Meenakshi Shyamsundar

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Meenakshi Shyamsundar

Work

About

Resume

Contact

Meenakshi Shyamsundar

Personal Project

Personal Project

SPREE

SPREE

Project Details

Project Details

Project Details

Timeline: 3 months

Type: Personal Project

Industry: Retail

Tools Used: Figma, Miro, POP

My Team

My Team

My Team

Solo End-to-end Designer

In-person shopping at retail stores often leads to significant frustration

In-person shopping at retail stores often leads to significant frustration

In-person shopping at retail stores often leads to significant frustration

Shopping is an inevitable part of peoples’ lives. People like to shop in-person for a variety of reasons such as


  • Interacting with a product before purchasing 👁️

  • Getting purchases right away ⏳

  • Avoiding delivery charges 🛻

A study by Raydiant shows that 48% of respondents PREFER TO SHOP IN PERSON at a physical store when given a choice.

A study by Raydiant shows that 48% of respondents PREFER TO SHOP IN PERSON at a physical store when given a choice.

However, several pain points spoil the overall experience of shopping in-person, which in turn affects repeat business for brands.


Coming up with ways to engage the customer can both enhance user experience and give brands an enormous competitive advantage. Therefore, this is a crucial problem to solve.


Experience SPREE, Your New Way to Shop

Experience SPREE, Your New Way to Shop

SPREE, Your New Way to Shop

SPREE is a fictional business and store that gives people an enjoyable shopping experience through a variety of well-thought out features and designs.

Navigating the Steps of Design Thinking

Navigating the Steps of Design Thinking

Navigating Steps of Design Thinking

The following shows the process and steps that were followed throughout the course of this project.

Key Insights from Market Research

Key Insights from Market Research

Key Insights from Market Research

Raydiant released a ‘State of the In-Store Experience’ report in 2021:

48%

48%

48%

prefer to shop in-person at a physical store when given the choice


prefer to shop in-person at a physical store when given the choice

84%

84%

84%

say a positive in-location experience makes them more likely to return

say a positive in-location experience makes them more likely to return


46%

46%

46%

say in-store customer experience is important to them


say in-store customer experience is important to them

Market Research helped to confirm that the problem I’m addressing is a legitimate one.

Competitors lack features to improve in-store shopping

The competition was focused on both in-person shopping and home delivery, hence the actual features to aid with shopping in-person were limited to basic features such as static store maps.

This gave me the opportunity to capitalize on this untapped market and create an app specifically designed to enhance the in-person shopping experience.

Competitors lack features to improve in-store shopping

The competition was focused on both in-person shopping and home delivery, hence the actual features to aid with shopping in-person were limited to basic features such as static store maps.

This gave me the opportunity to capitalize on this untapped market and create an app specifically designed to enhance the in-person shopping experience.

Competitors lack features to improve in-store shopping


The competition was focused on both in-person shopping and home delivery, hence the actual features to aid with shopping in-person were limited to basic features such as static store maps.


The competition was focused on both in-person shopping and home delivery, hence the actual features to aid with shopping in-person were limited to basic features such as static store maps.

The competition was focused on both in-person shopping and home delivery, hence the actual features to aid with shopping in-person were limited to basic features such as static store maps.



This gave me the opportunity to capitalize on this untapped market and create an app specifically designed to enhance the in-person shopping experience.

A Peak Inside the Users’ Mind: Results of User Interviews

A Peak Inside the Users’ Mind: Results of User Interviews

A Peak Inside the Users’ Mind: Results of User Interviews

User interviews were conducted with the objective of identifying pain points of shoppers at retail stores.


Target group:

  • Aged between 20 - 45 years

  • Go shopping in-person regularly


Interview Questions:

  • How often do you use your phone for convenience?

  • Walk me through the last time you went shopping.

  • On the days that you plan to shop, how do you plan what to buy?

  • Tell me about a successful as well as an unsuccessful shopping experience.

  • What are some of the struggles you face while shopping?

Revelation Through Thematic Analysis

Revelation Through Thematic Analysis

Revelation Through Thematic Analysis

Conducting these interviews helped to understand the demographics, pain points and attitudinal mindset of shoppers. Using this data, I clustered similar themes which led the way for a structured evaluation.

After analyzing the above sub-themes in-depth, I was able to understand the most important thing to the users. TIME.


  • Assistance is essential since it saves users TIME

  • Online shopping has its perks since it saves users TIME

  • Users prepare to shop beforehand to save TIME

  • Long checkout lines, size of the store, struggle to find things are some of the frustrations users face since it wastes their TIME


This was an exciting revelation as it provided me with a roadmap to better designs. 🥳

After analyzing the above sub-themes in-depth, I was able to understand the most important thing to the users. TIME.


  • Assistance is essential since it saves users TIME

  • Users prepare to shop beforehand to save TIME

  • Long checkout lines, size of the store, struggle to find things are some of the frustrations users face since it wastes their TIME

Customers seek time-saving shopping experiences.

Customers seek time-saving shopping experiences.

Two Personas, One Common Goal

Two Personas, One Common Goal

Two Personas, One Common Goal

It quickly became apparent that there were two distinct personas I needed to design for - those who enjoy shopping and those who do not.


