Mobile app designed to facilitate shopping in local markets.

Year Feb 2021 -
12 min read
Tools
Figma, Google docs, miro, protopie
Team
"Client, engineers, manager"
Role & responsibilities
UI design, User research, User Stories, User Flow, Information Architecture, Wireframes(lo-fi &hifi) Visual Design.
Outcome
Mobile app that connects buyers to shoppers to purchase items from local markets.
Tradr logo

Overview

In today's fast-paced world, the need for convenience and efficiency in shopping has become more important than ever. With the increasing demand for online shopping, there has been a growing need for platforms that can bridge the gap between consumers and local markets.

The Problem

Many individuals face challenges such as busy schedules, poor health, stress, or safety concerns, that prevent them from physically going to the local markets to purchase items they need. This results in a need for a solution that allows individuals shop from local markets from the comfort and safety of their homes.

Goal

To make it easier to shop for local markets around you. Tradr aims to meet that need by connecting individuals with shoppers who help them make purchases from local markets without the need for physical presence and guarantees the safest delivery of purchased items.

Process

We started the process with some research to discover core pain points of our targer audience

Research and ideation

Our research consisted of questionnaires and in-person interviews, resulting in the identification of three user groups: Shoppers, Buyers, and Price Comparers.

Research data showing user categories

User stories

Through data from research and analysis, I created user stories for our two primary user groups (Shopper/buyers).

Screenshot of a few user stories

User Personas

I created two user personas to represent these two user groups, the shopper and the buyer

Constraints and design challenges (HMWs)

Our research resulted in the identification of design challenges, which we framed as "How might we" statements. These statements served as a basis for us to approach the challenge and come up with creative solutions.
Examples are scenarios where we had to consider handling the delivery ourselves or leaving it to shoppers on the app, or if the payment flow should be before or after purchase of items, or how we could ensure the efficiency and legitimacy of services provided by shoppers on the platform.

User flows

For a better understanding of the user experience, I created user flows that outlines the step-by-step process a user takes to complete specific in-app tasks. This user flow helped us identify areas for improvement and allowed us to optimize the user experience without doing too much.
User stories on Miro

Lofi Wireframes

Pen and paper sketches facilitated the initial stages of the wireframing process, followed by creation of low-fidelity wireframes to gain clearer understanding and clarity. This streamlined the iteration process and facilitated effective communication with the team for further exploration of opportunities.
User stories on Miro

Mid-Hifi Wireframes

Moved from low-fi Miro wireframes to high-fi Figma wireframes, quickening visual design process by incorporating actual content, icons, illustrations, image dimensions, and branding elements for a more accurate representation of final product."

Solution

As mentioned earlier, our mobile solution focuses on two user groups:

- The buyer who needs the services of a shopper to purchase items in local markets
- The shopper in local markets who needs to render services to a buyer to make extra income

Onboarding/Registration

On the mobile app, both user groups are required to create an account and verify either as a shopper or buyer.

Buyer's shopping experience

The buyer's app simplifies shopping by connecting buyers with personal shoppers on the app. They create a shopping list, chat with a shopper to have their items purchased, make payments and have it delivered to them. A convenient and effortless shopping experience.

Shopping conversations

During this process, the buyers and shoppers communicate to ensure the right items are purchased. The shopper captures and sends items from the buyer's list and the buyer confirms or declines each one. Only confirmed items are added to the shopping basket. This interaction guarantees the buyer's satisfaction.

Checkout Summary

The next step includes confirming items added to the basket, selecting or adding a delivery address and phone number, and reviewing the checkout summary before making payments. Once payment is complete, the items are paid for and prepared for delivery.

Shoppers experience and  earnings

The shopper's objective is to provide a seamless shopping experience to buyers in a specific market. To achieve this, the shopper makes themselves available in a designated market and waits for shopping requests. Upon receiving a request, the shopper engages in a direct and personalized conversation with the buyer to ensure all their shopping needs are met.
By limiting their services to a specific market, the shopper can ensure prompt and efficient service to the buyers.

The shopper's earnings from every shopping request are promptly recorded and accessible through the order details / wallet page. The shopper has a dedicated wallet for earnings and withdrawals

We ensured our users could quickly and easily navigate to achieve their goals within the app through series of tests.

Reviews & impact

We went for a soft beta launch with real shoppers and buyers that would help us test their experience with the app or find any improvements that we need to make before the main launch. This strategy helped us discover quite a hand full of bugs and usability issues.  Our in-app chat had a few bugs that needed to be fixed before we slowly roll out the updates that allow users do everything on the app.

We also decided to create two different mobile apps after series of tests

A lot of positive reviews came in as well being that it makes life easier for people and also creates job opportunities to make income as shoppers.

Reviews & impact

We went for a soft beta launch with real shoppers and buyers that would help us test their experience with the app or find any improvements before the main launch.

Our user-centered approach to designing tradr app resulted in an 65% user retention rate among our first users in the first 30 days of launch. Through research, we identified key pain points and prioritized features that would provide the most value to our users.  Through user testing and iterative design, we refined our approach to maximize user satisfaction, as a result, there's been rapid adoption and widespread positive feedback, setting the pace for a successful launch and future growth.

Conclusion

After a few trials, we figured directing customers to shoppers directly wasn’t the best experience and we had to start the process of vetting shoppers more extensively before onboarding them down to eventually hiring shoppers.

We also considered having shoppers handle the delivery expenses but after a few tests, we figured this solution doesn’t work because safe delivery of items isn't assured and could also bring about conflicts for new customers

Overall learnt the importance of not assuming and bei

Presidential Campaign website

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ultrices scelerisque mi sed interdum lacus tellus in mi orc, netus nisl laoreet phasellus. Pellentesque non nunc placerat mi quis vitae cursus ornare.

Team Member - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates
Google - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates

“One of a kind service”

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ultrices scelerisque mi sed interdum lacus tellus in mi orc, netus nisl laoreet phasellus. Pellentesque non nunc placerat mi quis vitae cursus ornare.

Sophie Moore
VP of Design at Google
Team Member - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates
YouTube - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates

“The best service”

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ultrices scelerisque mi sed interdum lacus tellus in mi orc, netus nisl laoreet phasellus. Pellentesque non nunc placerat mi quis vitae cursus ornare.

Matt Cannon
Developer at YouTube
Team Member - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates
Pinterest - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates

“An amazing service”

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ultrices scelerisque mi sed interdum lacus tellus in mi orc, netus nisl laoreet phasellus. Pellentesque non nunc placerat mi quis vitae cursus ornare.

John Carter
Designer at Pinterest

Next project

Read case study

Want to work together?


I'm open to discuss ideas and professional opportunities. Drop me a message via my socials or send a direct email.

Reach out
❤️ Designed and built with webflow by Atasie Esther Omah 💗