Why Product Designers and UX Designers Aren’t the Same in 2025

Let’s be real for a second. If you still think a Product Designer and a UX Designer basically do the same thing, you’re not alone. Most of us working in eCommerce have, at some point, created job posts full of bullet points that blur those lines—or sat through meetings where someone says, “Wait, so what’s the difference again?” It’s a classic headache for marketers, owners, and anyone trying to build a high-performing design team. But here’s what nobody tells you: in 2025, making the wrong call on this distinction will cost you actual revenue, not just a few confused Slack threads.

You’re probably already seeing the shift. Team structures are changing, the tools are more specialized, and those resumes are looking less alike with each hiring cycle. I’ve dug into the latest research, chatted with people who live and breathe design, and studied the teams getting conversion results that honestly made me double-take. The takeaway is simple but a little bit wild—in the world of eCommerce, Product Designers and UX Designers aren’t just titles. They’re different levers for growth, and if you mix them up, you’re throwing away hard-won progress.

If you’re managing a design team, hiring for a new role, or just trying to get your product over that next conversion hurdle, stick around. We’ll cut through the noise, clear up the fuzzy bits, and figure out how this distinction sets your team up for actual, measurable success—rather than a pile of pretty prototypes and lost customers. Let’s get into it.

Introduction to Product Design and UX Design in eCommerce

If you’re running or growing an eCommerce business, the roles of Product Designers and UX Designers aren’t just job titles, they’re the cornerstone of everything that makes your site profitable and user-friendly. In 2025, these positions have hit a new level of importance. You can’t have a high-converting online store without people focused on making shopping enjoyable and easy. The days of slapping a few nice graphics onto your site and hoping for the best are over. These designers are the ones making sure your site doesn’t just look good but actually works for your customers, every step of the way.

Here’s the big point: Product Designers And UX Designers are not the same, but their work overlaps more than you might expect. A Product Designer is usually looking at the entire experience from a bird’s-eye view. They want to know how every feature, touchpoint, and design detail supports your business goals, strengthens your brand, and makes your customers stick around. They’re thinking about everything from the way your homepage feels to how you roll out new features. For a growing eCommerce store, this means aligning every change on your site with bigger ambitions: conversions, retention, and competitive edge.

Then you’ve got UX Designers. Their world is all about the person shopping on your site right now. They dig deep into the guts of your product pages, menus, search, checkout, and help you see where shoppers feel lost or get stuck. They’ll sweat the details over things like mobile navigation, add-to-cart buttons, and how long it takes to find sizing info. What they do goes well beyond how things look, it’s about how everything feels as someone moves through the shop. When those details work, shoppers fly through the funnel and are more likely to come back.

So why is this so important in eCommerce? Let’s be honest: people have options. If your site is slow, clunky, or confusing, folks will bounce to a competitor in seconds. Great design isn’t just about making things pretty. It’s about making each action, from the first click to the thank-you page, so intuitive that customers can’t help but buy…and tell their friends about it. Stats don’t lie: 79% of shoppers say they’ll jump ship if they have a bad user experience, and almost as many will tell others about it. Flip the coin, and 94% are happy to reorder if you make life easy for them as highlighted by conversion rate optimization strategies.

If you’re running an eCommerce team, you’ve probably realized just how hard it is to keep up with changing trends and rising shopper expectations. There’s a reason companies like Amazon and Zappos invest so heavily in these roles, they know it pays off with higher conversion rates and loyal customers through a harmonious blend of CRO and UX. Basically, Product Designers And UX Designers help you stay ahead of the curve, turning casual browsers into returning buyers and advocates for your brand.

And one more thing: these roles are not static. As eCommerce evolves in 2025, both jobs are shifting, it’s not unusual to find designers who blur the lines between strategy, research, and hands-on design. Sometimes, especially in smaller teams, people wear both hats. The main thing is that you need people driving the experience with intention and empathy, not just ticking boxes or copying whatever your competitor just launched.