Despite the significant differences in personas, they share common pain points and goals:


“I want to shop in person for my desired products efficiently, without wasting time.”



With a clear understanding of user needs, I was now able to define an actionable and user-centered problem statement precisely.

It quickly became apparent that there were two distinct personas I needed to design for - those who enjoy shopping and those who do not.


Despite the significant differences in personas, they share common pain points and goals:


“I want to shop in person for my desired products efficiently, without wasting time.”



With a clear understanding of user needs, I was now able to define an actionable and user-centered problem statement precisely.

It quickly became apparent that there were two distinct personas I needed to design for - those who enjoy shopping and those who do not.


Despite the significant differences in personas, they share common pain points and goals:


“I want to shop in person for my desired products efficiently, without wasting time.”



With a clear understanding of user needs, I was now able to define an actionable and user-centered problem statement precisely.

How might we reduce the time taken to shop?
How might we reduce frustration users face while shopping?

How might we reduce the time taken to shop?
How might we reduce frustration users face while shopping?

Crafting the Core Features of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Crafting the Core Features of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Crafting the Core Features of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

As a starting point, I jotted down the various features I had in mind and broke down every task into epics. This allowed me to establish priority for features and highlight the essentials for the MVP.


I conceptualized user flows that are critical to the product’s core functionality.

  • Get a Store Associate to Help

  • Create a Shopping List

  • Mobile Checkout Process

I jotted down the various features I had in mind and broke down every task into epics. This allowed me to establish priority for features and highlight the essentials for the MVP.


User flows that are critical to the product’s core functionality:

  • Get a Store Associate to Help

  • Create a Shopping List

  • Mobile Checkout Process

'Create a Shopping List' User Flow Diagram

'Create a Shopping List' User Flow Diagram

'Create a Shopping List' User Flow

Wireframes

I translated all my ideas sketched on paper into low-fidelity wireframes.

I translated all my ideas sketched on paper into low-fidelity wireframes. Features for wireframe shown below:


  • Rearrange shopping list based on category

  • Dynamic store map with best route highlighted based on shopping list

Rename your shopping list according to your convenience

Quick guide to choosing the best products of your choice

Rearrange shopping list based on category

Rearrange shopping list based on category

Convenient checkboxes to strike items off of list while shopping

Call-To-Action to rearrange items after creating list

Call-To-Action to rearrange items after creating list

Dynamic store map with best route highlighted based on shopping list

Choose your preferred store location to get relevant store information such as store map, availability of items etc

Rename your shopping list according to your convenience

Choose your preferred store location to get relevant store information such as store map, availability of items etc

Quick guide to choosing the best products of your choice

Dynamic store map with best route highlighted based on shopping list

Convenient checkboxes to strike items off of list while shopping

Bringing Personality into Design

Bringing Personality into Design

I named my brand SPREE.


When you hear the word ‘spree’, you immediately think of ‘shopping spree’. It’s simple, short and easy to remember.

I named my brand SPREE.


When you hear the ‘spree’, you think of ‘shopping spree’. It’s simple, short and easy to remember.





Merriam-Webster defines spree as ‘an unrestrained indulgence in or outburst of an activity’.

Merriam-Webster defines spree as ‘an unrestrained indulgence in or outburst of an activity’.

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

After building a functional prototype, I did a round of usability testing on six users that belong to the targeted user group.


The objective was to ensure that the screens are intuitive and easy to use by:

🔎  Verifying that the mental model of the users matches the information architecture of the app

🔎  Uncovering usability issues and problems in the user flows

Usability Issue:


❓ Participants were unable to identify what the app is for just by looking at the Splash page.


❓ Most participants assumed it was an e-commerce app that can be used for online deliveries.


Solution:


✅  A simple change to the tagline helped to bring more clarity.

Usability Issues:


❓ ‘Rearrange and Find Best Route’ unclear as there was no clarity on what was being rearranged.


❓ Scrolling reveals store map. Most participants did not scroll, hence were unaware of this map.


Solutions:


✅  Reworded CTA to improve clarity.


✅  Map icon on the top right corner, which when clicked brings up the store map as an overlay.

The Big Reveal

The Big Reveal

The Big Reveal

Click here to interact with the prototype.

Click here to interact with the prototype.

Reflections

Reflections

Reflections

  • The Importance of UX Writing - The presence of clearly articulated CTAs is crucial in facilitating user comprehension of the next steps to take. Through two rounds of usability testing, I was able to make necessary changes to improve clarity.


  • Scope Creep - It was tempting to introduce a lot of innovative features I had in mind, but had to remind myself to focus on just the main features, as it’s better to have a product that excels in one aspect instead of focusing on multiple areas.

Next Steps

Next Steps

Next Steps

  • Check Trial Room Wait Times (Assistance) - Approximate how long it will take to get a trial room, so that users can come back when it is relatively free


  • View Shopping Cart Near You (Assistance) - Find shopping carts in multiple locations around the store as opposed to just at the entrance


  • Voice-enabled Assistant (Currently not in prototype) - How cool would it be if life was as easy as “Hey Spree, where can I find Dishwashing Liquid?”

Thank You for Reading!

© 2024 Meenakshi Shyamsundar