COMMUNITY SHARING APP IN COVID-19

The Problem

This six week long project began with trying to understand the food waste being produced by the Big Box stores like Costco in New York. But amidst the worldwide pandemic caused due to the deadly Corona Virus, the battle of survival for every human being in the United States elevated. Panic caused people to stock up on huge stacks of food from bulk producing stores like Costco thus causing a shortage of basic things like milk, eggs, bread, etc.

The Process

STEP 1

The first step in the process was to visit the nearest Costco and investigate the environment. It was important to document the site and talk to the people visiting it during these times to gain an insight into the problem and analyze the pain points of the users.

Secondary Research

The second step in the process was to revisit the site and also do some secondary research pertaining to the problems of the users experiencing grocery shortage.

Amidst a global pandemic, how can we maintain social distancing and prevent the bulk storage of essential goods by ensuring its availability and supply on a community level?

PErsonas

EMPATHY MAPS

Focussing on the measurable change

• How can we avoid “stocking up” on goods without going to Costco once every two weeks?

• How can we stay safe and ensure regular supply of goods for us and our family?

• How can we avoid traveling to Costco by Ubers and other modes of public transport to purchase daily essentials?

PROTOTYPing the app - costcogain

Based on all the problems determined and observations made, I analyzed the problems of the users. My proposal was to design a community sharing app for Costco that would help people living in a neighborhood to collaborate virtually and share the products which have been purchased in bulk.

The next stage in the project was to determine the information architecture of the app to be designed and design a low-fidelity prototype of the app.

UX Flow Chart

FEATURES based on insights from user research

1) Personalization

The app motivates people to login through their google/facebook account and make their personal profile so that they can manage their orders and their account better.

2) find your neighbors

This feature helps a user find people in their neighborhood who also shop at Costco for their daily essentials. They can message them on the app. If they are planning to make a visit to Costco, they can split and share the products with them.

3) groups

Groups enable users to form groups within a neighborhood to collaborate virtually on a regular basis and discuss the products they need. They can choose to send one member from every family every two weeks to purchase essentials for every family on the group to avoid over-crowding in the store and also prevents people from “stocking-up” for months together.

4) split

The split feature provides the users with the ability to split the cost of the common products and also share the products which has been purchased by an individual on a community level. For example : A set of 36 rolls of kitchen towels/toilet paper can be split amongst 3 families which would be sufficient for them for 2 weeks.

5) Recycle

This feature helps the user to locate the nearest recycling center in their neighborhood where they can dump/get rid of the packaging waste produced as a result of these products purchased in bulk.

6) car pool

This feature helps the user to look for people in their neighborhood who might be going to Costco on a particular day. They can ask them for a ride along(post pandemic) or message them on the app to ask them to share the products with them.

7) track, rate and scan

This feature helps the user to track the products they have ordered online, rate their in-store experience and scan the bar code of the products which does not have a price tag on them.

Resource ecosystem diagram

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