A mobile app with customizable features giving shoppers the tools/information to make proactive and efficient shopping decisions.
UX Design:
Mobile App
Trader Joe’s
PROJECT BACKGROUND
This personal project resulted from my longtime appreciation for Trader Joe’s, the neighborhood grocery chain. Along with my curiosity to see how the shopping experience could be enhanced, I decided to research and design for a mobile app, which Trader Joe’s did not have at the time.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Trader Joe’s. The entirety of this project are a result of my own research and ideas, and have no association to Trader Joe’s.
ROLE & DURATION
User research & survey, data analysis, visual design, prototyping
Jun 2019 - Sept 2019
The Challenge
The success of Trader Joe’s is no surprise to those who know and shop the brand. A fun store environment, friendly crew, quality products at great value, what more could customers ask for?
As a Trader Joe’s fan myself, there were several pain points in the shopping experience that I was curious to see if others experienced tool. The challenge wasn’t to improve the success of the store, but more so on honing in and improving the user’s experiences with their grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s.
The Solution
My research showed Trader Joe’s shoppers experienced the biggest shared frustrations over inconsistent product stock, store layout changes, and overcrowded stores.
A mobile app with features that can help shoppers plan ahead of time as well as optimize their time spent in stores can significantly help any Trader Joe's regular.
User Research
147 users participated in the research survey, all familiar with the Trader Joe’s brand and shopping experience. Surveying was done through Google Forms by in-person outreach as well as online on Reddit.com’s subreddit r/traderjoes. My target audience was specifically Trader Joe’s shoppers, as my goal was to improve current shoppers’ experiences and not expand customer base.
Questions were formulated to better understand the shoppers’ backgrounds, why they shop at Trader Joe’s, what they like and dislike about the store, and how they feel regarding a mobile app.
Survey questions
Survey responses
Insights
The survey provided a great deal of information about Trader Joe’s shoppers, their motivations for shopping and overall connections to the store and brand. I categorized the data into three key insights.
User Persona & Journey Map
From the survey responses, I synthesized the data to create TJ’s ideal shopper into a user persona. Creating the persona helped me empathize better with the target user, and understand the user’s background, needs, pain points, and overall experiences.
Creating the user journey map enabled me to visualize the stages of a my persona’s shopping experience. Listing out each stage’s actions, emotions, thoughts, and opportunities were a great transition into the next step of ideation.
Ideation
Sketches and subsequent wireframes of some of the key screens and features of the solution.
The Solution
A mobile app designed with Trader Joe's shoppers' needs/frustrations in mind.
The app promotes efficient in-store shopping and enables the ability to plan ahead of time.
Grocery List
Shoppers can easily plan ahead and create their own grocery lists with Trader Joe’s-specific items.
Product thumbnails help shoppers locate items faster in-stores, and separate grocery lists help with organizing their purchases and tracking shopping history.
Product Search
Shoppers can search by keyword or browse by category. Listings provide key information that may help in their purchasing decisions. Products alerts or favorites can be created directly from the product listing, or shoppers can add the item directly to a grocery list.
By allowing users to check any product’s stock status at their home store, the app can help shoppers plan ahead and avoid the in-store frustration of realizing a product they were searching for is out of stock or discontinued.
Community Forum
Users can participate in a community forum with other Trader Joe’s shoppers, taking their shopping experiences to a more collaborative and engaging level.
The forum allows shoppers to ask and answer questions, share in product discoveries, post recipe ideas, or empathize with each other in positive/negative experiences.
Product Alerts
With customized product alerts, shoppers can be notified when their favorite products undergo stock changes.
Shoppers will no longer face disappointment when searching for a product that is out of stock or has already been discontinued, saving them time in stores and allowing them to proactively buy alternate products.
Project Reflection
Going into this project, I was excited to see how I could challenge and improve myself as a designer. At quick glance, Trader Joe’s is a company that seemed to be doing everything right. In other words, why fix something that isn’t broken? I wanted to demonstrate that improvement is a never-ending process, and push my design thinking skills by taking a step back and thinking of what could be better?
Being an avid Trader Joe’s shopper proved to both help and hinder the process in different ways. Having an existing passion for Trader Joe’s gave me a greater understanding and relatability for the project. However, naturally, it did create some bias and preconceived assumptions. Through my user research, I was able to get the necessary data and feedback to remind myself that I was designing for the users as a whole, and not just myself.
Going forward, I would like to conduct usability tests gather feedback on my designs and prototypes. From there, I would be validated of my design decisions, and be able to make any necessary changes and updates.