Generating List
Users will be able to search for specific items and add them to their list. They will be shown a 3D image of the location of each item.
Route & Shop
The application will generate the quickest most efficient route to all the user's items. Users will be able to delete items they no longer want and add new items.
Checkout & Receipt
Users will be able to scan each item individually and receive a receipt through the application.
Adding Card
You can access your account from 2 locations (top right icon or bottom right navigation) and add your personal credit or debit cards.
Opening Tour
These are the opening screens that give users a little tour of the main features of the application.
Store Selection
Users will have the option to select which store to shop at and which location they prefer to go of that particular store.
EZ Find Phone Application
TEAM: Jaz Talley, Isaiah Hudson, & Xia Wang
ROLE: Researcher & Designer
DURATION: 6 Weeks
TOOLS: Figma & Google Slides
METHODS: Quantitative Analysis, Exemplar Curation, Design Alternatives, Task Analysis, High-Fidelity Prototype, User Tests, & Interviews
DESIGN SPACE
People aged 18 + who enjoy the process of shopping but are now experiencing anxiety due to Covid 19 and are concerned about their health.
Solution
By lessening the interactions an individual will take through the use of an application that'll generate the quickest route to their items more efficient.
Quantitative Analysis
1. People still prefer to shop in person in comparison to shopping online.
2. Since the pandemic, 54% of people from our survey only go grocery shopping once a week.
3. People have tried to stop interacting with items (picking up/inspecting) in physical stores.
1. Mobile Application
Before customers go to the superstore, they can check the app to see the crowdedness of nearby superstores, it will show the number of customers in real-time. After you choose a store, you will see the overall 2d map of it with different sections of items. Then you can zoom in to the specific shelf to have a real-time 3d interior view, you can compare adjacent items with different prices, brands easily and add the item to your cart. Then you literally mark a point of that item. And after marking all the items you want to purchase at one time, the app will automatically show the minimum route for you. When you are actually in the store, the app will navigate you to each specific item to reduce the shopping time. After picking up all the items, you can scan them and checkout all through the mobile application.
Design Alternatives
As a team we completed an activity where we were able to generate 50 design ideas that relate to our design space. Before starting the activity, we all agreed to attempt to come up with 15 ideas each then come back together to discuss them to come up with new ideas or possibly combine some for 5 more ideas. At the completion of the activity, we were able to discuss and discover overlaps in some of our designs. The activity allowed us to zone in on 3 design concepts we want to further explore. These concepts include a mobile application, smart shopping carts, and smartwatches. From there, we were able to reconvene as a group and determine how we wanted to move forward with these design concepts and start to think about the functionality we wanted each of our concepts to have.
IDEATION
Below is a short video explaining our 3 design alternatives.
Design Process
1. Research - Explore our problem space
2. Ideate - Explore different design alternatives
3. Feedback - Discuss and analyze the feedback we received so far
4. Evaluate - Determine evaluation plan to test prototype
5. Prototype - Create high-fidelity prototype
6. Test - Test prototype and generate insights
Research
Exemplar Curation
First we looked at Kroger's Scan, Bag, and Go which lets people scan items they pull off of the shelf. The scanning devices are located near the entrance of the store. To use it, the person has to either scan their Kroger card or enter their phone number associated with their Kroger card. From there, the person can go scan their items as they add them to their carts.
Second, we took a look at Walmart's store pick up app which is one of several major food retailers that now lets customers order groceries online and pick them up for free without stepping inside the store.Users have to log-in to the Walmart app and go to the pickup option where they can select a pickup time. From there they can start to add groceries to their “shopping cart”; Walmart has a minimum cost of $30 for their customers to use the pickup application. After the order has been processed, the user will receive notifications letting them know when their order is ready and when they can pickup their items either outside or inside the store.
