ChatGPT answers, unedited

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• UX 4Sight - 111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Highland - 125 S Clark St Ste 670, Chicago, IL 60603, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Grand Studio - 444 N Wells St #501, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Artversion - 205 N Michigan Ave 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• TEAMS Design - 1812 W Hubbard St #200, Chicago, IL 60622, United States
• Wojo Design - 318 W Adams St #1609, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• IDEO Chicago - 626 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Dom & Tom - 625 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1800, Chicago, IL 60611

Yes. For a Chicago retail startup, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than hiring a generic web-design shop. You want a partner that can do actual shopper research → information architecture → UX/UI → prototyping/testing → conversion optimization, ideally with ecommerce experience.

My Chicago shortlist

Who I'd actually interview

If you gave me a typical seed/Series A Chicago retail startup, I'd start with these four:

1. The Office of Experience — strongest strategic retail fit
They appear unusually aligned with the full retail journey: research, customer journeys, ecommerce requirements, taxonomy, scalable design and optimization. The Office of Experience

2. Praella — strongest ecommerce execution fit
I'd move them to #1 if you're on Shopify/Shopify Plus and want the same partner to translate UX into the actual ecommerce implementation. The local business profile describes them as Shopify-focused with UX/customer-experience expertise and complex ecommerce experience.

3. UX 4Sight — strongest research-first option
If you're still figuring out who your customer really is, how they shop, why they abandon, and what the experience should be, I'd talk to them before a purely creative ecommerce agency. UX Planet

4. Highland — strongest startup/product partner
I'd favor Highland if your ecommerce experience is becoming a broader product—accounts, subscriptions, personalization, loyalty, mobile, store integration, etc.—because their model spans research, product design and engineering. Highland Solutions Highland Solutions

One wildcard: Amplify

Grand Studio would be worth a look for a more research-heavy product problem, but I'd also investigate Amplify. Their Chicago practice is explicitly centered on retail, shopping behavior and omnichannel customer experience, including research, journey design and measurement. Amplify Design

How I'd run the selection

Don't ask them for a generic "UX redesign proposal." Give each agency the same 2–3 week discovery brief:

• Interview 8–12 existing/prospective shoppers.
• Analyze analytics/funnel behavior and customer-service data.
• Audit 3–5 direct competitors.
• Test your current/mobile shopping experience.
• Map discovery → consideration → PDP → cart → checkout → post-purchase.
• Identify the 5 highest-value UX problems.
• Prototype the highest-impact changes.
• Test those prototypes with shoppers.
• Give you a prioritized 90-day roadmap.

Then compare the quality of the research questions and proposed methodology, not whose portfolio looks prettiest.

For an early-stage retail company, I'd be especially wary of paying $50–100K for a beautiful redesign before you've established the underlying shopper insights. One current Chicago UX review puts larger research/design firms such as Codal in the $75K+ project range, while the market also has smaller agencies that can run focused discovery engagements. UX Planet 925 Studios

If you tell me your retail category (fashion, beauty, grocery, furniture, specialty, etc.), ecommerce platform (Shopify, custom, WooCommerce), approximate budget, and whether you're pre-launch or already generating sales, I can narrow this to the 3 Chicago agencies I'd put on the actual RFP.

2. Praella — strongest ecommerce execution fit
I'd move them to #1 if you're on Shopify/Shopify Plus and want the same partner to translate UX into the actual ecommerce implementation. The local business profile describes them as Shopify-focused with UX/customer-experience expertise and complex ecommerce experience.

