Problem Space

The challenge they bestowed on us was to bring brick and mortar sensory experiences online so that consumers around the world can get an enriched shopping experience like the one they may get in store. Each team was lead by a Shopify mentor/coach and we are off to the races to solve the design challenge at hand!

In order to do so, I asked myself the following questions in pursuit of a solution:

• When do consumers make their purchase online vs in-store?

• Which items do consumers purchase online vs in-store? and the reasons as to why?

• What are the key aspects that make for a great overall shopping experience online vs in-store?

With our research in place, we were now able to deduce that consumers are looking for an interactive shopping experience, with people who’s opinion they value, trust, and most importantly, need in order to make a purchase they feel confident in and not suffer from buyers remorse.

The key theme that consumers were looking for was enhancing the social aspect of the shopping experience, so we asked ourselves:

“How might we provide a social aspect for consumers to enhance their shopping experience?”

To solve the problem, we looked at emerging technology that supplements experiences that typically requires people to be in the same physical space. In doing so, we were able to identify and leverage Shopify’s newly rolled out 3D imaging and AR/VR technology and incorporate that into our design solution.

At this stage, we wanted to create a persona. This will help us outline what motivates our users and the types of services to push forward, which provides us with the design inspiration needed to begin the ideating process.

Sketches

While putting ourselves in the shoes of our persona, we began sketching out our ideas to unlock and explore potential design solutions that will best bring the social aspect our users are looking for.

Some of the key features worth noting are the following as depicted in the sketches from right to left below:

Usability Testing

We had a few prototypes in place, which we tested with 5 participants.

Key areas for improvement gained from the feedback can be seen below:

Pocket Market

Hard work, sweat and tears of joy went into this solution so that we can finally give you Pocket Market!

See for yourself by exploring the prototype below :)

Personalize your space:

The app that allows a user to virtual assess if items they are shopping for suit their personal space.

Shop with a friend:

Furthermore, if they are still having trouble deciding, they have the ability to invite a friend via video call to take part in the virtual shopping experience and gain their opinion on which items to buy or leave behind.

At the end of the call the user is left feeling reassured and confident in their purchase, but also joyful for having had a fruitful shopping experience with a friend whose opinion they value and company they enjoy.