In the end, understanding what Product Designers And UX Designers actually do, and why they matter, could be the difference between flatlining sales and real, steady growth. So if you haven’t taken a close look at these roles within your business, now’s a pretty good time to start.

Defining Product Design and UX Design: Differences and Overlaps

Here’s the straight answer: Product Designers And UX Designers might look like two sides of the same coin, but the real-world difference comes down to focus and mindset. A Product Designer is your all-rounder, the person thinking big picture about your product’s success, sometimes to the point where it keeps them up at night. They’re juggling business goals, user needs, brand feel, and all the moving parts in between. UX Designers? They’re laser-focused on making every digital step a pleasure for your shopper, patching up friction, and figuring out what keeps folks engaged or causes them to bail out of your funnel.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

So, what does this look like in real eCommerce life? Let’s break down what each brings to the team, and where you’ll see them cross paths.

What Product Designers Own (And Why It’s Different)

Think of Product Designers as the architects who not only sketch out blueprints but also obsess over why the building exists in the first place. They’re diving into market research, running competitor analysis, leading design sprints, chatting with stakeholders, and mapping out how the product fits business goals. One day it’s wireframing a new feature, the next it’s wrestling with decisions about the look, feel, and even the business model behind it. Their toolbelt is packed with strategy, prototyping, brand alignment, and enough Figma skills to make anyone a little jealous.

You’ll typically see Product Designers wrangling with:

Aligning eCommerce features with both user needs and the business plan

Prototyping ideas to put concepts in front of real users

Balancing aesthetics with functionality and technical limits

Collaborating with everyone, from marketing to development to executives

Thinking ahead: How will this feature impact conversion or retention a year from now?

All of this calls for a mix of creativity, strategy, and, honestly, a good amount of stubbornness to push ideas through. That bird’s-eye view is part of why Product Designers often shift into leadership roles down the line, like Head of Product or Design Lead.

Where UX Designers Shine

Now, if Product Designers are architects, UX Designers are the interior designers with an obsession for comfort and flow. They’re laser-focused on how real customers experience every click, scroll, and swipe. Expect them to be up to their elbows in user research, running interviews, mapping customer journeys, building wireframes, and tweaking designs after usability tests. Their world is all about reducing friction, think of it as constant gardening so nothing gets overgrown and your customers never get lost.

Some classic UX Designer moves you’ll spot:

Interviewing users to find invisible pains that tank your conversions

Wireframing and prototyping page layouts and user flows

Building personas and mapping customer journeys to guide design choices

Running A/B tests or live session tracking to catch where people hesitate or bounce

Collaborating heavily with devs so what they design is actually possible…and delightful

UX Designers thrive on feedback, they want to see how tweaks to navigation or checkout shave seconds off the funnel or boost that “add to cart” click. While Product Designers have one foot in the boardroom and the other in Figma, UX Designers often live closer to the end user, gathering feedback, and iterating repeatedly. In short, they’re on the front line of what makes a customer happy or frustrated.

Where Product Designers And UX Designers Overlap

Here’s where things get messy, in the best way possible. Both roles are problem-solvers, both spend a ton of time in prototyping tools, and both are obsessed with making things better for the user. Collaboration is everywhere. You’ll see Product Designers leading a project kickoff, then a UX Designer running a user test on the same feature two weeks later, with both coming together to argue (constructively) about the best way forward. They both rely on each other’s research and insights.

Key skills shared by both:

Deep understanding of user psychology and empathy

Strong communication (if you can’t explain your idea, good luck shipping it)

Mastery of design tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe Creative Suite

Data-driven decision-making, no more “just trust me, it looks good”

In high-growth eCommerce teams, you’ll probably see these lines blur further. On smaller teams, one person might swap hats and do both jobs. In larger orgs? Expect frequent check-ins, cross-discipline brainstorming, and the occasional tug-of-war over whether to prioritize business goals or user happiness (spoiler: the best teams balance both).

