Client: Self Initiated
Platform: iOS
Year: 2019
Problem
As someone who frequently cooks, I was disappointed by the current selection of mobile apps focused on shopping lists. Some apps worked well for managing lists while lacking convenience features for shopping focused lists. I set-out to rethink the digital shopping list experience.
User Research
To define what users are looking for in a digital shopping list, I performed desk research into US consumer shopping behaviors. Shopper’s primarily create lists to address the following:
- Not forgetting items
- Save time when shopping
- Purchase items for recipes
Research also showed that shoppers are utilizing voice assistants in smart speakers and phones to manage shopping lists. With the average user having 2 lists saved.
Sources:
All Recipes – 2015 Digital Grocery Shopping Trends
Think With Google – Voice Activated Speaker Usage Statistics
VoiceBot.ai – Smartphone Voice Assistants
Cheddar App Metrics (Since removed)
Requirements
Before starting the design process, I set the following objectives based on competitor analysis and user research:
- List items are saved for reuse
- Group items into categories
- Order list items to optimize the in store shopping experience
- Integrate with the phone’s voice assistant
Wireframes
To kickoff the design process, I started wire framing screens against the product requirements. Starting with the list selection screen, considering the average user has 2 lists saved it made sense to enlarge the lists. This larger design uses the screen real estate more efficiently and gives users a glimpse into the list’s contents.
Considering how items are added to the list, it was important that users can quickly construct a list from previously added items. The new item input doubles as a search box, making it easier to find items. To allow users to save recipe ingredients, items can be saved into groups.
Design
To give users a sense of clarity, the UI is stripped down to the bare essentials. Using the color blue for primary touch points to communicate trust.
For shoppers who like using voice assistants, ListAid integrates with Siri for managing lists. This integration gives shoppers a second interface for adding items to their lists with smart speakers. Further addressing the primary pain point of forgetting to purchase items.
Users can add a list widget to their Today View, allowing them to complete items without having to unlock the phone.
Prototype
To gather user feedback, I built a working prototype in Xcode and shared it with others. Despite the lack of UI, users found the gesture driven interface to be intuitive.
Thoughts
To address shopper’s desire to save time, I think there is an opportunity to conduct user interviews to learn more about their in store experience. If shoppers are navigating the store in a consistent order, there could be an opportunity to use machine learning to sort their list. This can save shoppers time not having to back track for an infrequent item they forgot to pickup.