3. UX 4Sight — strongest research-first option
If you're still figuring out who your customer really is, how they shop, why they abandon, and what the experience should be, I'd talk to them before a purely creative ecommerce agency. UX Planet

4. Highland — strongest startup/product partner
I'd favor Highland if your ecommerce experience is becoming a broader product—accounts, subscriptions, personalization, loyalty, mobile, store integration, etc.—because their model spans research, product design and engineering. Highland Solutions Highland Solutions

One wildcard: Amplify

Grand Studio would be worth a look for a more research-heavy product problem, but I'd also investigate Amplify. Their Chicago practice is explicitly centered on retail, shopping behavior and omnichannel customer experience, including research, journey design and measurement. Amplify Design

How I'd run the selection

Don't ask them for a generic "UX redesign proposal." Give each agency the same 2–3 week discovery brief:

For a Chicago retail startup, I would prioritize agencies that understand conversion, shopper behavior, mobile commerce, and experimentation—not just beautiful interfaces. The right partner should be able to do customer research, redesign key journeys (home → PDP → cart → checkout), and tie decisions to metrics like conversion rate, AOV, retention, and repeat purchase.

My shortlist:

My ranking for a typical retail startup

1. Amplify — if your biggest question is “why aren’t shoppers converting/returning?”
2. Praella — if you need a Shopify ecommerce partner who can actually ship improvements
3. Fuzzy Math — if you need foundational research before investing in a redesign
4. UX 4Sight — if you want a focused UX audit and optimization roadmap
5. Codal — if you are scaling into a more complex ecommerce operation

What I would ask them to deliver in a first engagement

Avoid a vague “UX redesign.” Ask for a 6–10 week discovery + optimization sprint:

• 10–15 customer interviews
• analytics review (GA4, Shopify analytics, heatmaps, funnel data)
• competitor/shopper journey analysis
• usability testing of current site
• prioritized conversion roadmap
• redesigned prototypes for highest-impact flows:
  • homepage
  • collection/search
  • product detail page
  • cart
  • checkout
  • account/reorder flows

For an early retail company, I would probably not start with a full website redesign. I’d hire the agency that can identify the biggest revenue leaks first, then redesign only what the evidence supports. themanifest.com

If you share your category (fashion, beauty, food, furniture, marketplace, etc.), ecommerce platform (Shopify/Magento/custom), and budget range, I can narrow this to a top 2–3.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d narrow the field to agencies that can do more than visual web design: you want shopper research → UX strategy → prototype/testing → ecommerce design, ideally with enough retail experience to understand conversion, merchandising, mobile behavior, and checkout.

My Chicago shortlist

If it were my startup

I'd interview three first:

1. The Office of Experience (OX) — my strongest overall match.
They have the unusual combination of research + UX + B2C ecommerce + technology implementation, so you aren't paying a pure branding agency to learn ecommerce on your dime. www.officeofexperience.com

2. Highland — my pick if you're still figuring out what the experience should be.
Their lean-startup/product-discovery orientation is attractive for an early-stage company where research needs to influence the product itself, not merely optimize an existing website. www.highlandsolutions.com

3. Nansen — my pick if you already know the product and need to make ecommerce perform.
They explicitly combine ecommerce strategy, UX/UI, research and optimization. www.nansen.com

I'd add UX 4Sight to the pitch if your internal team already handles engineering and you want a more focused research + UX specialist rather than an end-to-end agency. www.officeofexperience.comagency.uxplanet.org

One wildcard: Amplify

Amplify is worth a conversation if you're a true retail brand rather than an ecommerce-only startup. Their Chicago practice is explicitly focused on retail and omnichannel customer journeys, with foundational customer insights, experience design and measurement. amplify.design

That's especially compelling if your customer journey spans social/ad → ecommerce → fulfillment → store/pickup → loyalty, rather than simply "make our Shopify site better."

What I'd put in the RFP

Don't ask agencies simply for "UX/UI design." Ask for a 4–6 week research + design sprint containing:

1. 8–12 customer interviews/usability sessions
2. Analytics/funnel and search-behavior review
3. Competitive/adjacent retail UX teardown
4. Customer journey + key jobs-to-be-done
5. Information architecture/navigation recommendations
6. Wireframes for the highest-value flows
7. Interactive prototype
8. Usability testing of the prototype
9. Prioritized UX roadmap with estimated business impact

The key interview question is: "Show us a retail/ecommerce project where research changed the design direction—not just a project where you tested an already-designed site."

