Smart Shopping Cart For Safeway App
Notes: Hypothetical academic project; not affiliated with Safeway.
Project Detail
HCID 504
UX Qualitative Discovery Research Project
Qualitative Interviews, Secondary Research, Data Analysis, Design Recommendations, Final Presentation
Deliverables
Team
Thi Kim Hoang Phan
Quynh Nguyen
Sixuan Tong
Sixuan Chen
Timeline
May - August 2024
Overview
I led the final design recommendations focused on improving Safeway’s digital coupon experience, which was one of the major user pain points. I was also the project lead, responsible for managing meetings, timelines, organizing project materials, and ensuring clear communication across the team.
My Role
Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded in 1915 known for its wide range of grocery products and commitment to excellent customer service. Safeway operates numerous stores across the United States and is part of the Albertsons Companies. The brand focuses on providing quality, convenience, and value to its customers.
Background
Timeline
Mandate & Project Goals
“We know people really like their digital devices. They get attached to them. We want to replicate that attachment in our stores, to tie them closer to our brand. We want you to design a shopping cart for us that includes all kinds of digital tools and toys.”
Client Mandate
How might we enhance the in-store shopping experience for millennial Safeway shoppers by understanding their behaviors, motivations, and pain points related to digital tools, to build a stronger emotional attachment to the brand?
Team Mandate
Research Methodologies
Our team used qualitative methods to explore how Safeway shoppers interact with digital tools during their in-store experience. We each conducted interviews and field observations, then coded and synthesized the data to uncover key pain points.
Primary Research
Team Activities:
Ethnographic fieldwork
Qualitative interviews.
My Contributions:
Conducted one interview, transcribed the interview, and synthesized data.
Focused on the digital coupon syncing issues.
Observed in-store behaviors at a local Asian market due to limited access to the Safeway location
Ethnographic Fieldwork
Shoppers relied entirely on memory and familiarity, not digital tools or signage. This highlights a missed opportunity for in-store navigation support.
Price and quality evaluation were done manually by shoppers.
No digital coupon or app usage was observed. No connection between in-store behavior and the digital tool within the brand.
The checkout process was traditional, with no self-checkout.
Insights
Individual Ethnographic Fieldwork Documentation
Interview & Data Synthesis
Each team member conducted on 45 - 60 minute qualitative interview.
Our targeted demographics are people who are
Born between 1981 and 1996 (Millenial age group)
Frequent or occasional Safeway shoppers
Varying levels of comport with digital shopping tools
Open to participating in a 45-60 minute interview with no incentive.
Recruiting Participants
Prepared Documents for User Interviews
Interview Protocol
Screener Survey
User Consent Forms
User Interview Script.
Issues with Digital Coupons
App Usability
Lack of real-time total spending feedback.
Common pain points included:
Fig. 1: Coded Interview Analysis
From this mapping, we identified key themes such as:
Spending Anxiety
Coupon Confusion
Navigation Challenges
Mistrust in Digital Tools
Shopping Habits & Routine
Fig. 2: Team Interview Theme Mapping
To support our primary findings, we reviewed academic and industry sources on digital tools in retail and grocery shopping. I contributed three entries to our team’s annotated bibliography, focusing on behavioral nudging, the shift toward online grocery shopping, and how smart cart features influence purchasing behavior.
Secondary Research
Smart shopping carts can nudge healthier purchases and simplify checkout. (1)
Digital nudging strategies are effective in guiding consumer behavior but must be designed to enhance, not compliance. (2)
Coupon usage remains a common pain point. (3)
Online grocery shopping raises consumer expectations for a better in-store experience. (4)
Retail digital transformation is driven by consumer demand. (3) (5)
Key Takeaways
Eriksson et al., 2023 — Smart shopping carts & healthier food purchases. https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/10037/31391/article.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Valenčič et al., 2022 — Digital nudging strategies in online grocery. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224422004277
Mostaghel et al., 2022 — Digitalization & retail business model innovation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.072
Chintala et al., 2023 — Online grocery shopping behavior shifts.
https://pubsonline.informs.org/Abbu & Fleischmann, 2021 — Digital transformation of the grocery business. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350450679
Sources
Identifying POVs Needs and Insights from using the research themes and user painpoints. By reframing the POVs, we can now focus son what actually matters to the people we’re designing for which in my case are:
Consumers who have difficulties using digital coupons
Consumers who lacks real-time feedback of their total spending during their shopping experience.
Human Problem Definition via POVs
Human-Centered Points of Views (POVs) with Supporting Evidence
Design Opportunities via How-Might-We Statements
The How Might We statements helped us reframe user frustrations into design opportunities, guiding our team to explore more creative solutions that address the discovered pain points mentioned above. I mostly focused on POVs of customers who face issues with digital coupons and spending anxiety.
Design Recommendations & Impact
Digital Coupon Confusion
Problem:
Users are frustrated when digital coupons fail to sync with the in-store system, leading to uncertainty at checkout.
Recommendations:
Improve app-store syncing reliability and provide real-time confirmation when coupons are successfully applied.
Add clear visual indicators in-app showing “coupon applied” status before checkout.
“Sometimes the app doesn’t work, so I stop using it… I’ll just use paper coupons instead if they come by mail.”
Participant 2
Impact
Improves trust and consistent usage of Safeway’s app.
Increase digital coupons and reduce reliance on paper.
App and In-store Syncing Issues
Problem:
Users are confused when prices, deals, and coupons displayed in the app don’t match what happens in-store due to sync glitches.
Recommendations:
Provide a visual sync status indicator in the app, showing when data is up-to-date with the store system.
Offer in-app prompts to refresh sync manually if discrepancies are detected during shopping.
“I see a deal in the app, but then it doesn’t show up at checkout. I don’t know if it’s expired or just not working right.”
Participant 3
Impact
Reduce user confusion and any friction in the entire experience from entering the store to check-out completion.
Increase in-store app usage and strengthen customer loyalty to the Safeway brand.
Real-time Spending Visibility
Problem:
Shoppers lack visibility into their total spending while shopping, leading to budget anxiety and checkout surprises.
Recommendations:
Introduce a live cart total feature, showing real-time spending updates as items are scanned or added to the cart.
Provide a simple progress indicator or alert when users are nearing a set budget limit.
“I usually just hope I’m under budget, but sometimes I get shocked at checkout when it’s way more than I expected.”
Participant 3
Impact
Encourage users to make informed purchases.
Reduce stress and pressure during the check-out experience.
Help users feel more in control of their spending throughout their shopping journey in-store.
Reflection
Deliverable
As a team, we delivered a well-received final presentation and earned full points along with encouraging feedback from our professor.