Finally, we looked at Search In Real Life (SIRL) which is an in-store GPS software that allows shoppers to search in an app where items are located. It gives shoppers step-by-step directions to the item’s location, cutting down on the time spent wandering through the aisles and limiting interaction with store employees — both important benefits in light of coronavirus safety concerns
Takeaways
1. People are still going in stores and physically shopping but are trying to make their trips as quick as possible due to COVID-19.
2. People that grocery shop online are more concerned about their items being delayed or canceled due to being out of stock.
3. More people are preferring contactless payments which allows people to pay for items without having to swipe their card.
Features
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Show crowdedness of nearby superstore
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Display 2d plans and 3d interior views of superstores
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Navigation guidances for specific items during shopping
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Easily compare among similar items in terms of prices, brands, etc.
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Mark points of different items customers want to purchase at one time
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Automatically show the minimum route connecting all the points
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Scan items and Self-checkout
Affordances
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Anyone who downloads the application can use it
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Easy to use, add items, mark points before going to the store
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Have real-time 3d views of different items
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Quick self-scan and self-checkout options
Limitations
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Have to balance the interests between users and business profits
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Cooperate with superstores to get the detailed crowdedness, item data, etc.
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Customers have to take out phones and pick up items simultaneously, which adds to the danger
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The precision of 3d interior view and maintaining its real-time feature is hard to guarantee
2. Smart Shopping Cart
The smart shopping cart will be a system involving a mobile application and a shopping cart. The mobile application enables the customer to generate a list of grocery items over time then when they decide to go shopping and arrive at the store, the shopping cart will pair with the customer’s phone, only importing information from the mobile application. Some of the information transferred will include their name, the shopping list, and their credit card information for quick check out. Essentially the shopping process will be the same however there won’t be as much wandering, looking at unneeded items due to the turn by turn GPS in the shopping cart’s application. The GPS will work like your typical turn by turn GPS but will use an algorithm to determine the quickest, most efficient route to all the items on their list that was imported from the mobile application. The display screen will be about 13 inches and will display an alert that’ll take up the entire screen to notify the shopper when they are near an item on their list, if they passed an item, or when they are in front of an item. Sensors installed in the cart will identify when the cart has stopped or started rolling again to activate the alerts and to help identify where the items are. The camera will utilize information taken from the environment and from the store’s blueprint and inventory to determine where items are located and to highlight where the item is specifically shelved.
Features
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Able to pair your phone’s application with the cart’s application
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Big alerts that take up the entire screen to grab shopper’s attention
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Displays a readable blueprint/map of the store plan showing quickest route to items in grocery list
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Displays an accurate image of the store shelves and highlights the item’s proper location
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Allows the shopper to choose how they want to checkout - through the cart or registers
Affordances
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Everyone can use it since the store provides them
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They allow you to walk seamlessly by not constantly looking up and down from your phone
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The shopping cart works without the mobile application for people who don’t have it downloaded
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Bypass long lines by checking out through the smart shopping cart
Limitations
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Having the screen accessible for visually impaired people
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Technical issues utilizing cameras, sensors, and a screen
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Connectivity issues due to bluetooth pairing
Affordances
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Takes out the middleman (store assistance)
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Allows for an increase in efficiency overall (i.e. locating items, shortest checkout line, pay through application) which will allow for the user to spend less time in the store
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Can gain the user’s attention through either haptic feedback and/or voice assistance
Limitations
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Only people who own a smartwatch can use this concept
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Relies on store to have a GPS system
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Screen size is limited and small
Features
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Smartwatch screen displays the application
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Allows for users to interact with the application and the application to interact with the user through both voice, touch, and haptic feedback
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Directs the user to the items on their list
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Helps users find the shortest checkout line
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Allows for users to pay through the application
3. Smartwatch Application
This smartwatch application will be paired with a mobile application. The primary use of the mobile application will be for the user to add their shopping list to the application for it to be later used on the smartwatch application at the physical store. Once the user decides upon a store, they can select the store and the exact location that they are going to. Once at the store, the smartwatch application will connect to the store’s gps in order to accurately be able to direct the user to each of the items on their list. After the user has selected their list, they will be able to determine whether they want the smartwatch to speak to them and direct them to their items, or if they want a step-by-step direction with haptic feedback or both. After they have finished getting everything from their list, the user will be able to click on the checkout feature on the smartwatch application which will then ask them if they want a self-checkout line or if they want to go to a physical line. Depending on the user’s choice, the application will direct the user to the shortest checkout line. Once the user is done scanning all of their items, they can easily use the smartwatch to pay for their groceries.
