Green Grocer

Project Details

Green Grocer is a conceptual design for a mobile shopping application aimed at promoting environmentally conscious consumer behaviour. The app enables users to view and monitor the carbon footprint associated with their grocery purchases, fostering informed and sustainable shopping decisions. The project followed the five-stage Design Thinking framework developed by Stanford d.school: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.

My Role & Team Collaboration

As part of a collaborative team project, I contributed to various stages of the design process, including user research, persona development, task analysis, and prototyping. Our team worked collectively to identify user needs and design solutions that align with sustainable shopping practices.

The Problem

With the escalating climate crisis, consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their shopping habits. However, there is a lack of accessible tools that provide real-time information on the carbon footprint of products during the shopping experience. This gap hinders consumers from making environmentally responsible choices.

Empathise

To understand user behaviours and needs, we conducted comprehensive user research:

• ‍Heuristic Analysis: Evaluated the 'Capture' carbon footprint tracker app using Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics. Identified issues such as lack of error prevention, which informed our design improvements.‍
• Task Analysis: Analysed the process of purchasing items online, specifically examining the user flow on Wish.com. This helped us understand user expectations and pain points in online shopping.‍
• Competitor Analysis: Assessed existing applications that track carbon footprints to identify strengths and weaknesses, guiding our feature development.‍
• Personas & Empathy Maps: Developed personas based on user research:
  
  • ‍Tom: A tech-savvy individual concerned about environmental impact, representing our primary user.‍
  • Lucy: A younger demographic interested in cooking and motivated by social comparisons, leading to the inclusion of gamification elements.

Define

Based on our research, we defined the core problem:

• Consumers lack accessible tools to monitor the carbon footprint of their grocery purchases, impeding their ability to make environmentally conscious decisions.
• Our goal was to design an application that seamlessly integrates carbon footprint tracking into the online grocery shopping experience.

Ideate

Following on from the empathise stage, it was decided that a sustainability score would be given to each product on the application. This feature stemmed from the primary persona’s challenge of not knowing what foods can be improved on to lower their carbon footprint. The scores would then be colour coded, to indicate to users the level of sustainability and impact on the environment.

Second Iteration

Following on from some initial user testing, the second iteration featured a star rating instead of a sustainability score. The qualitative data illustrated that the sustainability score wasn’t clear enough for the user to understand at a glance. The second iteration can be seen below.

Next, we decided what features we wanted the app to have. As a group, we split this into 5 tasks that focus on encouraging the user to shop more sustainably.

Prototype

We developed a paper prototype to visualise the user interface and interactions:

• ‍User Flow: Designed the shopping process to include carbon footprint information at each step.‍
• Dashboard: Created a user dashboard displaying total carbon footprint, comparisons with previous periods, and achievements.
• Home Screen: This through four iterations after numerous user testing sessions. The most notable change was the sustainability score changing from a number, to a star-based rating, then finally to a leaf, which was also implemented into the logo.

Another feature of the GreenGrocer prototype is the community and leader board section. Although there was a brief group discussion to create a nationwide leader board for the shopping app, research indicates that people are more motivated to compete when there are fewer competitors. This is why we limited the leader board to friends only, to maintain the motivation to compete.

Test

Although time constraints limited extensive usability testing, we conducted preliminary evaluations:

• ‍Feedback on Clarity: Users found the carbon footprint indicators intuitive and helpful.‍
• Motivation: Gamification elements were well-received, encouraging users to engage more with the app.‍
• Suggestions: Users recommended integrating personalised tips for reducing carbon footprints based on shopping habits.

Results & Impact

The Green Grocer prototype demonstrated the potential to influence consumer behaviour positively:

• ‍Increased Awareness: Users became more conscious of the environmental impact of their purchases.‍
• Behavioural Change: The app's features motivated users to choose products with lower carbon footprints.‍
• Engagement: Gamification and social sharing features enhanced user engagement and commitment to sustainable shopping.

Lessons Learned

• ‍User-Centric Design: Understanding user motivations and behaviours is crucial in designing effective solutions.‍
• Importance of Visual Communication: Clear and intuitive visual indicators aid in conveying complex information like carbon footprints.‍
• Iterative Design Process: Continuous testing and feedback are essential for refining features and improving user experience.