Grocery Application Research

Goal

Understand how people plan, shop for, and manage groceries, then translate these insights into a concept that simplifies list-building, collaboration, and in-store efficiency.

Outcome

A smart, shareable grocery list concept informed by real behaviors. Research identified key pain points and shaped design requirements around collaboration, organization, and time-saving tools.

Role

UX Research Analyst

Course

User Research Methods – IUPUI

Skills

User Interviews, Affinity Mapping, User Modeling, Storyboarding

Background

This research project explored how everyday shoppers plan their trips, prioritize purchases, and navigate the store environment. The goal was to identify unmet needs and opportunities for a digital tool to reduce friction across the process.

Research Goals

  • Identify unmet needs in the grocery shopping journey
  • Explore how people prepare, plan, and shop
  • Surface usability barriers and pain points
  • Brainstorm concepts aligned with user motivations

Methodology

User Interviews

Traditional and contextual interviews uncovered behaviors around list-building, budgeting, time constraints, and in-store decision-making.

Affinity Mapping

Insights were organized into an Affinity Diagram, revealing consistent behavioral themes:

  • Primary household shoppers plan weekly or bi-weekly trips
  • Brand loyalty varies but price awareness is high
  • Searching for items is a major source of frustration
Affinity Diagram
Affinity Diagram illustrating themes related to price awareness, shopping frequency, and item-location challenges.

User Persona

A persona was developed to represent the dominant shopper profile:

  • Primary household shopper
  • Organized and budget-conscious
  • Motivated by speed and convenience
  • Frequently overwhelmed by in-store inefficiencies
User Persona
Persona representing an efficient, cost-aware shopper who values convenience and clarity during the grocery process.

Experience Model

The Experience Model highlighted time as the central driver. Successful solutions needed to help users move quickly through planning and shopping.

Experience Model
Experience Model identifying time pressure as the dominant factor shaping shopping behaviors and needs.

Requirements

Insights translated into the following product requirements:

  • Shared grocery list functionality
  • Smart grouping of frequently purchased items
  • Recipe-based list creation and coupon integration
  • Voice-enabled hands-free input
Requirements Diagram
Requirements derived from research, including collaboration needs and time-saving features.

Ideation & Concept Development

Visioning

Two conceptual directions emerged during ideation:

  • Vision 1: Repeat order templates and shared list collaboration
  • Vision 2: Voice-activated list building for multitasking

Each direction was evaluated for feasibility, desirability, and alignment with user goals.

Vision Concepts
Vision concepts comparing collaborative list building with voice-driven interactions.

Product Concept

The final concept centered on a smart grocery list with real-time collaboration, recipe-based list creation, and flexible sharing options such as phone contacts or email.

Storyboard

The storyboard illustrated the streamlined user journey:

  1. Create a new grocery list
  2. Add items manually or using recipes
  3. Share the list for real-time updates
Storyboard
Storyboard showing the flow from list creation to collaborative editing.

What I Learned

This project demonstrated the value of qualitative research in shaping product direction. Conducting interviews, synthesizing insights, and translating behaviors into requirements strengthened my ability to design grounded, user-centered solutions.