Why Understanding the Difference Matters for eCommerce

Don’t gloss over this detail when you build or restructure your team. If you’ve seen Blikket’s approach, you know it’s not about loading teams with buzzword skills, it’s about getting work done that really moves the needle for your users and your business. Product Designers And UX Designers together are a force multiplier. One sets the direction and connects design with ROI, the other makes sure the path is smooth and actually gets traveled by real customers. Ignore one, and you’ll feel it in your bottom line and your reviews.

And honestly, in 2025, it’s rare to find anyone who fits 100% into one lane or the other. The best eCommerce teams are the ones where collaboration isn’t just encouraged, it’s baked into the way the entire business operates. That’s how you get both a button that converts and a brand that lasts.

The Evolving Landscape of eCommerce and its Impact on Design Roles

Let’s just say it straight, 2025 isn’t the same eCommerce playground it was even a few years ago. You feel it if you’ve spent any time growing an online shop or fixing a clunky checkout. Today’s shoppers? They’re pickier, they expect smart recommendations, and they jump between devices without missing a beat. All that change is rewriting the rulebook for Product Designers and UX Designers too.

Tech keeps racing forward, which means designers don’t just need better tools, they need new mindsets. AI is now shaping on-site recommendations. Personalization is laser-focused, sometimes down to the size of a shopper’s last order. Want to put your brand in someone’s pocket? Your mobile experience can’t be an afterthought. And it’s not just about making things “responsive”, you’re expected to create designs that feel tailored for each channel, whether someone’s swiping on a phone in line at the grocery store or comparing you to five competitors on their laptop at home (see more).

What does all this mean for design roles? For one thing, Product Designers and UX Designers have to work even closer together, but where the line is drawn between them suddenly matters a lot more. Take omnichannel shopping as an example. If your Product Designer is thinking big, planning new features, balancing business goals, and making the brand shine across marketplaces and physical stores, they need a solid partner who’s knee deep in those micro-moments that make or break the customer’s actual journey. That’s where your UX Designer lives: fixing every spot where users get confused, testing flows, and making the difference between “okay” and “wow.”

It’s gotten complicated fast. It used to be that one designer could slap on a paint job, tidy up some buttons, and call it a day. Not anymore. Social commerce, voice shopping, AI-driven product suggestions, and the constant pressure for faster load times mean these jobs are branching off in different directions. You need vision and strategy on one side, relentless focus on user reactions and friction on the other. If you don’t define those roles on your team, stuff slips through the cracks, maybe your mobile flow looks good, but it’s missing half the info users need, or you’ve got innovative features that nobody knows how to use.

And let’s not ignore why this is getting urgent in 2025: users hold the power now. They’ll research online, buy offline (ROPO is bigger than most people realize). They care about sustainability, privacy, and a brand’s story as much as price. Product Designers and UX Designers are the only folks standing between your store becoming another forgettable tab or earning die-hard fans. You see the difference most on teams that treat these as separate, complementary jobs instead of just piling it all on whoever can use Figma the fastest.

Rapid tech change: Keeping up with AI, voice, mobile, and privacy laws is a full-time job for design leads.

Customers want personalization and consistency: From ads to checkout, designers juggle everything from microcopy to how a product feels in different touchpoints.

Every channel counts: Desktop, mobile, app, social, it’s all connected, and the more channels you add the more vital role clarity becomes.

Bottom line? If you want your eCommerce business to shine this year, separating (but collaborating) Product Designers and UX Designers will keep your experience sharp, adaptable, and more profitable. Try blending those lines too much, and it’s easy to end up with generic designs that don’t move the needle, or worse, small problems stacking up until they drain your sales and your brand’s reputation.

Case Studies: Effective Role Differentiation in eCommerce Teams

The difference between a decent eCommerce team and a truly high-performing one often comes down to how clearly they define the roles of Product Designers and UX Designers. You see this play out in real-world case studies all the time. Companies that don’t just blur the lines, but instead get intentional about who’s doing what (and why), often unlock smoother launches, higher conversions, and a happier design crew that isn’t working at cross-purposes.

What Happens When You Get Role Clarity Right?