That's important because Chicago has plenty of agencies advertising UX, but the stronger differentiator is whether research actually drives the design. A recent Chicago UX-agency review makes essentially the same distinction, emphasizing research maturity, portfolio relevance, design craft and delivery process. www.officeofexperience.comagency.uxplanet.org

If you tell me your approximate budget (e.g. <$50k, $50–100k, $100k+) and whether you're Shopify, Shopify Plus, or custom, I can rank these specifically for a startup and give you a 3-agency shortlist to contact.

For a Chicago-based retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that understand conversion, shopping behavior, mobile commerce, product discovery, checkout friction, and experimentation—not just general UX. The best fit depends on whether you need a Shopify/ecommerce optimization partner, a research-heavy UX team, or a full product/design partner.

My shortlist:

A few other Chicago-area firms worth a look:

• Nansen LLC — ecommerce, digital experience platforms, UX/UI, analytics, and optimization.
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency — better if brand expression and ecommerce experience need to move together.
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm — positioned toward premium DTC, fashion, beauty, and ecommerce brands.

My recommendation by startup stage:

Pre-launch / <$5M revenue

1. Praella (if Shopify)
2. UX 4Sight
3. Elevate Studios

Focus: customer interviews, prototype testing, PDP/cart/checkout optimization.

Growing DTC brand ($5M–$50M revenue)

1. Praella
2. The Office of Experience
3. Sandstorm

Focus: conversion optimization, personalization, retention, omnichannel journeys.

Larger retail transformation

1. IA Collaborative
2. Codal
3. Fuzzy Math

Focus: enterprise UX systems and complex customer journeys. agency.uxplanet.org

Before hiring, I’d ask each agency:

• Can you show ecommerce conversion lifts from your work?
• Who conducts the research (senior UX researchers vs designers)?
• Do you run actual shopper interviews and usability tests?
• How do you measure success (CVR, AOV, retention, search success, checkout completion)?
• Can you work inside our analytics stack (GA4, Shopify analytics, Hotjar/FullStory, experimentation tools)?

For a retail startup, I would probably start conversations with Praella, UX 4Sight, and The Office of Experience and compare proposals. They represent three different approaches: ecommerce execution, research rigor, and broader customer experience strategy.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that can do more than visual design: customer research → information architecture → ecommerce UX → prototyping/testing → conversion optimization. On that basis, my shortlist would be:

My top 3 for a retail startup

1. Praella — if you're already committed to Shopify

I'd put them first if the core assignment is something like: “Understand our shoppers, redesign our shopping experience, improve PDP/PLP/navigation/checkout, and implement it.” Their specialization is much closer to ecommerce than a general UX consultancy. www.orbitmedia.com

2. Eight Bit — if you're still discovering the product

I'd choose them if you're saying: “We're a startup and don't yet fully know what customers need. Help us research, prototype and figure out the right experience before we spend heavily building it.” Their research and MVP/product-discovery experience makes that a particularly good fit. clutch.co

3. Orbit — if conversion/revenue is the immediate priority

Orbit is compelling when you already have an ecommerce business and want UX tied tightly to conversion, revenue, analytics and ongoing optimization. They have substantial ecommerce experience and explicitly describe research, UX, CRO, mobile shopping and Shopify work. www.orbitmedia.com

One important distinction

I wouldn't automatically hire the prettiest ecommerce agency. For a startup, I'd ask each finalist to propose a 2–4 week research/discovery sprint first, rather than jumping straight into a $50k+ redesign.

I'd want that sprint to include:

• 8–12 customer interviews
• usability testing of your current/competitive experiences
• analytics/funnel review
• competitor and category research
• mobile-first journey mapping
• IA/navigation assessment
• 2–3 key customer journeys prototyped
• usability testing of the prototypes
• prioritized UX/product roadmap

Then use the sprint to decide who gets the larger design/build engagement.

