No more lost shoppers: reloading Carrefourâs shopping experience
Project Overview
This is a conceptual project aimed at exploring solutions for improving Carrefourâs digital shopping experience
The problem
Grocery shopping can be a hassleâweâve all been there. Carrefour strives to make it effortless, but its app wasnât there yet.
The Goal
Make grocery shopping more intuitive by bridging the gap between digital planning and in-store shopping to improve the customer experience.
My Role
Product Designer â Conducted research, created wireframes, and developed UI refinements.
Responsabilities
Research, IA redesign, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and design system development.
TimelineÂ
This project was developed iteratively over several months, balancing research, prototyping, and testing with other commitments.
Understanding the user
Grocery shopping isnât just about going to the storeâitâs a continuous task that starts long before checkout.
While most users claim to plan their shopping in advance, they primarily use the app to check offers rather than actively organizing their purchases. As a result, many still rely on paper lists despite their limitations, highlighting a gap in the digital shopping experience.
Pain Points
1. Lack of Relevant InformationÂ
Users struggle to find essential information for informed purchases, such as price comparisons, product availability, or personalized recommendations.
3. Lack of Engagement Beyond Offers
The appâs confusing navigation leads users to lose interest beyond checking offers and promotions.
2. Difficulty in Planning
Creating and managing shopping lists can be difficult and unintuitive, considering the diversity of shopping habits among Carrefourâs broad customer base.
4. Lack of situational adaptation
While the app personalizes product recommendations and offers, it fails to adapt to different shopping contexts.Â
User Journey
Carrefour's customer base is diverse, with varying shopping behaviors and needs. However, throughout the research phase, common steps emerged that helped in understanding how users plan and execute their grocery shopping. Identifying these shared behaviors allowed me to better define each user profile and address their specific pain points.
1. Planning
2. Reviewing
3. Shopping
4.Post-Purchase
Persona
To design a more efficient shopping experience tailored to user needs, I defined four key user profiles based on behavioral patterns and shopping goals. These profiles helped me prioritize essential features and enhance app navigation.
Jiménez Family - The Organized Family
Juan (42) and Paloma (39) represent busy families who need an efficient way to manage grocery shopping while reducing mental load.Â
đ User Journey
Every Sunday, Juan and Paloma plan their weekly shopping list, but during the week they often realize they forgot essential items, leading to additional unplanned trips to the store.
đ© Pain points
- Feeling hurried while planning and shopping.
- Fear of forgetting essential items.
- Mental overload from managing grocery lists.
đŻ Motivations
- Feeling proud of being efficient and well-organized.
- Satisfaction in having a structured shopping plan.
- Excitement when securing good deals.
Alejandro SĂĄnchez - The Busy Professional
Alejandro (37) is a professional with a hectic schedule who values efficiency and convenience in his shopping habits.Â
đ User Journey
Alejandro stops by the store on his way home from work, but due to his busy schedule, he frequently forgets key items, makes poor shopping decisions, and ends up making multiple trips
đ© Pain points
- Feeling rushed due to a busy schedule.
- Frustration from frequently forgetting key items.
- Stress from inefficient store navigation.
đŻ Motivations
- Relief when shopping is fast and stress-free.
- Confidence in a smooth and quick purchase experience.
MarĂa LĂłpez - The Bargain Hunter
MarĂa (52) is a deal-savvy shopper who actively seeks discounts but struggles with organizing her purchases effectively. (52 years old)
đ User Journey
MarĂa checks for new offers every week, but she finds it challenging to organize her shopping list while keeping track of all the deals. This leaves her frustrated, feeling like she is missing out on potential savings.
đ© Pain points
- Overwhelmed by trying to track and manage multiple promotions effectively.
- Anxiety about missing a great deal.
đŻ Motivations
- Excitement and satisfaction when securing the best deals.
- Sense of achievement when maximizing savings.
David Torres - The Cooking Enthusiast
David (29) loves experimenting with recipes and discovering new ingredients, but availability issues often disrupt his cooking plans.
đ User Journey
David gets inspired by a new recipe but frequently encounters difficulties finding specific ingredients, sometimes having to change recipes due to availability issues.
đ© Pain points
- Frustration when struggling to find specific ingredients.
- Uncertainty and disappointment when an item is unavailable.
đŻ Motivations
- Joy and creativity in discovering new flavors and cooking experiences.
- Sense of fulfillment when successfully preparing a new dish.
Oportunities
đ Opportunities - Family - The Organized Family
â P0 - Automatic suggestions based on past purchases.
â P0 - Optimized list creation with weekly templates.
â P1 - Automatic product categorization.
â P1 - Integration with family reminders.
â P1 - Shared shopping lists with family members.
đ Opportunities - The Bargain Hunter
â P0 - Automatic filters to display discounted products. â P0 - Real-time alerts for active promotions and deals. â P1 - Price comparison and estimated savings display. â P1 - Notification system for favorite category discounts. â P2 - Early reservation system for limited-time offers.
đ Opportunities - Alejandro SĂĄnchez - The Busy Professional
â P0 - Quick-list feature with frequently purchased items. â P0 - Voice assistant integration to add products anytime. â P1 - Shopping list widget for quick access. â P2 - Smart suggestions based on past quick purchases. â P2 - Pickup & Go: Order pickup at the nearest store.
â P0 - Mobile queue reservation for butcher, deli, and fishmonge
đ OpportunitiesDavid Torres - The Cooking Enthusiast
â P0 - Advanced product search with alternative suggestions. â P2 - Recipe bank with one-click ingredient addition to shopping lists. â P2- Integration with recipe apps and content creators. â P0 - In-store map to locate products easily.
