CHALLENGE
"Create a mobile application for Pick&GO customers to be supported through their pre- during and post- shopping experience"
How might we assist customers on a personal level?
How might we make Pick&GO a customer's top of mind brand among other convenience stores?
ROLE
UX Research & Designer
(SME E-Commerce/ Retail)
Ethnographic Interviews (Miro)
Customer Insight & Ideation (Miro)
A/B Testing
Low & High Fidelity Designs (Figma)
Context: Understanding the Problem
In collaboration with my team of 8, my team and I partnered with Pick&GO, an e-commerce SME. Pick&GO markets itself as an the first AI-unmanned convenience store, harnessing AI technologies like smart cameras and shelves, allowing customers to pick items off the shelves and exit without waiting in queues.
Pick&GO operates in a highly competitive market, filled with industry giants like Octobox, 7-11, and Cheers. Initially, Pick&GO struggled to gain a foothold due to intense price and location-based competition.
Main Objective:
When we first met with the client, they laid out their aim of "increasing brand awareness and upscaling the business" from its pre-existing total of 3 stores around Singapore.
Recognizing that the business was already operating in a saturated market, we saw a need for change in its business goals. Since the market was mostly homogenous, we decided to shift Pick&GO's goals towards a more customer-centric approach. Our challenge was then refined to "how might we ensure a seamless and humanized experience at Pick&GO?"
Redefined business goals of Pick&GO
Impact: Bridging UX Enhancement and Business Success
Our efforts produced remarkable impacts. For users, we delivered a more efficient, convenient, and personalized experience. 14 of 20, or 70%, of our interviewees noted an intention to return with the new UI improvements. That, alongside a 5% referral rate, based on our findings, would encourage steady growth of clientele. Pick&GO would gradually become a trusted solution for on-the-go consumers, catering to their needs effortlessly.
As for brand awareness and customer acquisition, my team also found aggressive marketing successful. When rebranding Pick&GO as a friendly character, 16 of 20 interviewee indicated a desire to download the business' application and become a patron of Pick&GO.
Forecasting of Pick&GO financials with UI and marketing implementations
Role & Team: A Collaborative Journey
As part of a dynamic team of 8, my role involved user research, ideation, and design, while others help with forecasting, operations and marketing. We collaborated closely, with each member contributing their expertise to achieve our goals.
Our team's collaborative effort was pivotal throughout the project's lifecycle. We convened weekly for three-hour sessions, providing a platform for in-depth discussions. These meetings served as forums for sharing research findings, brainstorming innovative solutions, and formulating "how might we" statements to guide our problem-solving endeavors. The heart of our collaboration lay in prioritizing solutions based on their potential to address the core principles of desirability, feasibility, and viability. We recognized that Pick&GO, operating in a fiercely competitive market, required solutions that not only delighted users but also were practical to implement and sustainable for the business, especially considering its bottom-line struggle
Empathetic Research
As the UX designer for this project, I took charge of crafting user interfaces that not only met functional requirements but also resonated with human needs. Beyond design, I conducted secondary research to gain insights into competitors and their offerings, helping us better position Pick&GO in the market. Additionally, I assumed the role of a customer myself by downloading the Pick&GO app and making an actual purchase at one of the stores. This firsthand experience allowed me to intimately understand the user journey and identify pain points
Leadership
Regarding leadership responsibilities, I was responsible for translating insights into tangible UIs and defining the relevance of proposed solutions. I played a decisive role in evaluating ideas against the three critical factors: desirability, feasibility, and viability. To make informed decisions, I frequently posed questions such as, "How many consumers would this impact?", "How much time do you think it will take to integrate this into the UI?" and "Who could potentially partner with us on this?"
One noteworthy solution we considered was transforming Pick&GO stores into a parcel drop-off location. The idea was to utilize the unmanned stores as collection points for partners. However, we decided to do away with this concept due to concerns related to security, increased liability for the business, and other potential risks. Considering the business was struggling to stay afloat, spreading the business thin could have increased its expenses beyond inflows.
Method: A Design Thinking Approach from Discover to Deliver
Double diamond approach: discover, define, develop & design
Discover & Define
Our journey began with discovery. We ran a survey with 45 respondents and conducted 20 interviews over 2 days, followed by a rapid 24-hour insight collation process. The result? Empathy maps, personas, and user journey maps that guided our way forward. Our findings highlighted the importance of an end-to-end customer journey. We identified the need to create a compelling value proposition, focusing on convenience and discounts, aligning with the typical on-the-go shopping habits of customers.
To stand out, we rebranded Pick&GO, emphasizing its role as an AI-assisted, all-in-one solution. This was also a vital decision as the business owner did not want to lose touch with its roots as the leading AI-unmanned store. Insights revealed key pain points such as difficulty locating products, unclear stock information, and a lack of assistance in-store. These insight were then fed into UIs to support these needs, while addressing the anti-social aspect of their shopping experience.