If I were running the RFP, I'd invite Praella, Eight Bit, and Orbit to pitch, with Nansen as the fourth if you want a more research-centric option. That gives you three genuinely different approaches rather than four interchangeable web-design shops.

Praella · Eight Bit Studios · Orbit Media Studios

If you tell me your product/category, Shopify vs. another platform, startup stage, and rough UX budget ($10–25k / $25–75k / $75k+), I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd ask each one.

If you’re a Chicago-based retail startup and the brief is specifically ecommerce UX research + UX/UI design, I’d shortlist agencies differently from a generic “best Chicago UX firms” list. You want a partner that understands shopping behavior, merchandising, conversion, mobile, and research, not just product-app UX.

My shortlist

One I'd add specifically for retail research

The Office of Experience, LLC would be my first conversation. Their positioning is unusually close to what you're asking for: research → customer journey → ecommerce strategy → UX/UI → implementation. Their Chicago site specifically highlights a B2B ecommerce redesign based on user research. www.officeofexperience.com

I'd also seriously investigate Amplify. It's a Chicago experience-design studio explicitly focused on retail customer experience, including foundational customer insights, omnichannel journey design and measurement of behavioral impact. That makes it particularly interesting if your startup has both physical and digital retail touchpoints. amplify.design

If I were the founder, I'd interview 4

I'd make the first-round RFP:

1. The Office of Experience — strongest overall retail/ecommerce fit
2. Nansen — strongest combination of ecommerce, UX and optimization
3. UX 4Sight — strongest research/UX specialist
4. Praella — particularly if you're on Shopify

If your startup is early-stage and budget-sensitive, I'd probably put Highland or UX 4Sight ahead of a larger ecommerce implementation agency. If you're already doing meaningful revenue and have a Shopify/commerce platform that needs serious redesign, Nansen/Praella/OX become more compelling.

One important caveat: I wouldn't choose based on a pretty ecommerce portfolio. Ask each firm to propose a 2–4 week paid research/discovery sprint involving actual target shoppers. Chicago UX firms commonly quote roughly $7K–$15K for a discovery sprint, while larger redesigns can run substantially higher. clutch.co

For the sprint, I'd want: customer interviews + usability testing + analytics/funnel review + competitive shopping audit → prioritized UX problems → tested prototypes → roadmap. That will tell you much more about the agency than a pitch deck.

If you tell me your product category, Shopify vs. other platform, approximate budget ($25K / $50K / $100K+), and whether you're redesigning an existing store or building from scratch, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd ask each one to quote.

For a Chicago retail startup focused on ecommerce UX research + design, I would prioritize agencies that can do more than visual redesigns: they should be able to uncover shopper behavior, improve conversion funnels, test prototypes, and iterate on product pages, search, navigation, checkout, and retention flows.

My shortlist:

My ranking for a typical retail startup

1. Praella — if you are Shopify/DTC and want ecommerce conversion improvements.
2. Fuzzy Math — if you do not yet understand your shoppers and need research before spending heavily on redesign.
3. Codal — if you need a serious ecommerce rebuild and want design + development together.
4. Grand Studio — if you are building a differentiated shopping experience rather than a standard store.

How I would run the hiring process

Ask each agency for a proposal around a 4–6 week discovery sprint, not a full redesign immediately:

1. Analytics review (conversion funnel, search, product pages, checkout)
2. Customer interviews (existing customers + abandoned-cart users)
3. Usability testing on current site
4. Competitor teardown
5. Prototype improvements
6. Prioritized roadmap tied to revenue metrics

For a startup, I would avoid agencies that jump straight into a new homepage design without showing how they will validate shopper behavior.

