Store for groo
groo’s Store is an online shopping space dedicated to plants, offering plant-focused filters and trusted brands.
Company
Timeline
Platform
My Role
App / Web
Product Designer
December 2022 - February 2023
groo
Team
Thomas Kwon(Product Owner), Calloway Gang(Lead Developer), Chloe Youn(Product Designer), Jason Jeong(Developer), David Bae(Developer), Cherry Kim(Developer)
About the project
groo is a plant tech startup that collects user plant environment data and assists in the overall process from plant selection to plant growth.
This project was about creating a new store feature to sell plants and plant-related items to be added to the existing app. As it serves as a plant-exclusive shopping platform for the company's new e-commerce venture, the primary objective was to design it optimized for plant purchases, unlike conventional online stores.
Problem
We conducted interviews to identify the discomfort consumers feel when purchasing plants online.
1. One of the reasons consumers hesitate to purchase plants online is due to insufficient information about the sellers, leading to diminished trust.
2. Consumers responded that they prioritize reviews most when purchasing plants due to concerns about packaging issues. However, upon checking the surveyed online shops, it was found that most reviews were located at the bottom, making it time-consuming to gather review information.
Additionally, we analyzed the online shops frequently mentioned by the interviewees as their preferred choices for purchasing plants from the perspective of plant buyers, uncovering areas of inconvenience.
3. There were only general product search filters such as price/color, and there were no search filters related to factors typically considered when purchasing plants.
How might we provide trust and convenience in the process of purchasing plants online?
Solution
Brand Introduction for credibility
We transparently provide information about the sellers through a brand introduction showcasing the seller's profile and on-site photos.
Additionally, on the product detail page, we include the brand name alongside product photos, enabling consumers to easily identify which brand the plants are sold under.
Customer reviews located at the top
We arranged a Card UI at the top of the screen, emphasizing customer review information, allowing users to quickly check the plant delivery status before making a purchase.
Additionally, we gather all reviews of the brand in the brand store, enabling users to assess whether the brand generally delivers plants safely.
Specialized filters for plant search
We provide plant-focused search filters to conveniently help consumers find suitable plants.
By offering detailed plant search filters such as plant type, sunlight exposure, difficulty level, presence of pets, and hydroponic cultivation, users can search for plants tailored to their growing environment, which are not typically available in conventional online shops.
Background
Prior to developing the new plant-exclusive e-commerce feature, we conducted one-on-one interviews with six selected groo users to identify pain points in the process of purchasing plants online.
The selection of interviewees was based on the quantity of plant purchases made online within a year. The selected six individuals ranged from those who purchased between 2 to 4 plants, 5 to 10 plants, 11 to 30 plants, to those who purchased more than 31 plants. We assembled a diverse group ranging from individuals who purchase plants online sparingly to those who purchase them frequently.
Interview
We questioned the interviewees extensively about their process from browsing plants online to making purchasing decisions. Among them, the answers we scrutinized particularly closely are as follows.
When asked about the difference between purchasing plants online and offline, the interviewees mentioned that while they visit physical locations offline, they do not do so with online purchases, resulting in insufficient information about the sellers. Additionally, they explained that as a result, trust in the sellers diminishes, leading to hesitation in purchasing plants online.
When asked, 'What is the most important factor for you when purchasing plants online?' five out of six interviewees answered 'reviews.' They explained that if the packaging is inadequate, there is a risk of the plants arriving damaged, so they tend to check the reviews of previous buyers first.
Additionally, we collected information on the online shops where interviewees frequently purchase plants. However, since most of these are general online shopping malls like Amazon, it took a long time to find the desired plants.
Q. What are the differences between purchasing plants online and offline?
"Online, there is insufficient information about the sellers, leading to diminished trust and hesitation in purchasing plants."
Q. What is the most important factor for you when purchasing plants online?
Reviews - 5 out of 6 individuals
Interview conducted video
Goal
Based on the insights gathered from the interviews, we have established the following three key goals to provide consumers with overall trust and convenience in the process of purchasing plants online. We then applied solutions that meet these goals to store design.
1. Enhance the credibility of sellers.
2. Enable quick identification through reviews whether it's a place that safely delivers plants.
3. Facilitate consumers in conveniently finding the plants they desire.
Information Architecture
Since e-commerce features inherently involve a large amount of information, I carefully designed the information architecture to prevent it from becoming overly complex. I also focused on creating easy and simple pathways for users to find the information they are looking for, aiming to provide an overall positive shopping experience.