As a team we asked for specific feedback from our peers which included:
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Asking for alternative design directions.
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Ways in which we can combine ideas.
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What they would like to see if they were using our devices?
Feedback
The most significant feedback we received included:
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There are concerns on the 3D map due to upholding maintenance.
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There are concerns on how the application would react to unavailable items.
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It would be interesting to incorporate audio so people don't always have to refer to their phone.
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There are concerns on the security and privacy settings of the shopping cart due to them being accessible to everybody.
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Will it be possible to generate the quickest route and navigate through the least crowded areas?
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It'll be interesting on how detailed you are able to get when picturing items for customers.
Due to time constraints, we decided to move forward with just the mobile application idea.
Design Principles
The feedback we received led to our design principles...
Our design principles helped guide us through our initial low-fidelity prototypes.
For the evaluation, we planned to have five main tasks to test how effective and efficient our app will perform. These tasks are all closely related to the overall shopping process under COVID-19 circumstance. By evaluating how people actually use our app in real life, we can have a better understanding about how much we can improve users’ shopping efficiency by the system. With feedback from 3-5 users, we will work on iterative modifications of the prototype to better meet users’ needs in the initial evaluation phase.
Tasks
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Once on the application, navigate to the payment information and add a credit card.
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Select the Kroger on Old St. Road 37 from the list of stores.
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Generate a list of items. This list should include Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Tropicana Orange Juice, and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup.
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Generate the route and proceed through the shopping experience, adding all of your items to your cart.
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Checkout through the application using your saved credit card to pay for your groceries.
We chose these particular tasks to be able to showcase various aspects of our prototype that we felt were pertinent to a user’s shopping experience from beginning to end. These tasks take the user through the beginning of the app from adding a payment method, to selecting a store and creating a list, to mapping out their route and going through the in-store shopping experience and ending by checking out through the application which would end their experience with the application for that specific store run.
Following the usability test, we followed up with three questions;
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What all do you like about the application?
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What all do you dislike about the application?
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Do you have any suggestions or changes you’d make to the application?
Evaluation
EZ Find is set to take the user through the whole shopping experience, from selecting a store, to creating and list, to actually being at the store and generating the most efficient shopping route and even checking out from the application itself.
Prototype
Testing
It was difficult recruiting participants due to the pandemic, however, having a target demographic of people aged 18 and up made it a little easier because of its broadness.
Participants
From the feedback we received after testing the prototype, we analyzed the data. We pulled the most common insights from our participants and separated them into pros and cons. We then continued to analyze our prototype and determine changes we would make if we didn't have a time constraint.
Results
Cons
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Users would prefer a zoom feature so they can ensure they are viewing and selecting their product.
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Users don’t know how many items are left when searching for items.
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Users can’t save receipts if they checkout in the store.
Pros
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The overall concept is in demand.
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The app allows for efficiency contact tracing.
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It’s promising to be able to use the app even after the pandemic.
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It’s convenient to view the product in its' location in an image before going to the store.
Future Improvements:
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Add an image of the superstore on ‘location’ page
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Show the stock number of items when searching/ out of stock
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Be able to review list history on ‘create list’ page
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Add images of items when searching for a specific item
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When adding items to your list, make viewing the product more interactive
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Display the total throughout the process
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Add audio feature for people with visual disabilities
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Be able to upload receipts to the app even when you checkout in store