A reasonable first engagement in Chicago is often in the tens of thousands of dollars, with larger ecommerce redesigns going substantially higher depending on scope. clutch.co

If you share your stage (pre-launch vs. scaling), ecommerce platform (Shopify, Magento, custom), budget, and category (fashion, beauty, food, etc.), I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies I’d actually interview.

For a Chicago retail startup, I would prioritize agencies that understand consumer behavior, conversion optimization, merchandising, mobile shopping, and ecommerce funnels—not just general UX/UI. The right partner should be able to do customer research (interviews, usability tests, analytics review), translate findings into prototypes, and improve measurable outcomes like conversion rate, AOV, retention, and repeat purchase.

My shortlist:

My ranking for a typical retail startup

1. Grand Studio — if you are still figuring out product-market fit, customer journeys, or your ecommerce strategy.
2. The Office of Experience — if you are building a serious omnichannel retail brand.
3. Nansen — if you already have ecommerce traction and need conversion improvements.
4. Praella — if Shopify is central and you want a commerce-focused partner.
5. Fuzzy Math — if research quality matters more than speed/cost.

What I would ask them to deliver in a first engagement

Avoid hiring someone for “a website redesign” immediately. A good first phase would be:

• Customer interviews (10–20 shoppers)
• Analytics/funnel review (GA4, Shopify analytics, heatmaps)
• Competitor and category audit
• Mobile shopping usability tests
• Customer journey map
• Prioritized UX backlog
• Wireframes/prototypes for highest-impact improvements
• Conversion test plan

Budget expectations

For a startup, a realistic first UX engagement is often:

• $10k–25k: focused ecommerce UX audit + research sprint
• $25k–75k: research + redesign of key shopping flows
• $75k+: full ecommerce redesign, strategy, design system, and implementation support

Before choosing, I would ask each agency:

1. “Show me 2–3 ecommerce projects where UX changes improved conversion or revenue.”
2. “Who will personally conduct the research?”
3. “How many real customers will we test with?”
4. “What happens after the designs are delivered?”

For a consumer retail startup, I would lean toward Grand Studio, OX, or Nansen first, then bring in a specialized ecommerce build partner if needed.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that can do more than visual UI: you want shopper research → information architecture → product discovery → PDP/cart/checkout UX → testing → measurable conversion improvement.

My shortlist would be:

My recommendation

If I were running the startup, I'd interview OX, Praella, and Elevate first.

• OX if your biggest question is “What should the shopping experience be?” and you need serious customer/ journey research before designing it.
• Praella if you've already committed to Shopify and want research/design tightly connected to ecommerce implementation and conversion.
• Elevate if you're building a consumer/DTC brand where brand, merchandising and UX all need to work together.

I'd bring UX 4Sight into the mix if you already have an ecommerce site and primarily need independent research/usability testing rather than a large redesign/build.

One particularly interesting smaller option is Centralis in Evanston: it's much more research-specialized, so it could make sense to pair a research firm with a separate design/development partner. themanifest.com

How I'd run the selection

Don't ask them for a generic “ecommerce redesign proposal.” Give all 3–4 finalists the same 2–3 week discovery brief and ask them to propose:

1. 8–12 shopper interviews/usability sessions
2. Analytics + funnel review
3. Competitive/category UX audit
4. Customer journey + information architecture
5. Prototype of the highest-impact shopping flows
6. Usability test of the prototype
7. Prioritized UX roadmap tied to metrics such as conversion, add-to-cart, search usage and checkout completion

That will tell you much more than looking at portfolios. Chicago UX firms commonly quote roughly $7k–$15k for a discovery sprint, while full redesigns can run substantially higher; actual startup pricing will depend heavily on scope. clutch.co

If you tell me your retail category (fashion, beauty, grocery, furniture, specialty, etc.), approximate budget, and whether you're on Shopify, BigCommerce, or something custom, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually put on the RFP.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that combine actual shopper research + ecommerce UX + conversion/design, rather than a general branding or web shop.

