Grocery Application

Background

As part of a university assignment focused on foundational UX research skills, I was tasked with investigating real user behaviors and frustrations around grocery shopping. Using qualitative methods, I uncovered insights that directly informed new feature ideas and product concepts for a potential grocery app redesign.

Research Goals

• Identify unmet needs in the grocery shopping process.
• Explore how users prepare, plan, and shop for groceries at home and in-store.
• Pinpoint usability barriers through direct user observation and survey data.
• Generate feature concepts that align with user motivations and address common pain points.

Methodology

User Interviews

I conducted both traditional and contextual interviews to understand how users plan their shopping and navigate the store environment. This revealed key behaviors such as list-building, brand preferences, and time-saving strategies.

Affinity Mapping

Insights were synthesized into an Affinity Diagram, revealing three dominant themes:

• Primary household shopper: Users regularly shop for themselves and their families, typically every 1–2 weeks.
• Brand vs. price sensitivity: Preferences varied by product type; some prioritized brand, others valued cost.
• Shopping frustrations: Users often experienced difficulty finding items and felt overwhelmed by time spent in-store.

User Persona

Based on interview data, I created a persona representing a typical user:

• The primary household shopper
• Highly organized and budget-conscious
• Motivated by speed, convenience, and savings
• Frustrated by inefficient coupon use and item location issues

Experience Model

The Experience Model emphasized the user’s primary driver: limited time. The app must support busy users by offering quick, intuitive tools to streamline their shopping experience.

Requirements

From the research, I defined key product requirements:

• Shared grocery list functionality
• Smart organization of frequently purchased items
• Quick access to recipes and coupon integration
• Options for voice interaction to allow hands-free multitasking

Ideation & Concept Development

Visioning

I created two product vision concepts:

• Vision 1: Focused on repeat order templates and shared list collaboration
• Vision 2: Introduced voice-activated list building for multitasking

Each vision was evaluated with a pros/cons list to inform final direction.

Product Concept

The final concept featured a smart grocery list with shareable access, real-time editing, and recipe-based list creation. Users could invite collaborators via phone contacts, email, or social media—ideal for family or roommates.

Storyboard

A storyboard illustrated the typical user flow:

1. Create a new grocery list
2. Add items manually or from recipes
3. Share the list with another user for edits or suggestions

What I Learned

This project introduced me to the full lifecycle of UX research—from user interviews to synthesis, ideation, and conceptual design. I learned how to extract actionable insights from qualitative data and apply those insights to design human-centered solutions. It sparked a deeper interest in the user research field and reinforced the value of starting with empathy.