Instacart Case study
Adding price comparison capabilities to Instacart
UX Design | UI Design | User Interviews | Research | Information Architecture | Interaction Design | Wireframes
| UX Writing | Responsive Design | Prototyping | Usability Testing |
Role
End to end UX/UI designer
Brief
Adding a feature to an existing app
Timeline
4 weeks
Approx. 90 hours
Tools
Figma
Miro
Google docs
Excel
Online shopping
The popularity of online grocery shopping surged with the COVID-19 pandemic when shoppers needed a way to safely get groceries. Now, buying groceries online continues to be a popular choice.
What is Instacart?
Instacart is an online grocery delivery and pickup service that allows customers to shop for groceries from local stores using a mobile app or website.
How it works
Users can browse a diverse selection of products, add items to their virtual cart, and choose between delivery or pickup options. Instacart's network of personal shoppers fulfills orders, providing a convenient and time-saving alternative to traditional grocery shopping.
The process of ordering on Instacart
Are customers looking for a way to compare grocery prices without having to perform an extra step?
Exploring the market
After conducting a thorough analysis of various grocery delivery service apps, I gained valuable insights into their target audience, offered features, and overall objectives.
This enabled me to pinpoint the key priorities of customers using this kind of app.
Findings for grocery delivery service apps
Audience
Adults ages 20-50 slightly more women than men
Goals
Provide solutions for everyday life, and ensure customers get their groceries delivered reliably
Cost
Yearly subscriptions $100-$150. Plus service fees and general higher costs of items
Speaking to Instacart customers
I asked Instacart users a series of questions relating to how and why they make a purchase, in order to gain some qualitative data.
Some repetitive answers interviewees shared are;
“When choosing between 2 items, I would say what matters is the price and timing of when my groceries would arrive.”
“I would love to see a more 3D view of the item I’m purchasing”
“It’s annoying when they deliver the wrong item because typically I’m really relying on it”
“I try to justify the high prices of online grocery shopping with convenience”
Finding patterns that lead to practical conclusions
To understand customers needs, wants, goals and pain points I divided their answers into categories based on common patterns I found in their answers.
Categorizing and finding patterns from their answers
Writing down interviewees answers
What these findings mean practically
Priority
Convenience is king! People online shop because they don’t have time or don’t want to. Therefore they appreciate features that contribute to the convenient experience. Such as choosing delivery times or automatic tips.
Item selection
People don’t grocery shop for something new online. It’s typically a last minute essential or basic groceries they need. Therefore, they get especially frustrated when the wrong item is delivered.
Following through
When customers check out and see that their top priorities of convenience and fair pricing aren't being met, they tend to abandon their purchase.
Prices
Customers value good prices and want to save wherever they can. People dislike the high prices while online shopping and often compare prices first even if they will end up spending extra.
Empathizing with our audience to then define them
Plaiy empathy map
I learned that customers can be divided into 2 personas.
The first shops for most groceries online
The second shops for last minute items only
Each have different goals and pain points but both shop with the same motivation of purchasing groceries online for the convenience.
Instacart User personas
I want to figure out a way to help users feel like they’re maximizing the value of their money, while keeping the convenience element of the process that they truly value.
Things to keep in mind when creating a solution
How might we?…
Instacart how might we chart
Visualizing the problem so we can create a solution
Instacart storyboards
Action plan
I want to add a feature that allows users to compare grocery prices with one click.
They would have a visual showing them if the price for the product is low, average, or high, and would be able to compare the exact item in other stores to see if it’s cheaper, without having to click out of their page they’re on.
Additionally I want to add a space for users to check similar products in their store, say the exact one they’re looking at is expensive but maybe another brand has a good price.
Choosing features that will add value
Understanding that customers want an easy method to compare grocery prices online, it's essential to identify which enhancements to the feature would benefit our customers the most. Given that convenience is the top priority for customers, It’s essential that we keep the feature simple yet highly effective.
Instacart feature set
Finding all possible pathways
Created to guarantee a flow and determine alternate paths the users can potentially take when using our feature. This will help us pre determine as much as possible, any missing steps or gaps in the users process.
Instacart purchasing an item task flow
Instacart purchasing an item user flow
Don’t reinvent to wheel;)
Once I had the content of what to include, I did another round of secondary research mainly for UI and usability of a price comparison feature. I wanted to explore standard patterns people like and find what’s most useful to implement into my designs.
Price comparison feature research
Building out the Instacart price comparison feature
Instacart price comparison feature Lo-Fi wireframes
Usability testing
To gauge success I created a clickthrough prototype to test usability of the feature. I had participants perform a task how they would typically do it, and then perform the task using the new feature.
Usability test results
Based on effort vs impact I circled in red the iterations that would add value and therefore I would change.
Instacart price comparison usability test results
Iterations
Instacart iterations
Final designs
Instacart price feature final designs
Did we create a feature that helps users be as cost efficient as possible while still being easy to use?
Impact
By adding this feature to Instacart, the assumption based on research is that it will improve:
Customer satisfaction and loyalty; Providing a price comparison feature can build trust and loyalty among customers. When customers consistently find competitive prices on Instacart and save money, they are more likely to become repeat users and advocate for the platform to others.
Stay Competitive: Price comparison functionalities are increasingly becoming a standard expectation in online shopping experiences. By incorporating this feature, Instacart can stay competitive in the market and attract customers who prioritize price transparency and value.
Drive Business Growth: By improving the overall shopping experience and offering a price comparison feature, Instacart can potentially attract new customers, increase customer retention, and drive higher sales. This, in turn, can contribute to the growth and success of the Instacart platform.
Moving forward
How will we determine success?
Being that I’m not actually implementing this feature, I would measure success more in regards to concept validation. If I performed further competitive Analysis, market research and received expert evaluation validating my conclusions.
What would I have done differently?
With more time and resources, I would have loved to explore Instacart's’ UI design choices and understand why they decided to use certain patterns.
Ideally I would also want to come up with a solution for for the price graph for users who are colorblind.