Overview
Meet Leily, a 26-year-old Master of Education student from overseas living in Caulfield.
She shops at Coles several times a week, balancing a tight budget, a passion for vegan and ethical products, and a busy study schedule.
Her challenges?
Missing discounts, overspending, and wandering aisles in search of specific products.
The Smart Trolley was designed to solve problems like Leily’s, making shopping faster, more affordable, and more ethical through a built-in digital screen that guides, informs, and supports shoppers in real time.
Meet Leily, a 26-year-old Master of Education student from overseas living in Caulfield.
She shops at Coles several times a week, balancing a tight budget, a passion for vegan and ethical products, and a busy study schedule.
Her challenges?
Missing discounts, overspending, and wandering aisles in search of specific products.
The Smart Trolley was designed to solve problems like Leily’s, making shopping faster, more affordable, and more ethical through a built-in digital screen that guides, informs, and supports shoppers in real time.
Roles
Roles
UX Researcher, UI Designer
Skills
Skills
Prototyping, 3D Designing, Visual Design, Research
Project Type
Project Type
Future Shopping Experiences
Results
Results
High Fidelity Product
Team
Team
Three UX/UI Researchers
Research Approach
The research stage was conducted collaboratively by three UX/UI designers, where we worked together on planning, interviews, and early insights.
From this shared research, each of us developed our own final concept.
The Smart Trolley was my individual solution, designed and developed based on my interpretation of the findings.
We ran research in two stages to deeply understand the problem and validate the solution.
Round One (Understanding The Problem)
Participants: 10 international students (ages 23–27) living near Caulfield.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews + shadowing during real shopping trips.
Key interview questions included:
How do you currently find discounts or promotions?
What slows you down when shopping?
How do you locate vegan or ethical products?
What frustrates you during checkout?
Participants: 10 international students (ages 23–27) living near Caulfield.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews + shadowing during real shopping trips.
Key interview questions included:
How do you currently find discounts or promotions?
What slows you down when shopping?
How do you locate vegan or ethical products?
What frustrates you during checkout?
Findings
Budget Tracking Issues: 8/10 (80%) struggled to track discounts and stay within budget.
Ethical/Vegan Product Challenges: 7/10 (70%) had trouble finding affordable vegan/ethical products.
Product Location Difficulties: 7/10 (70%) wasted time locating items.
Missed Discounts: 5/10 (50%) missed promotions due to poor visibility.
Budget Tracking Issues: 8/10 (80%) struggled to track discounts and stay within budget.
Ethical/Vegan Product Challenges: 7/10 (70%) had trouble finding affordable vegan/ethical products.
Product Location Difficulties: 7/10 (70%) wasted time locating items.
Missed Discounts: 5/10 (50%) missed promotions due to poor visibility.
Problem Statement
"International students at Coles Caulfield often face time-consuming shopping trips, miss discounts, and struggle to find affordable vegan or ethical products. These challenges lead to overspending, reduced confidence in purchasing decisions, and fewer sustainable choices."
"International students at Coles Caulfield often face time-consuming shopping trips, miss discounts, and struggle to find affordable vegan or ethical products. These challenges lead to overspending, reduced confidence in purchasing decisions, and fewer sustainable choices."
Opportunity
Create an in-store solution that saves time, improves budget control, and supports ethical shopping habits.
Create an in-store solution that saves time, improves budget control, and supports ethical shopping habits.
Round Two ( Prototype Testing Users)
Participants: 10 different Coles shoppers (mix of international and local customers).
Methods: In-store simulation using a mid-fidelity interactive prototype (Figma) and 3D trolley model (Blender).
Goal: Test if the solution addressed Round 1 pain points.
Participants: 10 different Coles shoppers (mix of international and local customers).
Methods: In-store simulation using a mid-fidelity interactive prototype (Figma) and 3D trolley model (Blender).
Goal: Test if the solution addressed Round 1 pain points.
Result
Shopping time reduced by 30%: 7/10 participants finished faster.
Discount awareness improved by 50%: 5/10 spotted offers they’d otherwise miss.
Ethical product discovery increased by 40%: 4/10 found vegan/ethical products they hadn’t purchased before.
90% satisfaction: 9/10 felt more confident in budgeting.
Shopping time reduced by 30%: 7/10 participants finished faster.
Discount awareness improved by 50%: 5/10 spotted offers they’d otherwise miss.
Ethical product discovery increased by 40%: 4/10 found vegan/ethical products they hadn’t purchased before.
90% satisfaction: 9/10 felt more confident in budgeting.
Refinement After Round Two
The feedback from round two testing highlighted opportunities for improvement. Participants suggested making discount notifications more visible and simplifying the aisle navigation visuals. While these changes were not implemented in the current prototype, they informed clear directions for future design iterations.
The feedback from round two testing highlighted opportunities for improvement. Participants suggested making discount notifications more visible and simplifying the aisle navigation visuals. While these changes were not implemented in the current prototype, they informed clear directions for future design iterations.
Solution
The Smart Trolley is a standard trolley fitted with a digital display linked to the shopper’s loyalty profile.
Key Features:
Real-Time Discount Alerts: Highlights relevant promotions instantly.
Product Locator: GPS-style navigation to products in-store.
Ethical Product Filter: Instantly identifies vegan/cruelty-free products.
Checkout Options: Pay directly on-screen or scan a single barcode at the cashier.
The Smart Trolley is a standard trolley fitted with a digital display linked to the shopper’s loyalty profile.
Key Features:
Real-Time Discount Alerts: Highlights relevant promotions instantly.
Product Locator: GPS-style navigation to products in-store.
Ethical Product Filter: Instantly identifies vegan/cruelty-free products.
Checkout Options: Pay directly on-screen or scan a single barcode at the cashier.
UX Process
Round 1 Research, Collaborative research with 10 international students like Leily.
Problem Statement: Defined opportunity areas from data.
Synthesis & Ideation: Aligned findings with design goals.
Prototyping: UI in Figma, 3D concept in Blender.
Round 2 Testing : In-store simulation with 10 new shoppers.
Refinement: Adjusted navigation flow and discount display.
Round 1 Research, Collaborative research with 10 international students like Leily.
Problem Statement: Defined opportunity areas from data.
Synthesis & Ideation: Aligned findings with design goals.
Prototyping: UI in Figma, 3D concept in Blender.
Round 2 Testing : In-store simulation with 10 new shoppers.
Refinement: Adjusted navigation flow and discount display.
Results And Impacts
Across 20 participants total:
Shopping time reduced by ~30% (14/20 users).
Discount awareness improved by 50% (10/20 users).
Ethical product discovery increased by 40% (8/20 users).
90% user satisfaction (18/20 users).
Impact: In prototype testing, participants showed a 50% improvement in identifying relevant discounts and ethical products compared to their usual shopping experience.
Across 20 participants total:
Shopping time reduced by ~30% (14/20 users).
Discount awareness improved by 50% (10/20 users).
Ethical product discovery increased by 40% (8/20 users).
90% user satisfaction (18/20 users).
Impact: In prototype testing, participants showed a 50% improvement in identifying relevant discounts and ethical products compared to their usual shopping experience.
Conclusion
While the research was conducted collaboratively by three UX/UI designers, the Smart Trolley was my own concept, designed from the ground up based on our shared insights.
By validating the design with two separate participant groups, the project proved it could:
Save time
Reduce overspending
Increase access to ethical products
While the research was conducted collaboratively by three UX/UI designers, the Smart Trolley was my own concept, designed from the ground up based on our shared insights.
By validating the design with two separate participant groups, the project proved it could:
Save time
Reduce overspending
Increase access to ethical products