{ersona's pains and gains
Develop & Deliver
In the "Develop" phase, we systematically addressed user concerns. For example, for "unclear stock information." we explored the concept of real-time product updates and considered location-based notifications to enhance the user experience. My designs were refined through a structured progression, starting with low-fidelity mock-ups and culminating in high-fidelity interactive prototypes. This iterative approach allowed us to optimize the user interface (UI) effectively, keeping in mind the time and budget constraints of our SME client.
Our design decisions were guided by deep insights into user behavior, ensuring that the UI met user needs seamlessly. We minimized clicks for order completion, capitalized on mobile usage trends, and carefully placed functions for intuitive navigation and consistency.
Once deigns were more of less finalized, we went back to our previous interviewees for a second round of focus group discussions. Here was where we further tested the prototype - its aestheticism , functionality and desirability. One noteworthy example was how the font colours of pop-up texts should be bolded and backed by a shadow for added attention.
Low fidelity design of components
High fidelity design of Home, For You, Wallet, E-Gift and Chatbot pages
Lesson learned: Designing with Purpose
Designing Beyond Needs - "Special Mention" Designs
Our positive takeaways were twofold. First, we recognized the potential for businesses to leverage social networks for gifting. Second, we learned that customization and personalization drive desirability and feasibility. Conceptually, the e-gifting function was used for customers who would like to send their friend e-credits amounting to specific products chosen from the store. The recipient would then pick up the goods at the Pick&GO nearest to them,
Altogether, we found that this service was feasible, desirable and viable.
In terms of desirability, we observed a trend during the Covid-19 pandemic where people greatly appreciated the act of sending personalized and direct gifts to their friends. It was important for customers to feel a personal connection during a period of social distancing - something we replicated in this business model. I drew inspiration for the need for customization from internet-banking transactions, where individuals can personalize the notes when sending money to their friends. Mainly, internet-banking platforms in Singapore like Paylah.
Snapshot of Paylah e-gifting and high-fidelity design of Pick&GO e-gifting customisations
Regarding feasibility, implementing the e-credit system within the business posed minimal challenges. This system can be seamlessly integrated, operating as a subscription-based wallet for user accounts.
Furthermore, the viability of this concept lies in its potential to nurture a social network. Our research revealed that 80% of interviewees highly valued the social aspect of convenience stores, an area that has remained relatively untapped. Furthermore, a sustained online shopping experience whether for themselves of friends, would reposition Pick&GO as a top-of-mind seller, fulfilling needs for everyone, anytime, This value proposition of insanity combats the need to wait close to 30 minutes in the case of package deliveries. Instead, Pick&GO users can conveniently pick up their package at the nearest Pick&GO location.
Challenges: Navigating the Red Ocean
Multiple Actors
The greatest complication during the project solutioning was integration complexity and validity testing.
Working with an AI-store, there involved many technical complexities. One such issue that came about, was the identification of sources of frustration in the user experience. Were user needs unmet due to insufficient product offering, or the poor functionality of the technology?
As consultants, our duty was to redesign the business model to be more future-proof, that meant we had little engagement with the technicalities of what the AI store used. These included complications relating to, how to endure smart cameras and shelves effectively tracked inventory and user interactions, for example.
Addressing this challenge, we closely collaborated with the owner of the business, and his background in engineering and technology to ensure that the AI components enhanced the user experience rather than complicating it. When proposing solutions, we gave them in abstract terms, also posing "how might we create a solutions which supports consumers in store?" This case, for example, led to the design of an AI chatbot which adopts the use of free form texts to understand users on a personal level, while leveraging on AI technologies, aligned with the nature of the business.
High-fidelity design of AI Chatbot with free form text field
Interdisciplinary Experiences: A Holistic Approach
Our journey was enriched by interdisciplinary experiences, including sessions with users, strategy discussions with marketing lead, engagements with suppliers for in-store products and collaborative discussion with the business owner. These diverse perspectives shaped our holistic approach to design and showcases the transformative power of user-centered design in a competitive market. By redefining Pick&GO's value proposition, we succeeded in delivering a seamless and humanized experience that resonated with users and positively impacted the bottom line.
Future Improvements:
Given more time and resources on hand, I would have proposed another UI to solve customers' inability to locate products in-store.
As Pick&GO is an technology driven company, so should the services they provide. Ideally, I would have liked to propose an in-app product locator which could help you find your desired product. Similar to how Apple's Find my iPhone and AirTag locator, this would be make Pick&GO stand out as a leader in the aspect of "convenicne" of a convenicne store.
Snapshot of Find My iPhone and AirTag Locator
