Near Grocery Tracker Integration
Strategies:
Research
UI/UX Design
Prototyping
My role:
Conduct design research
Create wireframes, mock-ups, and pitch deck
Tools used:
Figma
Duration:
4 Weeks
Project Overview
Near is a Chinese start-up that provides quick and last-minute delivery service to users. This is one of the projects that I worked on during my time at Near.
The team was looking to develop new features that further engage users and offer a better product experience overall.
I decided to design a grocery tracker that takes the guesswork out of users’ daily schedules by keeping track of their groceries and showing their freshness all at once.
User Research
According to the USDA, around 30 to 40 percent of food supplies end up in landfills each year. The most direct way to reduce food waste is to find a way to use up all the groceries you have purchased. However, using up all the food in your fridge often requires meticulous planning, a handful of recipes, and a good knowledge of how fresh your groceries are.
User Interviews
Near’s target users are professionals between the age of 25-45 who love and enjoy cooking but do not have the extra time to plan and prepare for home cooking. To understand their process of cooking and grocery tracking, I recruited 5 users that fall within near’s target audience.
To quickly get a grasp of their routine, I asked the following questions:
Do you keep track of your groceries? If so, how?
Tell me about your process of deciding what to prepare.
How do you usually discover recipes for cooking?
How do you use up leftover groceries?
I received some insightful responses:
[In response to question 1] “Usually I don’t get the time to really take stock of my groceries, but when I am in the mood, I would list everything according to where they are stocked on a big sheet of paper, and check them off when I use them.”
[In response to question 1] “I hate having to log things one by one. If the process could be done in minutes then I would actually start tracking my groceries.”
[In response to question 2] "I hate thinking about what to make for dinner, it has to be both what I already have in the fridge and something that I am craving. Sometimes it takes me hours just to plan for what to cook."
[In response to question 3] "I tend to look for recipes just by searching for them online, but oftentimes recipes online are spammed with ads and I’m always unclear if they will actually turn out to be good."
[In response to question 4] “I try to use them in easy dishes, like stir-fries. But honestly, most of the time they end up in the trash.”
The problem
Based on my conversations with users and other research data provided by the team, I went back to the drawing board and listed out the problems I need to address with my solution.
Problems
Fridges and pantries can get really messy and it takes some time and effort to keep them organized
Some users feel that the process of logging groceries is too time-consuming and yields little benefit
Deciding on what to prepare for home cooking could be a troublesome task for some home chefs
Users feel guilty throwing out leftover groceries but don’t know how they could be used in dishes that they would actually want to eat
Solutions
Create a dashboard where users can see all of their groceries categorized by where they are stored
Simplify the process of listing groceries by allowing users to import items from past orders, scanning receipts, or object recognition
Build a collection of recipes that will be recommended to users based on what they have in stock and what they like to cook
Recommend recipes based on specific items nearing the end of their shelf life, while offering tips and tricks for preserving their groceries
Proposed Prototype
Home Page
Tired of discovering wilted produce in the fridge? The home page will offer users a clear overview of their grocery items and their freshness. The page also provides inspiration for cooking based on the items in stock and customizes recipes according to the time of the day.
On the bottom, users can find any last-minute groceries they need and have them delivered within 15 minutes using Near’s delivery service.
Grocery Page
On this page, users will find all of their items categorized based on where they are stored. They will receive a notification if there is any product that is near expiring or need to be tossed.
Users can take stock of their groceries by clicking each item. The page will show them more details regarding the item and users can edit the quantity and freshness of the produce according to their condition in real-life.
They will also see tips for keeping their groceries fresh and recipes using the specific item.
Grocery entry
To address the time-consuming process of listing groceries, users will be able to import their groceries in multiple ways. They could import items from past orders via their Near account, scan barcodes or receipts, or just use their camera and let the algorithm do the work.
Recipe Page
In the recipe page, users will see recipes curated based on their items in stock. They can sort these recipes according to their own diets with the filters on top.
Alternatively, they can search for keywords or recipes if they are craving a specific dish.
Next Steps & Reflections
After pitching this project to the team, a team member told me that he loved how this feature would actually help users of the platform while seamlessly integrating into the current product. I also received feedback that the recipe page could expand into a community for home cooks to share their cooking. In the future, I hope to further expand on the project and include more features that center around the community of home cooks. Throughout the 4 weeks of creating the project, I learned how to prioritize product objectives while still emphasizing user needs and creating a design from the users’ standpoint.