GoodMarket is a health food grocery store that sells organic products, speciality sandwiches and barista-made coffee.
The goal of creating a GoodMarket app is to create a shopping tool that allows customers to quickly and easily shop for groceries online and have them delivered promptly to their door at little to no cost.
Sole Product Designer
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Branding, Prototyping & Testing
Although GoodMarket's customer satisfaction ratings remained relatively constant over the last 4 years, market shares have been decreasing by 8% each year.
Through market and user research we've determined that this decline is most likely due to the increase in online grocery ordering & delivery products, like Fresh Direct and Instacart. Many customers prefer these products to shopping in store because they’re faster, easier and more convenient—customers can shop from their desks, homes or in line at the coffeeshop.
How can we create a food shopping app that users prefer over competitors in the market and increases profits?
The first part of the research was conducting interviews in order to understand prospective users.
Research showed that the user's top priorities in a grocery delivery app are:
"Convenience is the main attraction for me. How quickly can I get my shopping done?"
I conducted market research to see what other shopping apps offered. What features did they have? How much did the apps cost to use? Did they have premium services?
To better understand how users expect their shopping experience to function, I asked users to sort our Phase 1 grocery items into categories they would expect them to appear. The findings showed that users generally expected groceries in categories that behaved like the isles in their physical supermarkets.
The app should mimic a physical grocery store but the main concern is that there is no store associate to help when users can not find a particular item. Items must be easily accessible and not cause confusion or frustration. To solve for this, I decided to create a "departments" section as well as an "isles" section (which is conveniently located on the home screen). This gives the shoppers two paths that ultimately lead them to shopping by category.
A search feature was also important since the app serves busy city people who do not have the time or patience to spend endlessly scrolling. Searching for a particular item, brand, or keyword would save users time if they were in a hurry and unable to "shop around" (aka browse).
The research made it evident how different users would use the app differently. To cater to this, I categorized them into two user profiles based on their goals and situations.
We wanted this app up and running quickly. We decided to launch a Phase 1 with limited products and iterate based on the results and feedback from our users.
Phase 1:
I began the information architecture for primary use cases (Phase 1). Once the IA was locked down, low-fi designs were created and I began usability testing. Once I was confident in the designs and how the users interacted with them, I created high-fi mockups.
Shopping Experience
Premium User Features
Customizable Sandwiches
Tracking and Text Notifications
After you place your order, you will receive text notifications with confirmations of your order and when to expect your delivery. There is the option to call the driver if needed and you can track your car to see how far they are.
Phase 1 went through user testing and the results were
1. Simplicity is key
As a designer, we have a tendency to want to design by gorgeous and out of the box designs. However, we have to remember the ‘why’. We must understand our users, their problems and solve for it WITH design.
2. Prioritize
Make a plan to launch the MVP. During this process, I realized a lot of details and additional ideas came up, but that could potentially derail the project. Be realistic on what is capable for the product to launch timely and efficiently.
3. Get feedback early on
Most designers struggle with this. We want perfect designs before we show them off. But ultimately if users don't interact with the app as expected, a lot of extra work needs to be done.
Don't be shy! Say hello and we'll get in touch.
irinisarlis@gmail.com
