Tori Jakpa
Monaami Pal
Chloe Jun Chen
Lotus Zhao
Interviewer
Secondary and Primary Researcher
UX Designer
Contextual Analysis
3 weeks
Figma
Miro
Figjam
Zoom
Slack
Problem Frame
The current grocery store system has been slow to embrace technological innovations, instead focusing on traditional methods to maximize customer exposure within the store. This includes the use of a "racetrack" layout, where customers have to navigate the entire store to find popular items. This approach often leads to crowded aisles and other issues during shopping.
Background
Research explores the challenges faced by customers in the in-store shopping experience despite technological advancements. Concerns include long checkout wait times, limited parking spots, and accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic also necessitated new regulations for customer safety. Difficulty in locating items in large stores leads to impulse purchases, and technology, such as grocery store apps, plays a significant role in the shopping experience. Lighting is also a crucial factor, with warm and blue light impacting people's shopping behavior, and increased brightness accelerating shopping behavior.
Embodied Design
Embodied design recognizes the influence of our bodies on thinking and learning. By studying this connection, we can create user-centered designs and improve learning experiences (Abrahamson et al., 2014). Embodied interfaces are physical devices that sense and respond to their surroundings in educational settings (Lauwers, 2010). Our project aims to apply embodied design principles to enhance the shopping experience by integrating technology as an extension of the user's body.
User Group
To gather valuable insights and data for our project, we specifically focused on individuals belonging to the middle-class demographic from urban households who are 18 years of age or older. We chose this target user group because they represent a significant portion of the population and their shopping behaviors and preferences are of particular interest to us. In order to gather relevant information, we employed various research methods, including conducting interviews and performing a contextual inquiry, specifically at Walmart.
Goal
Our goal is to solve overcrowding and employee availability issues in grocery stores. We aim to improve the shopping experience for all users, including those with mobility impairments. By utilizing the spacious ceiling, we propose designing a lighting system. Warm lights would be used in crowded areas for positive emotions, while cool or neutral lights would be used in less crowded areas as cues (Lu & Fu, 2019).
Ideation
These research activities allowed us to directly engage with our target users, observe their shopping experiences in a real-world setting, and gain a deeper understanding of their needs, preferences, and pain points. By interacting with the users and studying their behaviors, we aimed to gather rich and meaningful data that would serve as a foundation for designing effective and user-centric solutions. We then gathered the main problem areas from these research activities to create a solution.
Consider grocery shopping as a chore
Something to do when they're free.
Struggle to bring groceries back to their homes especially when bulk buying
Depending on the mode of transportation grocery shopping is stressful (car, bus, train) etc.
People find it difficult to find their cars after shopping due to overcrowding
Affordability
Difficulty in choosing the right store as price items differ
Some choices may be more affordable but lack freshness
Some stores are worth going to because they have other items other than food ( Furniture, clothes, etc.)
Stores lack spacious layouts
Challenge in locating items
Some stores are not spacious enough and it causes overcrowding
Due to limited space, it makes it hard to find items, leading customers to ask for assistance
Difficulty in finding items, as well as employees to ask for assistance
Some stores often move items around the store, making things more difficult to find.
Customers lose hope in trying to find items online, the possibility of finding it is low,
Variety of cuisines and diverse dietary requirements
Not many options for dietary restrictions or prefrences.
Some stores meet dietary restrictions but lack quality in fresh food and other produce.
Solution
Based on research, we designed a light system for Walmart. Red lights indicate crowded areas, helping shoppers plan their route, while blue lights signal employees for assistance. The lighting intensity is set at 500 lx, promoting efficiency without causing visual fatigue.
Initial Prototypes
​Add a map function to the app, indicating busy areas in the store.
Incorporate mobile phones into the design to address the first problem.
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We decided to iterate further because of visual association. Users will quickly and intuitively recognize the red as the indicator of busy areas, making it easier to navigate and understand the information provided. It mainly helps users who may not be tech-savvy to understand better how to utilize it. (e.g. elderly individuals)
Here, we concepted tested with various lights while getting insights from participants to see what worked best.
Note: For our prototype, we used a button that people would press to ask for assistance( blue light) which will be replicated in our final prototype. But the red lights would be changed automatically when places are crowded.
Final Iterations
We left the same features as before since they're consistent with the changes.
After iterating, we decided that the "Press here" button will be red. By associating the same color with busy areas in both the physical and digital environments, users can easily transfer their mental model from one to the other, reducing cognitive load and enhancing usability.
Through the insights from our concpt and user testing, we decided to go with red lights to indicate overcrowded areas. The red light indeed causes the participants to move fast. Participants said they get nervous and just want to finish the shopping and leave this area. One participant said he felt the store urging him to leave and he doesn’t like the feeling.
On the other hand, incorporating blue light has proven to have a soothing effect on participants, particularly when they are waiting for assistance. Participants expressed feeling a sense of calm in the environment with blue light present.
A/B Testing
An A/B testing approach was used to evaluate the effect of light intensity on users' reading. Participants completed a price calculation task under different light intensities. Results showed that low-intensity light significantly improved task completion speed compared to high-intensity light (p=.0315). This suggests that light intensity has a significant impact on reading and task performance.
Limitations & Takeaways
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Initial idea consisted of four folds to address overcrowding and improve customer assistance in stores.
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Only able to test the 2nd and 4th folds related to using red and blue lights due to limitations in space and equipment.
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Unable to test the design on specific groups such as disabled individuals, pregnant women, shorter people, and children due to limited time and participants.
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"Elevator shelf" design idea was not pursued due to time constraints and a decision to focus on fewer ideas.
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Implementing the lighting system may lead to higher labor costs for stores, making it less suitable for price-competitive stores.
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However, the lighting system could benefit stores aiming to provide better service to customers.