SmartCart
SmartCart is a mobile app that provides realtime grocery prices for the same products at various stores. Unlike other products, SmartCart allows users to price match groceries, share deals with a community of shoppers, and create shopping lists that alert users when their product is marked down.
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Tools:
Duration:
1 month
Project:
Self-Initiated
Role:
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Overview
Context
Food insecurity remains a critical issue, as reported by FRAC (Food Research & Action Center):
“Black (22.4%) and Latinx (20.8%) households are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity, with food insecurity rates more than double the rate of White non-Latinx (9.3%)”.
“1 in 8 households (12.8%) experienced food insecurity, or lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet. An estimated 44.2 million Americans lived in these households”.
Recognizing the pressing need to make grocery shopping more cost-effective for users facing financial constraints,
Problem
How might we empower grocery shoppers to find the most affordable and equal quality products?
Design a price match app catered towards grocery shoppers on a budget.
Solution
Project Goals
Visualize options
Empower shoppers
to live the life they
want without
breaking the bank.
Nurture community
Invite a sense of
community between
shoppers as they
share deals.
Bridge the gap
Make groceries
affordable and accessible
for everyone.
Action
Emotion
User Research
Grocery Shopper Journey Map
In order for a grocery shopper to use a price match solution, they must embark on the following path:
Discover
Identify
a personal want
for cost
efficient groceries.
Self Aware
Look
for potential budget friendly
solutions.
Search
Find
an app
for grocery price matching.
Anxious
Goal
Curious
Use
Build trust
with the product
turning it into
a habit.
Hopeful
Pain Points
1
Working adults struggle to find affordable groceries and maintain equal quality
products.
Affordability
2
Many households lack access to an affordable, nutritious diet and information for price comparisons.
Accessibility
3
Pricing information is scattered over many locations for various stores, making it difficult to find quickly.
Overwhelming
Interviews
By interviewing a variety of primary household grocery shoppers, I gained insights into their needs and desires. Then, I spoke to average household members as a secondary audience.
These interviews informed me about the users' basic demographics, shopping frustrations, current food purchasing habits, and more.
Jaqueline
Primary Shopper
Single Parent
Secretary
Philadelphia, PA
Frustrations
Interests
Alexander
Newly Married
Teacher
Bethany Beach, DE
”I want to eat healthier and be able to afford nutritious meals for my kids without having to compromise on the quality.”
Frustrations
The prices of food are too expensive.
Lack of time to find deals.
Unhealthy food seems more affordable.
Interests
Healthier lifestyle for her and her family.
Affordable groceries of desired quality.
Quick and easy ways to find grocery deals.
Secondary Shopper
”I want an easy way to take on the chore of grocery shopping on a budget to make things more fair in my relationship.”
Feels overwhelmed by grocery shopping.
Lack of time to find deals.
Grocery prices are too high for desired foods.
Easy process for saving on grocery
Convenient access to favorite foods
Support for new grocery shopping chore
Design
SmartCart: a price match app catered towards grocery shoppers on a budget.
Share
Shop
SmartCart Shopping makes deal finding easy for more than just groceries. Flow through the best prices on all your shopping needs with categories ranging from beauty essentials to pet care!
Grocery shoppers can feel empowered to make financially sound decisions with ease and save time by choosing deals at the closest stores.
SmartCart users can view marked prices of trending deals in real-time, without having to enter a single store until!
Shoppers can quickly search for the items they want most and view previous searches.
Browse
Lists
SmartCart shoppers create their grocery lists right in the app, saving time and energy! Users compile the best deals across stores to ensure they’re getting the best prices for each items!
Grocery shoppers can check off items they have in cart, uncheck items they need more of, and reset the list once it’s time to shop again.
Conveniently organized by store, SmartCart Lists helps users be organized and precise in the grocery missions.
SmartCart shoppers make stress-free, healthier decisions with accessibility to quality food.
What better way is there to find local deals on groceries than from other shoppers in your community? Gain access to free food at events, weekly specials and coupons in your area!
With the Share feature, grocery shoppers unlock a community of like-minded deal finders, small businesses and stores promoting offers.
SmartCart users can upvote deals they like, downvote deals that no longer exist and post their own hot bargain finds!
Shoppers can seamlessly filter between the newest and hottest deals!
Rather than spending hours scanning coupon books and hunting through countless aisles, users can dance through food categories, clearance deals and dietary habits with just a few taps.
Shoppers can find deals on categories like vegan diets, breakfast items, baby products and even wine and spirits!
SmartCart users can search for specific items if they know exactly what they're looking for or conveniently browse our assortment.
SmartCart’s Browse feature is shopping made simple and affordable!
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Final Thoughts
In designing SmartCart, I learned a lot about my process as a designer and about myself, as a person:
It can be beneficial to find some sort of personal attachment to the project. I found that designing for social good motivated me through a passion and desire for a better world, making this feel that much easier to create.
A design backed in research and user habits, allows for more organization. The simpler the design, the better the user experience and, strangely enough, the more complexities a design can handle.
It’s important to iterate designs in the low fidelity stages, because it’ll be difficult to make major changes later in the design process.
Future Applications
SmartCart could be a great tool for money saving, healthier lifestyle habits and less stress in shoppers daily lives.
To take this convenience a step further, SmartCart could pair or partner with apps like DoorDash to deliver groceries and real-time savings to shoppers doorsteps!
Ai could make lists for shoppers based on their preferences, making the list creation even easier!