MOBILE APP
Trader Joe’s
Increasing sales by encouraging product exploration and connecting with loyal customers.
ROLE
UX Researcher
UX/UI Designer
TOOLS
Figma
Miro
DURATION
4 weeks
TLDR
THE NITTY GRITTY
Background
Trader Joe’s is a US grocery store chain known for carrying almost exclusively Trader Joe’s brand items. It carries a smaller selection of items compared to competitor grocery stores, diminishing choice paralysis and maintaining a feel of being your small neighborhood shop. It’s developed a cult following because of the cheap prices, the trustworthy products, and the friendly staff.
Problem
Trader Joe’s has a cult following of loyal customers. It is missing out on connecting with these customers by not having a mobile app.
Trader Joe’s shoppers have no way to check inventory before heading to the store, causing disappointment and frustration when products are out of stock.
Solutions
MANAGE CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
It was important to decrease customer frustrations when they arrived at TJ’s and their favorite items were out of stock. The solution was creating an app that allowed them to check store inventory, managing their expectations, and diminishing negative surprises.
REIMAGINE CURRENT SYSTEM OF SHARING INFORMATION
TJ’s shares recipes and new product announcements via their email list and an in-store magazine called the Frequent Flyer. It was important to make this information more accessible by including it on the app.
THE PROCESS PT. 1
Research
This project started with research to better understand Trader Joe’s business model and its current customers. This was accomplished through user interviews and primary research.
Goals of the research:
Discover the pain points of shopping at TJ’s
Understand the TJ’s brand and business model
Learn why and how customers shop at TJ’s
User Interviews
I interviewed 5 Trader Joe’s shoppers (and one employee) to better understand why and how they shop at their favorite grocery store.
Between 20-50 years old
4 are TJ’s customers and 1 is a TJ’s employee
Self-proclaimed Trader Joe’s enthusiasts
About the Participants
What pain points have you encountered while shopping at Trader Joe’s?
How often do you go to Trader Joe’s?
What keeps you going back to TJ’s?
Questions Asked
FINDINGS
Main pain point is not knowing the inventory of products before arriving at the store
Didn’t hesitate when asked if they would download a TJ’s app - “YES!”
Main purpose of shopping at TJ’s is to explore new products
Primary Research
A site audit of traderjoes.com and the company’s Fearless Flyer newspaper was conducted to better understand what information they provide for their customers.
I also did extensive research on their business model to understand the business goals better.
Roll out seasonal items that are unique and only available for a short amount of time
Want each store to feel like your small neighborhood grocery
Emphasize the discovery of new products and approachable recipes
Key Takeaways
THE PROCESS PT. 2
Ideation
After completing the research phase, I moved on to ideating solutions to the problems presented. This involved writing POVs and HMWs, and creating a user flow and task flows. These provided clarity on what to focus on before starting to design.
POV
I’d like to explore ways to help Trader Joe’s shoppers find information about inventory because they are frustrated with out-of-stock items.
HMW
How might we convey inventory information to shoppers without deterring them from shopping at Trader Joe’s?
User Flow
By focusing on the minimum viable product, I was able to create a user flow for discovering if a product is in-store near you. The user flow made it easier to see which key screens needed to be designed.
THE PROCESS PT. 3
Design
I first did sketches to get all the ideas on paper before starting to do lo-fi wireframes on Figma. User testing was done at this phase to see where improvements could be made.
Lo-Fi Wireframes
When designing the lo-fi wireframes, I wanted to highlight new products and make the search feature as accessible as possible. This was determined because of information gathered from the research phase of the design process.
Below are the key screens.
Testing and Iterating
THE PROCESS PT. 4
Moderated usability tests were conducted with 5 participants. This provided important insights on what revisions needed to be made. Below are a few of the significant changes that were made.
Changing Locations
Search icon in the top right was not easily understood as a way to change location
Users wanted a way to hide stores where item is out of stock
FINDINGS
Made it more intuitive to change your location from this page
Added toggle to see only stores where item is in stock
REVISIONS
Notification Option
Users want a way to be notified when seasonal items come back in stock
Breadcrumbs at the top of the page were found distracting
FINDINGS
REVISIONS
Added a one-click way to be notified when seasonal items are back
Removed the breadcrumbs at the top of the product pages
THE PROCESS PT. 5
Final Designs
YOU MADE IT THIS FAR!
Conclusion
This project allowed me to dive deep into a real issue that was troubling loyal customers. I heard from every participant during user testing “I wish this was a real thing” or “I would 100% use this app". It felt great to be designing something that would have the potential to make people’s lives easier.
Next Steps
Given the time, I would love to expand upon the app in the following ways:
Add a feature for saving items to your favorites or to your shopping list
Design the recipes section of the app
Design a feature allowing customers to rate and review products