App design ——
IKTISSAB app
Aims to provide a delightful grocery shopping experience using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) for Al-Othaim Markets, one of the leading stores in Saudi Arabia (SA)
— Project Type
Master Dissertation
In cooperation with Al-Othaim Markets in KSA
Grade: Distinction
— Role
User Experience Researcher
— Project Date
May-Sep 2019
— Tools Used
NVivo 12
SPSS
Adobe Suite (PS, AI)
Project Summary
The grocery shopping culture in Saudi Arabia (SA) is different from other countries (Before Saudi Vision 2030). Mainly, males are responsible for shopping and females are responsible for cooking. Therefore, this leads to some communication issues and unsatisfactory shopping experiences.
By using a mixed-methods approach which includes field studies, an online questionnaire, a workshop, market analysis and (customers, managers and experts) interviews. An app concept of a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) has been developed to enhance grocery shopping and reduce communication issues.
The app will also add value and a competitive advantage to Al-Othaim Markets in light of the recent increase in competition in the grocery sector in Saudi Arabia.
The Challenges
Cultural Perspective
The males in the Saudis family tend to be responsible for grocery shopping, whereas the females are responsible for cooking. Therefore, the shopping and cooking are undertaken by two different people, which leads to some misunderstandings or miscommunication.
People used to go to the retailers as a social activity due to the limited places of entertainment in Saudi Arabia, but the government recently tended to open various entertainment places across the country, which has affected the number of grocery shoppers.
Market Perspective
Customer loyalty has been identified as challenging because of the lack of differentiation and quality within retail stores in SA.
There is an increase in competition in the market because the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) allows foreign investors to have 100% ownership compared to 75% which was previously the case.
The field of collaboration between businesses and academia is not mature enough in Saudi Arabia.
The process
To tackle these issues and find the appropriate solution.
The Double Diamond framework was used with a mixed-methods approach (Qualitative vs Quantitative)
Field studies
Observation for 5 supermarkets in KSA
Online questionnaire
942 responses
Workshop
Evaluate the personas and find suitable solutions
Market analysis
12 cases
11 Experts interviews
From academia and industry
3 Customers interviews
4 Managers interviews
Customers’ main pain points
Communication issues between males and females
Males usually do the grocery shopping on the weekend, after dropping off their family at the family gathering. Thus more than often, the females are away from their phones or perhaps do not notice it.
Availability and location
of products
Supermarkets moving the products around the store makes it difficult for customers to find the product as they expect
Clarity of prices and offers
There is no consistency in the design for the price tags and the offers within Al-Othaim Markets
Different sizes and colours and design for the price, without clarifying why this is.
"Promotion" signs everywhere, which sometimes covers the signs and labels in that section
Price varies on checkout
The lack of clarity of offers leads to a problem in the shopping experience, which is related to Saudi culture
“If the price differs at the checkout, I have to pay because I do not want to delay the queue, or I am worried people will think I am stingy”
Only one "Price checker" and hard to find in the store with some difficulty to use due to the small screen
Personas
were developed based on the results of the interviews, online questionnaire and workshop
Is the market ready?
Customers Perspective
Saudi Arabia has an 88% smartphone use rate, which is nearly double the global average
69% Prefer to use mobile apps to prepare for grocery shopping
73% aware of emerging technologies
49% has used one of emerging technologies
Supermarkets Perspective
There is a use of various technologies by supermarkets
such as mobile apps, self check-out, website and price checker tablet
but not being designed intuitively
E.g. all of self- checkout are out of order and customers prefer to go to the cashiers because they help in packing products
The Solution
AI and AR are considered the most appropriate solution for this project in light of the rise in the awareness and use of emerging technologies in Saudi Arabia and the relative readiness of the technical infrastructure in the supermarkets.
Artificial intelligence(AI)
Find the nearest store that has the most products on the shopping list
Understand shopper preferences and choices to make personalised suggestions
Al-Othaim Markets has more than 3 million customers using the loyalty program, allowing AI to analyse the data to provide a profile for each customer and help Al-Othaim to recognise the unseen shopping pattern and predict the customers' behaviour.
Augmented Reality(AR)
Navigate in store
Check the prices or offers
The Scenario
Writing the shopping list by using IKTISSAB app then send it to the responsible person
69% of customers prefer to use mobile applications to prepare for grocery shopping
The responsible person receiving the shopping list
71.5% like to receive the shopping list through mobile apps
The app looking for the nearest branch has the products
Notification to suggest an alternative product in case of limited availability
Female want to know about any updates if the products out of stock
Using AR to navigate based on the shopping list
For convenience and to find all products easily
Using AR to check the price or offers
Clarity of price and personalised offers