Let’s take Gymshark. They didn’t end up as a billion-dollar brand by accident, it’s the combo of having a clear-eyed Product Designer setting the direction (brand, feature priorities, what fits with their athletic identity) and a detail-obsessed UX Designer polishing every single interaction, from a seamless mobile checkout to lightning-fast product pages. When these roles are mapped out intentionally, Product Designers can focus on that big-picture stuff, future launches, systemic improvements, brand vision. Meanwhile, UX Designers dig into live user feedback, constant A/B testing, and catching those micro-interactions that drive up conversions.

The magic isn’t in one or the other, but in how their conversations sometimes get downright passionate: Should we tweak this filter for faster browsing, or will that break the visual hierarchy? Arguments are actually a good sign, everyone’s pushing for the best customer outcome at different zoom levels.

Case in Point: Glossier and the Power of Feedback Loops

Glossier’s rapid climb in the crowded beauty market came thanks to a system where the Product Design side regularly set big bets, rolling out new features, shaping the brand’s look and feel, plotting the next big campaign. At the same time, their UX Design crew constantly poked holes in the process: Is this new tool actually easy to use? Where do people stall out? They gathered real talk from their customers (not just pretty dashboards), did usability studies, and ran prototypes past their biggest fans and skeptics. Real feedback drove changes day by day.

This combo meant that new product launches didn’t just look cool or fit some grand vision, they actually felt right to the end user. That’s why Glossier fans rave about intuitive navigation, fast checkouts, and honest product info, all details shepherded by an empowered UX Designer while the big strategic shifts get handled by Product Design.

Blikket’s Approach: Everyone’s in the Loop, Nobody is in the Dark

If you peek under the hood of a Blikket-led eCommerce project, you’ll spot this approach right away. People actually have time to do their jobs deeply. Product Designers anchor the strategy, setting the rails for where a brand is headed. UX Designers jump in on customer journeys, prototype flows, and test with actual users, not just upper management. Both sides document decisions. And here’s the kicker: Regular standups and post-mortems are non-negotiable. Teams can instantly see where their work supports or needs input from the other side. Design iterations flow faster because everyone’s in sync, not fighting for the same turf or duplicating effort.

This isn’t just theory. Projects move quicker, user feedback gets folded in sooner, and nobody feels stuck reworking something the other role could’ve flagged at the start. More brands should steal this playbook. If you look at best-in-class teams (whether it’s at Blikket or icons like Gymshark, Glossier, or even Warby Parker), you’ll see clear role definitions plus relentless collaboration. It’s not about hiring more designers, but about making sure each one can do what they do best.

Why This Matters for You

If your eCommerce business is struggling with slow launches, weird handoffs, or features that look pretty but drive no sales, take a hard look at how you split design roles. It’s rarely an issue of talent. Nine times out of ten, it’s the workflow and the definition of who owns which outcome.

Letting Product Designers and UX Designers each own their piece, then overlap at key phases? That’s how your next redesign or launch hits the mark with both your business goals and your customer’s daily reality. And in 2025, that’s not just “nice to have”, it’s the only way to stand out.

What This Means for Your Next eCommerce Win

If you’ve ever stared at a job description and wondered if you’re asking for a unicorn or building your future team, trust me, you’re not alone. Sorting out the lines between Product Designers and UX Designers isn’t about splitting hairs,it’s about making your everyday work less chaotic and your results a whole lot better.

Let your Product Designers set the big-picture direction,think strategy, goals, and making sure what you build actually drives the business forward.

Count on your UX Designers to dig deep into how real people use your site, smoothing every rough edge and making sure shoppers feel right at home (and ready to buy).

Keep those conversations flowing. Teams that talk often, give feedback, and document what’s working will always catch missteps before they become expensive mistakes.

It’s pretty simple: when Product Designers and UX Designers both have room to do what they do best, your brand wins. You don’t just get a site that looks good,you get one that converts and keeps people coming back.

So, thinking about your own hiring or your current team dynamic, where do you see room to give each role more focus? Or, have you already found a sweet spot that other eCommerce managers should know about? Let’s swap stories in the comments,I’d love to hear where you’ve seen this make a real difference.