Design for the experience.
I’m a product designer focusing on human-centric design, both visually and physically. I want to provide a better user experience through people’s interaction and bring the satisfaction to everyday life.
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Grocery concept store during COVID-19 pandemic era
Project
Description
DESIGN BRIEF
- Developing a future in-store grocery shopping system based on COVID-19 pandemic situation
- Improving shopping safety and efficiency with less physical contact with staffs and customers
DURATION
14 Weeks
TEAM MEMBERS
Tony Lei, Ivy Li, Lance Li, Cynthia Qin
GenX As
Target User Group
INTERVIEW SUMMARY WITH MARY SMITH (49)
- Mom of a 17 years old boy
- Real estate Agent, busy schedule with work and family
- Grocery shopping every 2 weeks
REASONS TO GO IN-STORE SHOPPING DURING COVID-19
- Visually knowing what to get, especially for produce products
- No extra charge for delivery fee
- No delay for waiting the groceries to be delivered, in-store shopping has more controllability
In-Store shopping is all about
Freedom of choice & Sense of security and control
Shopping During COVID-19
- Limited store capacity
- People try to keep safe social distancing at the gate & checkout area
- Staffs & customers wear PPEs
- Staffs keep on sanitizing to maintain safety
- Groceries are delivered to communities
- Staffs organize & sanitize packages for self-pickup
- AI grocery truck appears in Shanghai
Shopping Process
Observation
BEFORE COVID
- Consistent flow or arrival, getting a cart and starting to do the grocery shopping
- Average of 5-7 minutes of checkout time
DURING COVID
- More waiting time for getting a sanitized shopping cart
- Checkout becomes a high risk process of shopping because of more physical interaction with staffs
Condense Contacting Area
INSIGHTS
- The meat, produce and checkout table areas tend to get crowded
- These condense contacting areas increase the potential of spreading the virus
- People spend more time on selecting preferred meat and produce products
- When buying in bulks, the checkout and bagging process becomes less efficient
Potential Risks
Shopping Carts
The shopping carts are the most direct contact during shopping. Each shopping cart needs to be cleaned and sanitized before and after use in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
Shopping Carts
Waiting In Lines
Grocery stores are limiting the capacity in order to help customers to keep safe social distance. People need to line up and wait outside to get into the stores.
Crowded In-store
Some spots tend to be more crowded, such as produce areas. People will spend more time to select the food, and the physical contact might be inevitable.
Inefficient
Checkout Process
People spend a lot of time for bagging, and there's a closer physical contact with staffs at the checkout tables. This process decreases shopping efficiency which leads to longer lines at the checkout area.
Project Goals
- Protecting customers and staffs safety
- Improving checkout efficiency
- Increasing customer flow
Create a safer shopping experience for customers, and decrease the chance of getting the virus
RFID Tags As
Supporting Technology
RFID TAGS OVERVIEW
- Rely entirely on the reader as power source
- Read from inches to 20 feet range
- Lower production cost nowadays compared to the early 2000s RFID tags
- Designed to be disposed along with consumer goods
- WORM (write once, read many)
RFID TAGS VS. TRADITIONAL BARCODES
- Data stored on RFID can be changed, updated and locked
- RFID tags are easier to track products' stocking information
- Traditional barcode is extremely limited at scanning range and has low scanning efficiency
- Most barcode scanners require human to operate and are more labor intensive
RFID In Everyday Shopping Usage
Japanese Convenience Store
Casual Wear Retailer
Chinese Cashier-Free Store
RFID Market Potential
INSIGHTS
- The United States has a RFID market value of 4.7 billion USD in 2017
- The estimated market size for RFID tags, readers and other related hardware is 9.7 billions USD (2023)
- In the North America market, we are expecting an CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 13.4% through 2023, when it could be worth 13.4 billion.
Design Focus
Produce items packaging with RFID tag
Quicker and easier bagging solution
New checkout system using RFID scanning technology to reduce close contact with staffs
Exclusive mobile app creates completed shopping process
Ideation Process
Checkout Station
Prototyping
PROTOTYPING GOALS
- To determine the suitable height and width of the self-checkout gate
- To ensure the placement of the checkout monitor
Final Designs
Checkout
Interface
HOW IT WORKS
- The checkout station scans and compares the items with your shopping list to remind missing items.
- Payment methods allow smart paying and credit card. No cash allowed since the pandemic.