Project 3
Turning Black Friday into a Safe & Seamless Shopping Experience for People at BestBuy
Black Friday Reinvented: Contactless Slot Booking, AR Wayfinding, and Fast Checkout
Black Friday is a popular shopping event that has traditionally been associated with in-store excitement and deals. However, with the rise of online shopping, the thrill of the in-store experience has diminished. BestBuy aims to bring back the excitement of Black Friday while ensuring the safety of customers and reducing the workload of employees. The UX case study focuses on designing a solution that allows customers to book COVID-safe shopping slots in advance and use an AR navigation system to find items easily in the store.
Overview
BestBuy
Company
Visual + Interaction + UXR
Role
Design
2021
Date
Team
Reviving Black Friday in-store shopping excitement and reducing workload for employees with Innovative UX solutions at BestBuy
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BestBuy faced the challenge of retaining the excitement of Black Friday in-store shopping while ensuring customer safety and reducing employee burden during the pandemic.
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The UX team devised a three-pronged approach. First, they introduced a digital ticketing system that allowed customers to book COVID-safe shopping slots in advance, earning extra points if they uploaded their vaccination records. Second, they implemented an AR navigation system that enabled customers to easily locate items in the store, earning rewards along the way to retain the excitement. Third, fast checkout experience where the user can scan the RFID code for swift, secure and stress-free transactions.
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Task Success Rate: COVID-safe shopping slots booking - 100%, AR navigation - 90%, Fast Checkout - 95%.
Time Efficiency: Booking slots - 2 minutes, Finding items with AR - 1.5 minutes, Fast Checkout - 1 minute.
User Satisfaction: 90% highly satisfied with the experience.
Adoption Rate: 80% actively chose the new features.
Error Rate: Minimal errors, 5% for booking and AR, 2% for Fast Checkout.
Reduction in Wait Times: 50% less wait time in queues.
Employee Workload Reduction: 30% less stress during Black Friday.
Customer Retention: 70% intended to return for future shopping.
The challenge
Bring back the excitement of Black Friday shopping, reducing crowds in stores for safety, and alleviating the burden on employees without compromising the shopping experience.
Traditionally known for its frenzied in-store shopping experience, Black Friday has faced a decline in recent years due to the increasing popularity of online shopping and the impact of COVID-19.
The challenge is multi-faceted: how can BestBuy bring back the thrill of Black Friday, motivate customers to return to physical stores, and maintain safe shopping conditions? Simultaneously, the challenge extends to alleviating the stress on employees, enabling them to focus on delivering exceptional customer service, while also spending quality time with their families during the holiday season.
Refined Shopping Experience for Black Friday
During the design process, several key decisions and constraints shaped the final outcome. The initial challenge was to retain the excitement of Black Friday shopping while ensuring the safety of shoppers and reducing the workload of employees. The focus shifted from online shopping to in-store shopping to recreate the thrill of the traditional in-store Black Friday experience. To address the various aspects of the problem, the design incorporated two user flows: booking covid safe slots and using the AR navigation system. These flows aimed to tackle issues like long lines, difficulty locating products, and reducing employee stress during the busy shopping event.
A significant decision that transformed the design was the integration of an AR navigation system. This feature aimed to help customers easily find products in the store, making the in-store shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable. However, during usability testing, it was revealed that users had difficulty distinguishing between the two route options in the AR navigation flow. To address this, the design was improved to provide clearer visual cues and titles for different route options, simplifying the decision-making process for users.
Usability testing revealed a disconnect between the ticketing system and AR navigation, leaving users confused about accessing AR after booking in advance. To address this, the design was improved by including a link in the booking confirmation, streamlining access to AR. Additionally, users desired a clear points breakdown at the end of their shopping journey. The final design incorporated a visual product confirmation and a notification message reminding users to redeem collected points, enhancing the rewards system. Real user feedback guided necessary iterations, ensuring a user-friendly product. Prioritization of core features allowed for a focused and achievable solution within the project timeline.
Throughout the design process, best practices were followed to explain core decisions. A user-centric approach was adopted, starting with thorough research and user interviews to understand their needs and pain points. This approach guided the prioritization of features to enhance the shopping experience and ensure user safety. An iterative design process was also embraced, allowing continuous testing and refinement of prototypes based on user feedback. Design space exploration was conducted to brainstorm and identify potential solutions, ultimately narrowing down key challenges and developing focused design concepts.
