Christmas Shopping
Navigating the hectic reality of christmas
Research project to shopping habits
In this student research project, we delved into the shopping habits of customers, with a primary focus on the ICA grocery store. Our final goal was to create a comprehensive Customer Journey Map that would show the paths customers take within the store, their pain points, and potential solutions.
To achieve this, we employed a combination of surveys, interviews, the creation of a central persona, in-store shadowing of our test subjects, and the construction of a detailed Customer Journey Map.
Process
Organisation
Our first step involved organizing our project tasks efficiently within the agile framework. We created a task list categorized into "Backlog," "To-Do," "Ongoing," and "Done." This structure allowed us to work more effectively, complete with estimates of how long each task would take. As the Scrum Master, I was responsible for updating and transitioning tasks between these categories.
Starting the research, we recognized the need to develop a general understanding of our customers before delving into solutions and journey mapping. Thus, we initiated the process with quantitative research, which entailed sending out surveys via Google Forms, resulting in 17 responses.
Quantitative Research
Building upon our survey findings, we designed interview scripts to gather qualitative data. This was crucial because while quantitative research provided an overview, we required deeper and more specific insights. To ensure a comprehensive approach, we conducted four in-depth interviews.
As part of the interview process, we shadowed and recorded customers as they navigated the store during their routine shopping trips. This was in order to observe patterns and interactions within the store in real-time. Customers were also encouraged to "Think Out Loud" and articulate their thought processes as they moved through the store.
Qualitative Research
After we finished the interviews we condensed and retrieved what was most important to create a person. Doing this allowed us to better understand our user and analyse potential changes and improvements. This helped us to identify any pain points or areas of friction that may be causing issues for our users. With this information, we were able to create user personas that represented the different types of users that we had identified through our research. These personas helped us to better understand our users' needs, goals, and pain points, and allowed us to create solutions that were tailored to their specific needs. Using this we created a customer journey map which allowed us to identify key user experience moments for optimisation purposes. The map also revealed opportunities for personalization and customization, resulting in a more personalized and engaging experience for our users.
Through analyzing the map, we identified friction points and barriers that may prevent users from achieving their desired goals and implemented solutions to improve the overall user experience and make it seamless. The customer journey map played a vital role in our research and design process, enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of our users and create solutions that effectively meet their needs.
Key takeaways: what we found
Cars vs No cars
Respondents and interviewees reported mild stress associated with Christmas shopping. Notably, those with access to cars exhibited lower stress levels compared to those without.
Inflation woes
52% responded that they have not been noticably impacted by changes in pricing, whereas 48% responded that they have changed their christmas shopping plans in response.
Time spent shopping
Most interviewees underestimated their time shopping, often spending more time than expected. It's important to note that our presence during shadowing may have influenced this observation.
