In-Store Mobile Navigation
My Contributions
User Research
UX Design
UI Design
Prototyping
Usability Testing
THE TEam
Me (Personal Project)
Duration
6 months
OVerview
I’m guilty of going to Target for one item, but leaving with two full shopping bags. Though I love shopping there, I often wander through many aisles to find what I need.
After chatting with other Target enthusiasts, I realized it was a common problem. To streamline the shopping experience, I designed conceptual solutions within the Target app to help shoppers navigate within the store environment.
RESEARCH & Synthesis
Uncovering the problems
I wanted to know how customers felt about navigating their way in Target. Do customers struggle with finding items in-store? What do they do when they can’t find something?
With these objectives, I conducted 6 interviews with Target shoppers. Key findings were:
- 83% struggled with finding specific items in-store.
- 50% expressed frustration towards seasonal rearrangements. Stores reorganize to reprioritize inventory, but it forces customers to relearn the store layout.
- 50% use the mobile app to find an item rather than ask staff. But the app doesn’t give a full solution - those same shoppers remarked that after finding the aisle number on the product details page, locating the aisle in-store can be challenging. Aisles may not be in linear order or grouped together.
Say hello to Jess!
Considering Jess' needs, I ideated solutions and eventually prioritized three features to design: navigating to an item, navigating to a store category, and viewing rearrangements of usual items from an app notification.
INFORMATION Architecture
Thinking through the steps...
I mapped out task and user flows to understand the actions and app screens required to complete the tasks.
While creating flows and throughout wireframing, I included conventions from other navigation apps to improve user learnability. Though this feature is in a retail app, these flows purposely have a similar structure to that of Google Maps or Apple Maps — the user searches for the destination (or product) first, selects a route from several options, then begins navigation.
prototyping & testing
Testing in low fidelity
Since navigation is not a common feature in retail apps today, I wanted to get user feedback as early as possible. Once I had a lo-fi working prototype, I tested it with 5 shoppers who were familiar with the Target app.
In this first round of testing, I found that participants wanted to interact with the map. Besides using the search bar or browsing a category, some participants tapped the destination directly on the store map as a shortcut.
To address this, I designed additional screens to illustrate how users can access navigation and category details by tapping its map location.
Additionally, user testing revealed that half of the participants were wary about location-based notifications. I thought it would be convenient for shoppers to be notified of a recent inventory rearrangement (if it impacts their usual items) as they enter Target. However, concerns over location tracking and privacy were more important to shoppers than the added shopping convenience.
Since the feedback was so focused on location tracking, I wasn’t sure if the shoppers disagreed with the idea overall or just that aspect of it. I needed to hear from more users before moving forward.
Testing again to get answers
The second round of testing validated the flow that included map interactions. When tasked to navigate to the women’s clothing section, two participants tapped 'Womens' on the store map, selected ‘Get Directions’, then ‘Start’ to complete the task. An efficient shortcut, considering they didn't have to use the search bar!
As for notifications, participants unanimously said they do not want to be alerted about store rearrangements. Many worried that they would get too many notifications from this. With this clear feedback, I removed the notifications screen from the experience.
Final design & results
Meet your navigation buddy
An in-app feature for Target shoppers to find what they need in-store.
- Shoppers get step-by-step directions to a single product or an entire category
- Staff receive less inquiries about item locations, especially after store rearrangements.
Feedback highlights
82% of participants said they would use this feature again while shopping at Target. The feature had a 4.1 out of 5 average rating from 11 test participants.
Though there are always areas of improvement, the majority of feedback was positive from both rounds of testing.
“I’m familiar with the Target app since I use it for the mobile wallet RedCard and Target Circle. This feature was very easy to use! All options were very straightforward.”
final thoughts
What I learned
For new or unfamiliar features, validate with users often. There were a lot of unknowns. Where should it live within the Target app? Should it send notifications when a store rearranges inventory? What are the different paths customers can take? After each round of feedback, I was able to validate, refine, or scrap designs based on alignment with user feedback.
Adding to an existing app requires a deep study into the design system. To maintain consistency and manage user expectations within the app experience, I spent a lot of time analyzing the existing screens, flows, and UI elements in the Target app. Target's design system guidelines are not publicly available, so I had to piece it together myself. It was well worth it though, since participants found the app easy to use!
