Mega Menu Design for Products

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REI’s site supports shoppers who often arrive with broad goals, such as browsing categories rather than searching for a specific item. The business goal of the mega-menu is to help users orient themselves and move confidently from exploration into shopping.

The example tests REI’s website navigation menu using usability, comprehension, and satisfaction to understand how users scan categories, interpret labels, and decide where to go next.

For designers and product managers, testing mega-menus helps validate information architecture decisions that are often debated internally but rarely measured. The results show whether category groupings match user expectations or create friction before users even reach a product page.

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Define Goals for Your Mega Menu

An eCommerce mega menu should balance user needs like clarity, organization, and speed with business goals such as product discovery, engagement, and conversion. Users want to quickly understand what’s available and navigate to the right category without feeling overwhelmed, while businesses want to guide shoppers toward high-value paths and encourage deeper exploration. Measuring mega menu performance ensures the navigation supports both exploration and purchase intent.

Audience:

This concept was tested with sporty consumers and online shoppers in the United States who explored REI’s website navigation menu. Participants were asked to browse categories, locate specific gear types, and share impressions of clarity, organization, and ease of navigation.

**User Needs
**As a shopper using an eCommerce mega menu, the five most important needs would be:

1. Categories, subcategories, and featured links should be easy to locate at a glance (items should be Findable).

2. The menu should be easy to interact with, supporting smooth hovering, tapping, and scrolling (navigation should be Usable).

3. Groupings and labels should match how shoppers naturally think about products and activities (interactions should be Intuitive).

4. The menu should help users reach the right category quickly without excessive navigation (experience should feel Efficient).

5. The visual design and imagery should feel engaging and aligned with the brand’s outdoor lifestyle (products should feel Desirable).

These five ensure the mega menu feels clear, approachable, and inspiring, helping shoppers confidently explore a wide product catalog.

Business Goals
Here are the five most important business goals for an eCommerce mega menu design:

1. Increase Product Discoverability – Surface a broad range of products and categories without overwhelming users.

2. Guide High-Intent Traffic – Lead shoppers efficiently to category and product listing pages that drive conversion.

3. Promote Strategic Categories – Highlight seasonal, promotional, or high-margin product areas within the menu.

4. Reduce Navigation Friction – Prevent confusion or drop-off by making pathways obvious and well organized.

5. Gather Navigation Insights – Track menu interactions to refine category structure, labeling, and prioritization.

These goals help the business support exploration at scale, improve wayfinding, and drive stronger shopping outcomes through a well-designed mega menu experience.

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Choose Metrics to Test Your Mega Menu Design

This experience tests how people move from broad intent into a specific product category using a large navigation menu. A focused design stack of UX metrics was selected by mapping core user needs to signals we can observe in real behavior and responses. For this test, the metrics used were Usability, Effort, and Sentiment.

Usable → Usability
 In this moment, users are trying to act without stopping to decode the interface. They want to look at the menu, make a choice, and move on. Usability captures whether people can correctly identify where a product category lives and click with confidence, or whether the layout and labeling slow them down.

Efficient → Effort
 When a menu works well, it feels light—even if it contains a lot of options. Effort helps reveal whether users feel they can navigate the menu easily or if the volume and structure introduce mental strain. This metric surfaces hesitation, second-guessing, and the cognitive load that shows up when people have to work harder than expected to decide.

Reliable → Sentiment
 Beyond finding the right category, users form an immediate impression of whether the navigation feels trustworthy and well-organized. Sentiment captures those gut reactions—whether the menu feels clear, overwhelming, polished, or confusing. These impressions matter because they shape how confident people feel continuing deeper into the site.

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Establish Hunches to Direct Your Testing

Turning hunches into concrete questions keeps testing focused on observable behavior instead of assumptions. Pairing each UX metric with a specific question type makes the resulting signals easier to interpret and act on.

<table xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" style="min-width: 75px;"><colgroup><col style="min-width: 25px;"><col style="min-width: 25px;"><col style="min-width: 25px;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><th colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Hunches</p></th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Questions</p></th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>UX Metric</p></th></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>The menu structure helps users choose a category without scanning every option.</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Click where you would go if you’re looking for a sleeping pad.</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Usability</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Showing many categories at once may cause brief hesitation before clicking.</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>How easy or difficult was it to decide where to click in this menu?</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Effort</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Familiar groupings reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed, even with many options.</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>How easy or difficult is this navigation menu to use?</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Effort</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>The overall layout signals that the site is organized and trustworthy.</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>What impressions does this navigation menu give you?</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><p>Sentiment</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

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Turn Hunches into Test Questions

Turning hunches into concrete questions keeps testing focused on observable behavior instead of assumptions. Pairing each UX metric with a specific question type makes the resulting signals easier to interpret and act on.