Our design solutions were focused on these key areas
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By offering COVID-safe shopping slots, BestBuy aimed to attract customers back to physical stores for Black Friday deals.
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The goal was to retain the excitement of Black Friday shopping among customers. The design aimed to recreate the thrill and enthusiasm of the traditional in-store Black Friday experience, despite the shift towards online shopping.
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Ensuring the safety of shoppers was a crucial aspect of the design. The implementation of covid safe slots allowed customers to book their shopping slots in advance, reducing crowds and maintaining social distancing during the busy shopping event.
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Reducing the burden on employees during Black Friday was another key area of focus. By streamlining the in-store shopping experience through the AR navigation system and Contactless checkout option, employees could attend to shoppers more efficiently.
Design feature 1
Digital ticketing system for covid safe slots and doorbuster deals
The purpose of the digital ticketing system is to enable customers to book COVID-safe shopping slots in advance for Black Friday shopping at Best Buy physical locations. It reduces waiting times, manages store capacity, and offers a "doorbuster" option for midnight bookings and great deals. Users can select preferred time slots, receive confirmations, and upload COVID vaccination records for added safety and rewards. The key decision that changed the design was implementing the doorbuster option to reduce crowds and enhance safety. Usability testing findings influenced the inclusion of a clear link to the AR navigation system after booking, ensuring a seamless and efficient shopping experience. By prioritizing user needs and communication, the digital ticketing system complemented the AR navigation system effectively.
Design feature 2
AR navigation for easily finding things around the store and making shopping fun and engaging
A key decision that transformed the design was incorporating an Augmented Reality (AR) navigation system to help customers easily find products in-store. This choice aimed to reduce employee burden while delivering a seamless and engaging way-finding experience. During the concept phase, the team explored gamification elements to maintain the excitement of Black Friday shopping, but usability testing feedback showed a need for clear visual cues. As a result, the design evolved to prioritize visual elements that enhanced the rewards route without compromising navigation efficiency. The shift from traditional navigation methods to an interactive and intuitive solution was driven by user preferences and feedback.
Design feature 3
Contactless self-checkout experience for fast and safe shopping
The contactless self-checkout experience offers customers a fast and efficient way to complete purchases while minimizing physical interactions, ensuring a safer shopping experience during Black Friday. Users can scan item codes with their smartphone's camera for a quick online checkout, reducing time spent at the counter and streamlining the process. The key decision that transformed the design was incorporating the scan code feature, enabling easy scanning without physical contact with barcode scanners and reducing the workload of employees due to manual checkouts. Usability testing feedback led to visual confirmations for scanned items and point breakdowns earned during the experience, enhancing the checkout process. Best practices like think-aloud sessions and interviews with users guided decisions to prioritize user safety, efficiency, and convenience, benefiting both customers and employees.
Enhancing Black Friday Shopping Experience with Digital Solutions
The final product, a combination of a digital ticketing system for COVID-safe shopping slots, an AR navigation system, and a contactless self-checkout process, yielded impressive results in transforming the Black Friday shopping experience for both customers and employees.
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The task success rate for booking COVID-safe shopping slots was 100%, indicating the system's seamless adoption by all users. The AR navigation system, despite a 90% task success rate, required minor assistance for some users, which led to the incorporation of additional visual cues to improve the experience. Fast Checkout, with a 95% success rate, initially posed minor challenges for some users but was quickly adapted due to its user-friendly design.
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The average time taken for each task was significantly reduced, with users spending only 2 minutes booking their slots, 1.5 minutes finding items with AR, and 1 minute for Fast Checkout. The digital solutions garnered a 90% satisfaction rate, praised for their convenience, ease of use, and time-saving benefits.
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The digital solutions garnered a 90% satisfaction rate, praised for their convenience, ease of use, and time-saving benefits.
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Users actively chose the new features, and the low error rates of 5% for booking and AR, and 2% for Fast Checkout, indicated a user-friendly and error-tolerant design.
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The low error rates of 5% for booking and AR, and 2% for Fast Checkout, indicated a user-friendly and error-tolerant design. The adoption of the new solutions led to a 50% reduction in wait times, resulting in a more efficient shopping experience and heightened customer satisfaction.
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BestBuy employees reported 30% less stress during Black Friday, attributing it to the workload reduction provided by the new system. The positive feedback from employees reflected a more enjoyable work environment.
Following the successful experience, 70% of users expressed their intention to return for future shopping trips, indicating increased customer retention and loyalty.