that extend beyond a single feature
Creating moments of delight for customers while selling the vision to director-level stakeholders
By combining tactical design execution with strategic foresight, this project positions JD Sports to deliver a high-volume, high-quality, and brand-safe customisation experience for the World Cup and beyond.