Low-fi Wireframes
Before diving into the actual screen design, I focused on designing Low-Fi wireframes, concentrating on the user flow and interface. I pondered over the arrangement and organization of information on the screens to ensure alignment with our established goals.
Design
Store Home
The initial screen upon entering the store displays various categories such as plants, gardening supplies, soil/nutrients, allowing users to purchase various items related to plants. Both the store home screen and search screen feature plant-focused search filters, allowing users to search for specific plants in detail.
Filter
It is a plant-focused search filter that allows users to search based on various plant conditions suitable for them. Users can search based on their environment, such as the type of plant, the amount of sunlight in their growing environment, whether they want easy-to-grow plants, and whether they live with pets.
Product Detail Page
Product detail page, where users check information about the products, is designed to emphasize both the plant brand information and customer reviews, aiding users in their plant purchasing decisions. It is structured differently from typical online shops, with a focus on providing users with the information they need when purchasing plants.
Brand Store
Brand store is a space where information about brands selling plants is gathered. It includes introductions about the brands, all products they sell, and aggregated reviews for the entire brand's offerings.
Select Product Options
When purchasing plants, users need to select various options for the product. Therefore, I designed the interface to be explicit and intuitive, enabling users to easily perceive information.
Product Ordering Process
The key in the process of purchasing products is to accurately display the information such as the selected items and address, ensuring users do not make any mistakes in their purchase. Therefore, from the shopping cart to the completion of the order, I designed a well-structured hierarchy of information to ensure that users understand all the details throughout the ordering process.
Order/Delivery History
Order/Delivery history viewing screen allows users to view the order and delivery details of the products they have ordered. It is designed to clearly show the current delivery status of the items ordered by the user. In the order details screen, the types of buttons vary based on the necessary or requestable information for each delivery stage.
My Shopping Profile
My shopping in the profile is a space where users can see all the information related to their shopping. The most important information for product purchases, the order/delivery history viewing, is placed at the top, followed by user-generated reviews and inquiries, and coupon information.
Additional Features
Summarized overall Order/Delivery history
We have visualized the entire order/delivery history for the past three months into five progress steps, enabling users to quickly review. It indicates the current progress of delivery for the items the user has ordered.
The most frequently checked information by users after purchasing a product is the order/delivery history. Therefore, to make it easy for users to intuitively understand, we have displayed the progress of product delivery stages along with status messages and progress bars.
Progress bar indicating the delivery status
Design Options
Because we had to build the plant e-commerce feature from scratch, it was anticipated to take a long time to develop. However, due to the limited development resources typical of startups, I pondered ways to meet the release schedule. As a result, I proposed presenting developers with design options, prioritizing those that could be quickly implemented, to expedite development. This included the original design, Option A, as well as an alternative, Option B.
Option A
Option B
Option A
Option B
Option A
Option B
Web Design
The newly released store feature was decided to be offered not only as an app but also as a web service, and I designed the app first before designing it in a web format. Since there are various differences such as screen size between web and app, I designed with these aspects in mind when structuring the information.
Impact
App Reviews
In March 2023, groo released a plant-specific store feature on both iOS and Android platforms. Below are user ratings and app reviews.
There were reviews stating satisfaction with purchasing plants and even gifting them to friends, as well as reviews highlighting the convenience of the purchasing process itself. Especially since many users who purchase plants from the store utilize features like watering reminders within the app and engage with the plant community, there is an anticipation for even more positive synergy in the future.
Lessons Learned
As I worked on creating the new e-commerce product feature, it was a truly valuable opportunity as a product designer to experience everything from user interviews to feature design and product development. Through this process, I learned the following.
I learned about the overall interview process, from preparation to outcome, by personally planning and conducting one-on-one user interviews.
I have acquired the method of analyzing user experiences and uncovering hidden needs to design product features.
By comparing and analyzing various products, I was able to differentiate features, thereby realizing how to create product competitiveness.
The process of contemplating the minimum viable design to implement features within the given timeframe and striving for team goals has propelled me to further growth.
Team
The process of creating the store feature from scratch was not easy, given the nature of our small startup team. Despite various obstacles such as a lack of development resources, our team managed to overcome them through collaborative efforts, enabling us to eventually launch the product. The response from users was also positive. After the release, our team was very pleased, and this journey was truly meaningful and significant.
groo Team