My shortlist

If it were my startup

I'd interview three first:

1. The Office of Experience (OX) — if you're trying to figure out what the ideal shopping experience should be, not merely redesigning screens. Their research → strategy → UX → ecommerce capability is unusually aligned with your question. www.officeofexperience.com

2. Nansen — if ecommerce is core to the business and you want one partner capable of taking the experience from research/design into platform and optimization work. www.nansen.comwww.officeofexperience.com

3. UX 4Sight — if you're an early-stage startup where the biggest risk is building the wrong thing and you want a smaller, research-heavy UX partner. Independent Chicago agency comparisons also put them among the city's stronger research-oriented UX firms. themanifest.comwww.officeofexperience.com

I'd add Praella to that pitch list if you're Shopify-based, and Invesp if you already have enough traffic/data to make CRO experimentation worthwhile.

One wildcard: retail-specific research

If your product is physical retail/DTC and you need to understand how people actually shop, I'd also talk to E-Tailing Group. They're a Chicago ecommerce research/consulting boutique focused specifically on digital customer experience, online merchandising and cross-channel shopping journeys. That's a different proposition from a UX design agency, but potentially extremely valuable before you commission the design work.

And if you need very deep qualitative research, C+R Research is a substantial Chicago consumer-insights firm; Next/Now is more relevant to physical/experiential retail than ecommerce UX.

What I'd put in the RFP

Don't ask agencies simply for an "ecommerce redesign." Ask for a 4–6 week research + design discovery sprint containing:

1. 8–12 interviews with target shoppers
2. Competitive/category experience audit
3. Existing analytics + funnel review
4. Mobile usability testing
5. Customer journey + shopping-task mapping
6. Information architecture/navigation recommendations
7. Wireframes for the highest-risk flows
8. Prototype testing with real target customers
9. Prioritized UX roadmap tied to business metrics

Then have the finalists present the same hypothetical problem. You'll learn much more from how they frame the research question than from their prettiest portfolio pieces.

My ranking for a typical Chicago retail startup:
OX → Nansen → UX 4Sight → Praella → Invesp, with the order changing depending on whether you're pre-launch, Shopify-based, or already generating significant ecommerce volume. www.officeofexperience.com

If you tell me what you're selling, your approximate ecommerce revenue/traffic, Shopify vs. another platform, and your budget (e.g. $25–50k vs. $75k+), I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare likely engagement scope, strengths, weaknesses, and fit.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that can do actual shopper research → UX strategy → interaction design → testing, rather than a traditional web-design shop.

My shortlist

Who I'd actually interview

If you're an early-stage consumer retail startup, I'd narrow it to:

1. Codal — first call
They have the most directly relevant evidence for ecommerce UX and retail. Their Garrett Popcorn engagement is particularly compelling because it went from discovery and research through user journeys, UX/UI and ecommerce implementation. codal.comamplify.designwww.bixaresearch.com

2. Amplify — second call
I'd choose them over Codal if your challenge is more strategic: Who are our highest-value shoppers? Why do they buy? Where are we losing them? What should the experience become across channels? Their positioning is explicitly retail/customer-experience oriented. amplify.design

3. Highland — third call
Especially attractive if you want a relatively lean partner that can work alongside an internal startup team and take research all the way into prototype/product development. www.highlandsolutions.com

I'd bring Bixa into the process if you aren't confident about your customer understanding yet. In fact, for a startup with substantial product-market-fit uncertainty, I'd seriously consider Bixa for the research phase + an integrated design agency afterward, rather than asking a design agency to do everything. Bixa's ecommerce research offering is unusually explicit about shopper behavior, product discovery, navigation and checkout. www.bixaresearch.com

One thing I'd avoid

Don't issue an RFP that simply says "redesign our ecommerce UX." For a startup, I'd ask each agency to propose a 2–4 week paid discovery sprint covering:

• 8–12 customer interviews/usability sessions
• analytics + funnel review
• competitive/heuristic review
• shopping journey + key friction points
• prioritized UX opportunities
• 2–3 tested concepts/prototypes
• recommendations tied to conversion, AOV, retention or another business KPI

Then pick the partner based on how they think, not which portfolio looks prettiest. Current Chicago agency pricing benchmarks put discovery sprints roughly around $7k–$15k, with full redesigns commonly much higher, so a paid sprint is also a relatively low-risk way to evaluate the relationship. clutch.co

My ranking for your specific brief: Codal > Amplify > Highland > Bixa > OX.

