It is the most convenient shopping experience tiill date. Shoppers enter the store by scanning the QR code on their smartphones and start shopping right away. After shoppers find the products they want to purchase, they can drop the items into their bags and get out of the store without touching any other products. Cameras at the top of the store and smart sensors at the shelves understand which products are purchased by which customer and bill the products bought from the store automatically.
My Role: UX Designer
I led the process of ideating and defining project scope, product strategy, design process, and UI (design system with component libraries) and UX design execution.
Team: Design team of 3, Engineering team of 4, Business team of 1
Responsibilities: User Experience Design, Wireframes, User Interface Design, Ideation, UX Research
Timeline: 4 Months
Software: Figma, After Effects, Miro
How might we facilitate time efficient shopping experience in the field of retail?
Nobody likes waiting in line at the checkout counter, whether it is waiting for a human cashier or self-checkout counters where people often struggle with the scan-and-go technology’s hiccups. How might we facilitate a cashier-less store providing people with a faster and easier way of shopping experience.
Initially, we conducted research to understand retail users and identify common problems faced in their responsibilities. In addition to learning about users, we needed to learn more about the retail laws and the problems the system faces and its owners. This initial research phase included secondary research, semi-structured interviews and contextual inquiry
Contextual Inquiry
We interviewed 12 people who have had various levels of experience in the retail market. This group included shop owners, franchise owners and people with small corner retail shops. We tried to identify the pain points associated with the current systems.
Additionally, we conducted a contextual inquiry with someone with no experience in making purchases using online payment. This helped us understand how a person who only pays cash on hand and their expectations from someone with a fresh perspective identifies pain points and their mismatched expectations.
Insight #1: People care about privacy
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User research and competitive analysis
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In our first interview with the CEO he gave us an overview of the concept, and the things they had been working on. To supplement and confirm the information, me and other designers gathered insights from other retailers, customers, cashiers and other workers in the field.
Key Insights
Consumers have a lack of trust in using camera tracking.
"Data privacy is a concern " - Customer
Shoplifting
"How can i make sure the products are not being stolen if its open 24/7 without monitoring. "-Shop owner
Consumers have a lack of knowledge in using app payments.
"I do not want to try new payement options because I pay cash in hand"- Customer
Labour cost
"Labour cost is too high"
"Difficult to find labours in the market."-Shop owner
Project goals
Ideation
After solidifying our design challenge with a focus on improving the shopping experience for customers going into a retail shop, we brainstormed ~30+ ideas as a group.
We looked at each idea and evaluated them based on technical and business feasibility and alignment with our target audience. Conversations revolved around how we envisioned a non-cashier experience and how shop owners and customers feel while using the app.
Customer Journey Mapping
Based on our research, we developed a customer journey map from the perspective of the customer to visualize the entire experience a customer goes through. This helped us identify the crucial touchpoints of our design concept so we could focus our energy on the most influential touchpoints on the entire user experience.
What success would look like
Goal #1: Indirect Labor Savings
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Goal #3: 24/7/365 Shopping. Customers can shop any time, and anywhere from our "store next door".
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Goal #2: Improve the experience for customers.
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Goal #4: No cashier, no scanning, no waiting. Customers don't want to stand in line.
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Initial Concept Testing
We recruited and conducted testing with customers, retail owners, small scale business owners and people from different backgrounds to test the product's viability. I led the team to derive the testings into actionable insights to guide ongoing design direction.
WHAT WE LEARNED
1. Even though No cashier, no scanning, no waiting is fun, it might not be the best response for our design challenge. Unable to have multiple payment facility.
There are customers who want to make the payment by cash in hand, elder customers are not aware of the new technology and are curious about who Controls the Information.
HOW WE RESPONDED
Add other payment options
A special counter for self check out, and a standard paying counter is made available for people who prefer traditional paying methods.
2. Make it more friendly by detail product list and summary
Customers need to know whether the product they are looking for is available in the shop or not. Entering the shop and finding out the product is unavailable is frustrating and time consuming.
Add product list
The app is provided with an entire list of products available in the shop and also provided with wish list for the products for future purchase.
Designing the Experience
The Initial Purchase Flows
The initial flow for the booking process was focused on getting enough information from the user in making purchase. This includes entering the shop, make the shopping and proceeding with the payment.
Guerilla testing
Test participants are chosen randomly. They are asked to perform a quick usability test, in exchange for a free coffee. It’s low cost and relatively simple testing that enables honest user feedback.The testing is done in the early stages of the product development process, when we have a tangible lo-fi prototype this helped in understanding whether we are moving in the right direction or not.It also helped in collecting personal opinions and emotional impressions about ideas and concepts.
Design Refinement
Test Feedback
- Participants wanted a sense of how far they were in the entering the shop and all of the information about account and scanning needed to provided.
Design Changes
Changed the scanning format into a page where it shows all of the information needed upfront. This helped to provide feedback on how efficiently the user figured out to enter the shop.
- Also added a footer where the participant can find the other details including the app settings.
Visual Design
App Hifi Mockups
Initial Store Installation and testing
Single rack store next door
Initially the concept was developed in a small unit as a single rack store. The unit was installed and tested among a wide range of users.
Unlike traditional vending machines, customers doesn't need to insert hard cash in Watasale micro stores. Just scan the QR code in Watasale app, then the door will be opened automatically, take whatever you need and when you close the door, bill will be generated in your Watasale app. You can pay the bill using any online payment methods or you can preload cash in the inbuilt wallet so that the billed amount will be auto debited from it.
Prototyping Test Findings
After we developed our initial prototypes, we conducted usability tests to simulate the shopping experience. This included having participants test the shopping flow using the app and then understanding their experience and testing payments. We focused on understanding the user's thought process throughout the shopping and identify misaligned expectations between our concept and their traditional shopping experiences.
Usability testing
We had a clear understanding of your target audience, available resources (time and money), and research objectives. This information helped select the suitable testing method and adjust the questions and tasks for the test participants.
Positives
- Participants enjoyed waiting less shopping.
- Shop owners think ordering and restocking are highly efficient.
- Customer profile data can offer customized specials and discounts.
Improvements
- The app is clearly catering to a younger, affluent, tech-savvy population
Ask what is the experience we want people to have?
Goal-Driven Design
Watasale stores brings up higher levels of automation to retail. Stores will be autonomous and can work 24/7 adding to the total productivity. The manpower used for generic purposes in traditional stores can be used more productively for back end works like data analysis in product, sales, marketing etc.
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Even though the goal of watasale is to try to change the purchasing behavior to make time efficient problem, people are still the most important factor. It is crucial to constantly put ourselves in users' shoes to remind ourselves of the needs and wants of users. By understanding their desires and goals, we can provide a more user-centered design.
Reflection
