The Problem
The consistency of products and layouts between grocery stores vary making it difficult to know if a store carries the item you’re looking for, and if it does, where the location of that item is.
Users need a way that they can shop without having to waste time looking, while leveraging the technology that they already use on a daily basis.
Tools
- Sketch
- Invision
- Typeform
Role
- Interface Design
- User Research
Research
I conducted interviews and surveys to pinpoint shopping trends and issues among various types of shoppers.
Shopping Experience
Among users, there were some common frustrations and pain points from the grocery shopping experience.
- Getting in and out of the store location
- Navigating the store during busy times
- Not being able to find a product
- Wait time for checkout
- Satisfaction with food quality and availability
User Demand
With the popularity of online shopping growing, I wanted to ensure that there was still a large enough market for the product. Globally, only 25% have tried shopping online. Only 14% of that 25% continue to shop online. Out of the remaining 74%, 44% said that they would never even consider it. (Source)
There are also some similar solutions available on the market today, but they are unreliable and cause frustration among users with lack of consistency of stores supported, in addition to software bugs that appear on a store by store basis.
Speed is important to shoppers. In 2016, 45% of shoppers choose the store based on how easy it is to get in and out quickly. (Source)
Out of those surveyed, 24/26 keep and use shopping lists and according to the Food Marketing Institutes US Grocery Trends 2016 Report, 75% of shoppers reported that they make a shopping list when planning their shopping trip.
Personas
Hannah
Shopping with my kids is a bit of a struggle. I like to get everything done in one trip.
Outgoing Caring Knowledgable PlannedHannah is 36 and married with two children, ages 2 and 6. She stays home with her kids during the day and enjoys baking, hikes, and time with her family.
Motivations & Goals
- Make as few trips to the store as possible
- Remember all of the items on my grocery list
Behavior
- Prefers to shop only 1x a week
- Plans trips ahead of time and keeps a list of items needed
- Will make another trip if something was missed
- Shops during the week when it’s not as busy
Will
“I really don’t enjoy grocery shopping. I like to get in and out of the store as quick as I can.”
Savvy Confident QuietWill is a single 24 year-old student. He is studying to get his Bachelor’s of Technology in Computer Systems. He enjoys hanging out with friends, watching Netflix and playing Overwatch.
Motivations & Goals
- Reduce shop time
- Wants to make shopping less of a chore
Behavior
- Shops in the evenings after school or on the weekends
- Goes to the store at least 2x a week
- Has an idea of what he needs ahead of time
- Shops at a variety of stores based on convenience
Solution
The "Shopping Buddy" software will be sold to stores and branded individually to unify the experience across all sites. Customers will no longer to need to waste time looking for products or resorting to asking store staff. They can rely on the app as it will directly integrate with specific store locations and their current inventory tracking. It aims to increase customer loyalty for stores by not only streamlining the customer shopping process, but allowing users to learn the store layout and product availability without frustration.
User Flows
A list of requirements for the app and functions were defined which led to the creation of a sitemap in tandom with sketches to understand how the software would be used and how all functionality would be addressed.
With the overall functionality and flows conceptulaized, sketches were then refined into wireframes.
App Interface
I wanted to keep the design simple and visual so that it could easily be adapted to match various store branding. In order to ensure that the app would hold value and assist in fulfilling the goals of all store customers, key tasks were identified for two types of users; repeat customers and those who are new to the store. Main tasks are listed below.
Sign Up
Users new to the app can click to sign up, entering in their email address, selecting a password and then choosing their primary store location. This location will depict the store maps used for grocery items and can be changed at any point by the user.
Grocery List Management
Users can keep multiple lists at a time. Items can be searched through on the main screen or added inside of the list directly. Clicking each item displays a marker on the store map for easy location.
Product Search
Items can be searched for directly the home page of the app. The location of the single item can be viewed or the item can be added to a list for later.
Route Mapping
The system will compile all items in a list to determine the quickest possible route to pick up them up and save time. To initiate, the user can click 'Map Route' on any list.