If you tell me your retail category, approximate budget, ecommerce platform (Shopify/Shopify Plus/etc.), and whether you're pre-launch or already generating sales, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to, including relevant case studies and likely fit.

Yes. For a Chicago retail startup, I’d narrow the field differently than a generic “best UX agencies” list: you want a partner that understands consumer shopping behavior, ecommerce conversion, UX research, and rapid startup iteration—not just polished UI.

My Chicago shortlist

If I were the founder, I'd interview these 4 first

1. The Office of Experience — best overall fit

This is probably where I'd start. Their positioning is unusually close to your problem: retail + ecommerce + customer research + journey design + UX, rather than simply website development. They specifically describe work across B2B/B2C ecommerce, taxonomy, requirements, scalable design and user/journey research. www.officeofexperience.comamplify.design

2. Praella — best if you're Shopify-heavy

If your stack is Shopify/Shopify Plus, I'd put them near the top. The Chicago firm is specifically an ecommerce agency and has experience with complex ecommerce requirements and UX/customer-experience work.

3. UX 4Sight — best if research is the priority

If you already have a decent ecommerce site but don't really know why customers aren't converting, what they struggle with, or what the next experience should be, I'd talk to UX 4Sight. Their research/testing orientation makes them a better fit than a conventional creative agency. agency.uxplanet.org

4. Highland — best for a more strategic product engagement

I'd consider Highland if you're still determining the product/customer experience itself. They're positioned around research → strategy → prototyping → product design/build rather than just ecommerce production. www.highlandsolutions.com

One wildcard: Amplify

Amplify is especially worth a conversation if you're a true retail/omnichannel startup, rather than simply an ecommerce company. They explicitly focus on retail customer behavior across the omnichannel journey and use customer research, journey analysis and experimentation to drive shopping behavior. amplify.design

That could be a much better fit than a generic UX shop if you're trying to connect store experience + mobile + ecommerce + loyalty + fulfillment.

What I'd ask them to pitch

I wouldn't send an RFP saying “redesign our ecommerce UX.” I'd ask each agency to propose a 4–6 week discovery + validation sprint:

1. Interview 10–15 customers/non-customers.
2. Analyze analytics, search behavior and conversion funnel.
3. Conduct a heuristic/competitive ecommerce review.
4. Map the end-to-end shopping journey.
5. Identify the 5–10 highest-value UX problems.
6. Prototype the biggest opportunities.
7. Test prototypes with real shoppers.
8. Deliver a prioritized roadmap and design direction.

That gives you a much better way to compare agencies than looking at their portfolios. Current Chicago UX benchmarks put discovery sprints roughly around $7K–$15K, with larger redesign engagements commonly reaching $45K–$120K+, although startup-specific quotes can vary considerably. clutch.co

My ranking for a typical Chicago retail startup:
The Office of Experience → Praella → UX 4Sight → Amplify → Highland, with the order changing depending on whether you're primarily Shopify/DTC, omnichannel retail, or still figuring out product-market fit.

If you tell me your retail category (fashion, beauty, food, home, etc.), ecommerce platform, approximate budget, and whether you're pre-launch or already generating sales, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and tell you exactly why I'd choose one over the others.

If you’re a Chicago retail startup, I’d prioritize agencies that understand consumer ecommerce, conversion, mobile shopping, and actual user research—not just agencies that make beautiful websites.