The design
Design architecture
To ensure a seamless and intuitive experience, I analyzed the existing architecture and integrated new functionalities identified in previous research. Card sorting sessions with users refined the structure, making navigation more intuitive and user-centered.
Below is a visual representation of the final architecture, highlighting key sections and their relationships. While not every page is shown, this overview captures the main structure and logic.
Low fidelity prototype
I designed and tested digital wireframes to validate structure, navigation, and key flows before adding visual details. This step allowed me to refine usability early on, ensuring an intuitive experience based on real user needs.
Below, you can explore the wireframes used in this stage to better understand how the structure was designed and tested before moving to high fidelity.
Usuability Study Findings
To validate the usability of the Carrefour app, I conducted moderated usability tests with five frequent Carrefour shoppers. The goal was to identify friction points in navigation and improve the shopping experience.
What needed improvement?
- Confusing "Shopping Mode" Section â Users were confused about the functionality and purpose of this section, especially since it combined multiple shopping modes: online, in-store, and pickup.
- Difficult List Management â Unclear how to create or edit lists, leading to frustration.
- Lack of Clear Promotions Information â Users wanted clearer information on the estimated savings for each promotion.
- Cluttered Home Screen â With so much information on the home screen, users found it difficult to locate specific functionalities when needed.
â
Solutions & Impact
- Navigation Revamp â The "Shopping Mode" section was restructured into "Online Shopping" vs. "In-Store Mode", with "Drive" (pickup) added as an option within the online shopping delivery methods, reducing confusion.
- Smarter Shopping Lists â Introduced clear visual cues, to ensure users understand that lists can be edited and personalized to fit their shopping habits.Â
- Better Promotions Visibility â Improved promotion visibility with clearer savings breakdowns.
- Clean Home Screen â Prioritized essential actions to improve findability and focus by creating a better hierarchy and navigation flow.
High-fidelity prototype
The Hi-Fi prototype builds upon usability improvements from previous user tests, refining navigation and information clarity. While the previous iteration focused on structuring content and optimizing categorization, this version enhances visual hierarchy to make key information more accessible and intuitive.
To achieve this, I first adjusted the tested wireframes, applying typography and colors to define visual weight. Then, I developed a design system with buttons, styles, and variables to ensure consistency, balancing scalability while maintaining visual harmony across different screens. Finally, I refined the prototype, correcting design inconsistencies and enhancing usability.
Shopping Mode
My lists
Price and promotions
Menu page
Going forward
Future Iterations
During the initial phase of the project, I explored multiple ideas to enhance the shopping experience. However, to optimize resources and maximize impact, I prioritized those with the greatest immediate benefit for users. Still, many ideas that were left out of the initial scope hold great potential to strengthen the integration between the digital and in-store experience, improving usability and customer loyalty. For this reason, I include them in this case study as references for future iterations.
P0
Approximate stock information for products in the selected store.Alternatives for unavailable products.Ability to locate a specific product in an store map.Possibility to share shopping lists with family members.Function to consult or call a store employee for inquiries.Reminders for remaining or last-minute products.Request a turn at the butcher, fishmonger, or deli counter.Ability to use existing shopping lists as templates.Display expected savings if the user belongs to discount groupsPossibility to activate notifications to receive personalized deals.Automatic suggestions based on previous purchases.
P1
- Shopping list widget for quick access from the lock screen.
- Synchronization with native systems like Apple Reminders or Google Tasks.
- Estimated shopping time based on the selected list.
- Estimated spending based on the selected list.
- Gamified version for children to help their parents complete the shopping list by locating products in the supermarket.
- Option to set purchase frequency for recurring items and include information on the last purchase date.
- Voice assistant integration to add items to the shopping list
- Automatic filtering of discounted products
- Notifications for special deals exclusive to that store.
- Highlight the ability to retrieve product information using Carrefourâs blockchain technology.
- Tips for selecting fresh produce.
- Click and collect service at the butcher or fishmonger.
P2
- Shopping cart tracking system.
- Alerts for additional discounts, gifts, while shopping
- Store crowd level indicator.
- Ability to create and save personal recipes with automated ingredient addition to the shopping list.
- Recipe suggestions with one-click ingredient addition (Recipe Bank).
- Optimized route through the store.
- Notifications for nearby deals.
- Integration with popular recipe apps.
- Possibility to activate an alert when a specific product drops in price.
- Collaborations with influencers that allow users to add recipe ingredients via a single click.
- Gamified version for children to help their parents complete the shopping list by locating products in the supermarket.
- Alerts for new products tailored for âfoodies.â
- Check precise stock availability in store.
- Option to share personal recipes with other cooking enthusiasts.
- AI-powered recipe creation or modification.
- Offer click and collect options, particularly for small purchases through a subscription model.
Impact
- Seamless digital-to-store transition â Improved integration between shopping lists and in-store navigation enhances the overall shopping experience.
- Enhanced grocery planning â A more intuitive list management system allows users to plan their purchases efficiently and adjust them on the go.
- Increased engagement â The refined UI encourages users to explore beyond just checking promotions, fostering greater app retention.
- Flexible user flow â Adapted to different user behaviors, ensuring a more intuitive experience across multiple shopping contexts, reflecting Carrefour's diverse customer base.
- Simplified shopping experience â A clearer app layout ensures users can navigate effortlessly, reducing time spent searching for products or features.
What I learned
- Early usability testing is crucial in preventing major navigation issues. This project reinforced the value of a structured approachâfirst fixing navigation and structural flaws, then refining hierarchy and visibility. Prioritizing systematically ensures impactful improvements without getting overwhelmed.
- While I had experience with branding guidelines, this project deepened my understanding of design systems. I adapted quickly to their structured approach, finding them essential for prioritization and consistency, aligning seamlessly with my systematic way of working.
