Competitive Analysis

I analyzed 3 of most popular grocery stores that are in the digital grocery shopping space. I found that throughout all competitors that they were all lacking in customer awareness and convenience.

User Interviews

While research showed the importance of customer awareness and convenience, the 5 interviews conducted revealed where customers were becoming lost. The questions below were asked to find common trends on why they failed to understand whether or not they were receiving a consistent experience from instore shopping. The data was organized through affinity mapping.


Research Questions:

1. What are the most important elements determining users’ preferences for interacting with promotions, both online and in-store? 


2. Where do users face challenges or frustrations when trying to use promotions on the app (online) compared to in-store promotions?


3. How do users expect continuity (mirroring the in-store promotion experience for online promotion) in their grocery promotion experience across online and in-store platforms?


4. What visual components are needed for customers when engaging with online promotions, and how do these preferences correlate to their in-store experiences?

The Soccer Mom Persona

37 Years Old | Stay at home mom | Rochelle

User Story

Getting a healthy dinner on the table after soccer practice feels impossible. Between my kids’ schedules, picky eating, and last-minute grocery runs, I often resort to fast food—then feel guilty. I want quick, nutritious meals my family will enjoy without the stress. If I could simplify planning and shopping, I’d have more time to enjoy dinner together.

Goals

• Minimize time spent on grocery shopping 
• Feed family nourishing meals amidst her chaotic schedule

Motivations

• Wants to provide nutritious meals for the family 
• Values sit-down dinners with the family 
• Wants to make healthy choices easy for herself and her family

Frustrations

• Managing 2 kids schedules for dinner time 
• Getting food on the table in time
• Her kids are picky eaters 
• Sometimes resorts to fast food when on a time crunch, feels often guilty for that

Design

Setbacks and New Direction

The research phase consisted of having to shift focus and re-evaluate the problem statement. Iteration of the problem statement was necessary as there was plenty of misunderstandings as to how our client's goals aligned with initial research.  As more understanding was gained focusing in on the approach of providing customer awareness and convenience through information architecture and new features was ultimately the goal.

Testing & Improvements

3 Major Improvements to the Product

Feedback was received from 12 peers and a mentor. The project length was 8 months long with roughly 8 weeks starting with wireframing and of course ending with a high-fidelity design and iteration. There were 8 actionable suggestions with the following being 3 major improvements:

The Final Screens

The Final Product

Conclusion and Lessons Learned

What I would do different next time

This was the first full-scale UX research and design project that I have worked on from beginning to end.  I have a great understanding of how a UX process works thanks to my mentor, peers, team and of course my client Kroger. Each step of the process is crucial to producing a better experience for the end user. The following are some things I have learned:

1. Your mentor can be a great resource! There was often struggle of how to continue or what more could be done to further our understanding or produce better questions. I am grateful to have had such an experienced mentor, multiple of them, that have been in the field of providing a more robust end-user journey. I asked them for tons of tips and advice. Kroger being the client also had experienced individuals that had no problem giving more insight on how to better help them and the customers.



2. Avoid being solution oriented in research phase! Part of the reason the research phase had setbacks was because solutions were being thought of before any research was even done! I iterated through problem statements being close to having it properly fleshed out but found that there was solution bias being built into the problem question itself. Having multiple client meetings and having them review initial thoughts was also beneficial. Think of the big picture and avoid being caught up in the process.



3. Do not be afraid to innovate! Having been lead of design I of course had to meet client requirements and overall needs based on our research and problem statement, but I found that there was data pointing to frustrations outside of our immediate scope. From our final product you can see the "Smart Search" feature. This was an idea I had drafted out but was hesitant to implement into our design improvements. After feedback from mentors, peers, and teammates, I fully fleshed out the new feature and although I feel it is a bit redundant, I still do not see anything like this on any online grocery shopping platform and I do believe it is a missed-out opportunity.



4. Don't be discouraged! " At the end of all the work when you are turning in your deliverables you may find that your solution works on paper but does not work in reality for whatever reason". This was advice I received from my mentor. While our goal may be to generate more revenue through a better user experience, the first set of solutions may not be the ones the company decides to go with. You might have to go back and do more research or keep iterating. They might not even use your ideas at all. That is okay! It is part of UX!