• **Usability (First-click test)**

  Question type: Task-based first-click

  Example: “Click where you would go if you’re looking for tents on this site.

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• **Effort (Likert scale)**

  Question type: Ease-of-use rating

  Example: “On a scale from 1 to 7, how easy or difficult was it to use this navigation menu?

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• **Sentiment (Multiple-choice impressions)**

  Question type: Impression selection

  Example: “Which of the following words describe your impression of this navigation menu?

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Calculate UX Metric Scores from User Feedback

This concept measured how people navigate a large retail mega-menu when they’re trying to move from broad intent into a specific product category. Participants imagined shopping for outdoor gear and used REI’s Camp & Hike menu to decide where they would go next. The design stack included Usability, Effort, and Sentiment, combining behavioral signals (where people clicked) with attitudinal signals (how the menu felt to use)

• Very Good = 90% and above

• Good = 70%–89%

• Average = 50%–69%

• Poor = 30%–49%

• Very Poor = below 30%

**Usability (70% — Good):**

Most participants were able to identify the correct category for items like tents and sleeping pads on their first click. The menu structure aligned with familiar mental models, allowing users to move forward without major errors. Some hesitation appeared as people scanned multiple options before committing, but accuracy remained high.

**Effort (92% — Very Good):**
 Participants consistently reported that the menu felt easy to use despite its size. The layout and grouping reduced the mental work required to decide where to go, even when many options were visible. This score suggests the menu feels lighter to use than its density might imply.

**Sentiment (77% — Good):**

Overall impressions were positive, with users describing the navigation as clear, organized, and reliable. A smaller portion of feedback reflected mild overwhelm due to the number of categories, but this did not dominate the emotional response. The menu generally left users feeling confident about continuing deeper into the site.

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Taken together, the scores show a navigation experience that people trust and can use efficiently, even at scale. The main tension revealed by the data is not confusion, but volume—users understand where to go, yet occasionally slow down to double-check themselves. Based on the evidence, this experience functions as a strong orientation tool that supports forward momentum while carrying the natural cognitive weight of a comprehensive product catalog.

Click here to check out the raw survey data and UX metric scores for REI’s mega-menu design.

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Draw Signals from Your Design Stack

Here’s how signals were surfaced from REI’s mega-menu test results by following the five steps:

1. Focus on poorly scoring metrics

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REI’s mega menu achieved an overall score of 80% (Good), with Effort (92%) standing out as a major strength and Sentiment (79%) and Usability (70%) performing solidly but with room for improvement. The primary weakness appears in Usability, driven by confusion between similarly grouped categories—specifically Sleeping Bags versus Pads & Hammocks within the Camp & Hike menu. The key signal: while shoppers can navigate quickly once oriented, category ambiguity introduces hesitation at the moment of choice.

2. Identify patterns across metrics

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The pattern suggests REI’s menu structure is efficient and scannable, allowing users to move through the navigation with minimal effort. However, overlapping mental models for outdoor gear categories cause brief friction during decision-making. Users don’t struggle to use the menu—they struggle to interpret category boundaries. This highlights a common eCommerce tension: broad discoverability versus precise categorization.

3. Determine if user needs are being met

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• Findable: Met — major categories and subcategories are visible and easy to scan.

• Usable: Partially met — interaction is smooth, but unclear category distinctions reduce confidence.

• Intuitive: Partially met — grouping doesn’t always match how shoppers mentally organize gear.

• Efficient: Exceeded — users move quickly through the menu with minimal friction.

• Desirable: Met — visual design aligns with REI’s outdoor brand and inspires exploration.

4. Compare outcomes to your business goals

• Increase Product Discoverability: Largely achieved — broad category exposure supports exploration.

• Guide High-Intent Traffic: Partially achieved — ambiguity slows users seeking specific items.

• Promote Strategic Categories: Supported — featured groupings draw attention effectively.

• Reduce Navigation Friction: At risk — category overlap introduces unnecessary decision friction.

• Gather Navigation Insights: Supported — interaction patterns reveal clear optimization opportunities.

5. Surface signals & establish a direction
Signals derived from the data:

• Navigation effort is low, meaning structure and interaction patterns are fundamentally strong.

• Category confusion—not interaction difficulty—is the primary usability risk.

• Shoppers hesitate when category labels don’t clearly map to their product expectations.

**Direction based on business context:**

To improve clarity without sacrificing discoverability, next steps should include:

• Refining category labels or adding clarifying sub-descriptions (e.g., use cases or conditions).

• Re-evaluating overlapping product groupings within Camp & Hike.

• Testing alternate category groupings that better align with shopper mental models.

Based on the signals and design direction, we created an updated version of the design with the expected UX metric improvement:

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The signal is clear: REI’s mega menu is fast and efficient, but sharper category clarity especially in closely related product areas, will reduce hesitation, improve usability, and help shoppers find the right gear with confidence.