The project was to implement the Internet of Things to improve a daily experience, in this case, supermarket shopping.
In a timespan of 4 weeks, Cart+ was designed to help a shopper navigate their way around the supermarket, making it easier to find the items they need. It has extra features such as displaying a product's nutritional values, manufacturing details and expiry dates and last but not least - the checking out of items without the need to queue.
The Team
Christal Chan (Me) - User Research, UX Design, UI Design, Developer (Lead);
Ingrid Novita - User Research, UX Design, UI Design (Lead);
Nelson Chua - User Research, UX Design, UI Design, Developer;
Hafiz Zul - User Research, UX Design, UI Design
Project backstory
Picture this: you're a working adult with barely any time to go to the supermarket. One day, you have to go in and get some food because well, food is life. Or you're a stay-at-home mother who visits the supermarket once a week to buy weekly groceries for the family.
Unknown to some shoppers, there is actually a psychological reasoning and UX planning behind the supermarket's layout, from the enticing fresh produce being displayed at the front of the shop to the tempting snack aisle next to the checkout counter. However, despite the cheeky planning, no supermarket is the same as the other, which means that a user finds a user finds an item in different aisles in different markets, and it gets worse for people who don't normally go shopping.
research
To gather user feedback on their own personal shopping experiences, my team and I camped outside a supermarket and interviewed roughly 30 supermarket goers. Below are our findings:
Planning
Armed with the research we got from our project, and what we gathered from our own tryouts, we started working on a product that would help improve our shopping experiences. We came up with a user journey, wireframes, a prototype app and an educational microsite that explains the app purpose.
The product
Cart+ is an all-inclusive shopping experience.
The first half of it is an app that the user can download off the app store. It enables them to locate the nearest supermarket, access the availability of certain items and create a shopping list. The list can also be a shared page, which means that different members could insert things into the list and it will be consolidated into a compiled shopping list.
After saving the list, the user can then head to the supermarket, moving on to the second half of the experience. There, the user pulls out the shopping cart provided for by the supermarket. Syncing their phones to the tablet on the cart using NFC technology, it uses a Wi-Fi positioning system to point the user to the fastest way to get to their grocery. The product is not just a mini in-store GPS system. It also improves shopping experience with an installed bar code reader, where users can scan the item to gain access to nutritional values, manufacturing details and expiry dates as well as checking the item out. The product also assists in checking off the "gotten" items off the planned checklist.
Challenges and points raised
As it is still a developing idea in a group of 16 to 18 year olds, there are bound to be some problems faced. First, I will address some points raised up with regards to the product that we received from our peers and user groups.
"Why not turn the whole process into an online shopping experience, and have the selected items delivered?"
It is not an idea that is completely off the table. However, for now, the main issue that we are trying to solve is the navigation in the supermarkets, and having a staff/delivery personnel who knows the aisle and supermarket layout pick out the items before delivering will defeat the purpose. Also, some people tend to prefer choosing their own fruits and produce, amongst other items, as they have their own various methods of selecting the best one out of the lot for themselves. Having delivery will also incur delivery charges, and that will be a different experience all together.
"What if they don't want to download the app / make a shopping list?"
Some people go into supermarkets as an impromptu decision, or they already know what they want to get. The shopping list option is there for people who like to plan ahead and not want to get unnecessary and extra items. Otherwise, the plan is to have the product on the carts, still ready for impromptu users who know what they want, just not where to find them.
"how is the app different from the self checkout kiosks already in supermarkets?"
Users have to still queue to use the self-checkout kiosks. With the app, you can have your own mini cashier and pay online. Not having a kiosk and/or cashier also encourages you to bring your own bag along, and if you really need one, reusable bags will be put on sale at a location in the supermarket. This helps with saving the environment as well.
what i learnt
As the official first project that we got to do in school, there are some stuff that I learnt how to do.
User research and interviews
I learnt how to conduct user interviews and how to come up with questions to help create and improve our product. I also gained the courage to approach and speak to strangers outside the supermarket.
How to work in a ui/ux team
My classmates were part of my talented cohort, and it was an honour to work with them. Working with them helped me understand better how to hold UX discussions and how to split the workload into our best strengths.
how it feels to create a product that improves lives
Probably the first project that ignited the spark in me, Cart+ inspired me into wanting to improve the lives of people using design. At that time, I still wasn't sure about what it truly meant to be a UI/UX designer, but as I continued working on similar projects, I finally realised that it was my calling, to design experiences and improve and/or change lives with my designs.