My shortlist

If I were the founder

I'd probably interview three:

1. Nansen — if the mandate is “understand our shoppers, redesign the ecommerce journey, and improve conversion.”
2. Elevate Studios — if you're a DTC/consumer brand where brand expression and shopping UX have to work together.
3. UX 4Sight — if the biggest uncertainty is “we don't really understand why customers aren't behaving the way we expect.”

I'd swap Praella in for one of those if you're already committed to Shopify/Shopify Plus.

For a larger/more complex engagement, Codal is another Chicago option worth considering: it combines UX with ecommerce development, but its typical engagement size makes it more appropriate once you've got a substantial budget. agency.uxplanet.org

One important distinction

Don't hire an agency based on the phrase “UX design.” For a retail startup, I'd specifically ask them to demonstrate:

• 5–8 customer interviews before design
• usability testing of your existing site/app
• mobile shopping research
• product-discovery / search / filtering research
• PDP → cart → checkout friction analysis
• information architecture / taxonomy work
• quantitative funnel analysis
• prototypes tested with real shoppers
• a measurement plan tied to conversion, AOV, repeat purchase, and retention

Chicago agencies commonly quote roughly $110–$200/hour, with discovery sprints around $7K–$15K and larger ecommerce/product redesigns potentially reaching $45K–$120K+. clutch.co

My strongest recommendation: don't start with a six-month redesign. Give the finalists a 2–3 week paid research/discovery sprint and compare the quality of the insights they produce. The best partner will usually become obvious from that exercise.

If you tell me your retail category (fashion, beauty, grocery, furniture, specialty, etc.), ecommerce platform (Shopify, custom, etc.), approximate budget, and whether you need research only vs. research + design + development, I can narrow this to 3 Chicago agencies and rank them for your specific startup.

For a Chicago retail startup, I’d narrow the field to four agencies, with the best choice depending on whether you need shopper research, UX/product design, or ecommerce execution.

My shortlist

I'd also put UX 4Sight on the interview list if you want a smaller UX-specialist shop. Its positioning is explicitly research/data-informed UX/UI, usability testing and design validation. agency.uxplanet.org

If I were the founder, I'd interview these 3

1. The Office of Experience — first call.
This is probably the closest match to retail startup + ecommerce + research + design. Their work spans the whole customer journey rather than just making screens prettier. www.officeofexperience.com

2. Highland — second call.
I'd choose them if your problem is still somewhat ambiguous—for example, "we know our ecommerce experience isn't working, but we're not sure why." Their research-to-design process is unusually explicit, and they work with startups as well as larger organizations. www.highlandsolutions.com

3. Praella — third call if you're Shopify.
I'd move them to #1 if you're already committed to Shopify Plus and want one partner capable of translating UX recommendations into an actual ecommerce implementation.

One wildcard: Amplify

Amplify is worth a conversation if your startup is trying to build a distinctive retail/customer experience, rather than simply optimize an online store. Its positioning is specifically around retail, omnichannel journeys, shopper behavior and customer-driven growth. amplify.design

How I'd structure the hiring process

Don't ask agencies for a generic "UX redesign." Give the finalists a 2–3 week paid discovery brief:

• Interview 8–12 target customers
• Analyze analytics/funnel and existing customer behavior
• Competitive ecommerce teardown
• Test your current site/app with real shoppers
• Identify the 5–10 highest-value friction points
• Produce prioritized UX recommendations
• Prototype the 2–3 highest-impact flows
• Test those prototypes with customers
• Give you a roadmap tied to conversion, AOV, retention and/or checkout completion

That will tell you much more than a portfolio presentation.

My ranking for a typical Chicago retail startup:
The Office of Experience → Highland → Praella → First Insights, with UX 4Sight as the smaller-specialist alternative.

If you tell me your product category, ecommerce platform (Shopify/etc.), approximate budget, and whether you're pre-launch or already generating sales, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 agencies and estimate what I'd expect each engagement to cost. The Office of Experience Highland Praella