Improving in-store shopping experience by assisting individuals compare products over a range of criteria through interaction paradigms that feel natural.
Kory
Over the fall of 2023, me and my team of 3 individuals worked on the project of "embodied shopping" for Introduction to HCI/d course at Indiana University Bloomington. Project focus was on shoppers who collaborate remotely - one person shopping in-store and the other person coordinating remotely over video/calls/texts.
Goal
Kory
To understand and enhance the embodied shopping experience - the physical, cognitive, and social aspects for these users. We aimed to gain insights, identify opportunities, design solutions, and evaluate concepts to improve remote collaborative grocery shopping.
Solution
We designed a smartwatch voice-based grocery shopping assistant "Kory" that allowed users to engage with the products more intuitively and help make informed decisions while they are in the store.
Timeline
Tools Used
Disciplines
September - October 2023
Figma, Miro
Product Design, Interaction Design
Challenge
How might we focus on enhancing the embodied aspects of an experience around product comparisons, clarity in communication and remote collaboration?
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It became evident that this group faced unique challenges related to store offerings, product information, and joint decision-making from separate locations, leading to expressions of confusion and frustration.
How did we arrive here?
During the initial observation session at the grocery store, we noticed a distinct user group: shoppers collaborating remotely with partners Many of these shoppers were engaged in video calls, taking photos to discuss products, or seeking opinions from friends and family who were not physically present.
We conducted encompassed open-ended inquiries about their overall shopping experiences, complemented by specific probes that focused on key behaviors observed during our earlier observation sessions.
We observed 4 pairs of shoppers at Kroger who were coordinating their grocery trips over phone calls and video chats. By shadowing them through the store, we gained firsthand understanding of their behaviors, communication styles, and pain points.
Primary Research
How do they use their phone
holding phone to ear vs speakerphone, checking phone when browsing.
How they discuss and make joint decisions
about what to purchase over call/texts or both.
How's their body language
while talking to the other person - facial expressions, gestures
How they communicate over the call
their tone of voice, exact wording of descriptions, questions, & responses.
Makes decisions by sending text messages to each other or video calling regarding what to purchase
Feels a waste of time when asked to explain product details, share pictures and discuss which suits their need the best.
Tries best to describe items to the other person
Field Notes
Secondary Research
Throughout our project, we engaged in ongoing review of existing literature to guide our inquiry. Several studies offered particularly relevant perspectives.
Gillison and Reynolds (2016) examined how shopping goals impact experience, noting that people shopping for others have a higher chance of achieving a state of flow. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) defines flow as an intensely concentrated mental state that enhances productivity.
However, we observed remote collaboration often hinders flow through disrupted communication.
Merrilees and Miller (2019) investigated how companions impact shopping experiences and found that shopping companions enhance the overall experience.
This highlights the value of social connection, which remote tech could enhance.
Borges, Chebat & Babin (2010) also investigated the impact of companions on
shopping experience and found that although in general a companion enhances the shopping experience, the kind of companion affects the outcome of the experience in negative ways as well.
This validates our hypothesis & focuses on what external factors influence the mindset of a person while shopping.
Insights
Our observational and interview data offered a wealth of qualitative insights into our target users’ needs. By connecting insights across shoppers, we were able to define overarching themes through affinity diagramming.
Communication Focused on Comparison and Confirmation
Discussion centered around comparing products and brands, seeking confirmation from remote partners.
In-store shoppers relied heavily on calling/texting to assist with choices.
Groups expressed interest in key details like brand, pricing, package contents, availability of discounts.
Disrupted Shopping Experience and Flow
Constant remote communication frequently disrupted the in-store shopper's flow.
Shoppers expressed frustration from repetitively relaying product details via calls/texts.
Physical acts of phone conversations and texting made navigation difficult.
Opportunities to Streamline and Enhance Communication
Shoppers desired more efficient ways to collaborate remotely without obstructing their in-store experience.
Integrating features like collaborative list editing, product comparison, and seamless communication could be helpful.
Though no single sketch encapsulated the perfect solution, we were able to identify promising elements to explore further. We streamlined our focus on enhancing the embodied aspects of the experience through smartwatches.
Crazy 8s, Brainstorming & Ideations
We conducted a Crazy 8s exercise to rapidly explore potential design solutions. This activity pushed us to brainstorm widely, producing ideas ranging from pragmatic to outlandish
Opens phone and checks what to buy
Kroger App on Apple Watch chimes
Goes through aisles towards the bread section
Once there, huge variety of breads is confusing
Taps his watch on the label
Sees the item added in Kory
Scans one more item to KORY
Asks "Kory" which has the least sugar
Kory answers the query
It also displays simple visuals to get clarity
Helps with more details
Can share details with remote shopper
Concept Storyboarding
KORY
Your Shopping Chauffer
Scan Products
Ask Kory
Add one or more
Make decisions easy
Flow
The proposed solution is a voice-activated grocery shopping assistant “Kory” that helps shoppers compare products, and make informed decisions while they are in the store. The voice assistant is integrated with the smartwatch app.
Evaluation
Participants (10), used the prototype to scan grocery items on a provided shopping list, receiving narrated responses. They then provided feedback on the overall experience, focusing on the prototype's usability, functionality, and how they felt using it.
Since our solution involves a voice assistant and an intention to improve the embodied interactions, we decided to evaluate our design using experience prototyping.
User Accessibility and Ergonomics
Price label placement needs optimization for user accessibility and ergonomics.
Scan Angle for Watch Interaction
Adjustments likely needed to watch/tag angle and alignment to improve scan ability
User Fatigue and Visual Interface (VI)
Prolonged use can cause user fatigue indicating need to address visual interface strain
Collaboration is the key
Having multiple perspectives is crucial for any project's success. Teams bring multiple view points and skillsets which shapes the design further. It was surprising to see how my teammates (not from the design field) added exponential value to the project and discussions.
My best takeaway from this exercise is learning not to stick to a linear design process
Reflections
I had lengthy discussions with the team about the embodiment of our solution. We challenged and defended our viewpoints, delving into the core reasons to ensure we were effectively addressing the problem and its underlying rationale. This activity is essential in any design project.
Asking Why? Why? Why?
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Copyright © 2023 Shantanu Thorat
shantanuthorat23@gmail.com / sathorat@iu.edu