Tous les Jours App Concept
Duration:
2-3 Days, July 2020
Team:
Solo, Personal Sprint
Role:
As the sole contributor I took on the roles of both User Researcher and Designer.
Tools/Skills:
Figma, Rapid Prototyping
Context—
Tous les Jours is a bakery & cafe that sells coffee, cakes, and bread.
During my senior year of high school (2018), I worked part-time at Tous les Jours (TLJ) as a barista and cashier.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I've missed going to local cafes like TLJ. As a self-proclaimed cafe enthusiast, I decided to design a mobile app for Tous les Jours as a personal project.
Note: Any research was based on my experience there, conversations with old coworkers, or what I could find online. Product pictures are from the Tous les Jours website.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I've missed going to local cafes like TLJ. As a self-proclaimed cafe enthusiast, I decided to design a mobile app for Tous les Jours as a personal project.
Note: Any research was based on my experience there, conversations with old coworkers, or what I could find online. Product pictures are from the Tous les Jours website.
Problem & Purpose—
Lack of customers results in a decrease in revenue and an increase in food waste.
Past coworkers have told me that since the pandemic, the bakery has sold less bread and has had days where no customers come in. Inside seating, which used to be a big draw for customers - primarily for studying & meetings - is no longer permitted.
Due to the decrease in business, TLJ is typically unable to sell all breads and pastries made on a given day; the conditions of the pandemic make it less feasible to donate food as well, which contributes to food waste. However, adhering to physical distancing guidelines and protecting both employees and customers is important. Sadly, if the dip continues, the bakery will be forced to close and fire its employees.
Due to the decrease in business, TLJ is typically unable to sell all breads and pastries made on a given day; the conditions of the pandemic make it less feasible to donate food as well, which contributes to food waste. However, adhering to physical distancing guidelines and protecting both employees and customers is important. Sadly, if the dip continues, the bakery will be forced to close and fire its employees.
Research—
Previous pain points were worsened by the pandemic.
Common issues customers would face:
- Ordering something we no longer made (our menu was outdated)
- Coming in and seeing what they wanted was sold out
- During the pandemic, going outside even with a mask can feel risky, which prevents many from going to TLJ
- No means for digital tips, only a physical tip jar
- Food waste from unsold items
- During the pandemic the biggest issues are ensuring safety and generating revenue
Competitor Analysis—
In order to study what’s currently avaliable in the app market, I looked into the apps of 2 nearby cafe and coffeeshop competitors and found that competitors' apps have favorable features but do not efficiently display content.
Goals—
Increase safety for both employees and customers.
By meeting these goals below, we are promoting a sense of security among both user groups and consequently creating a better customer experience that together would maintain revenue.
- Pre-Ordering - By allowing customers to order ahead of time, the amount of time a customer spends in the store is decreased, limiting contact for both customers and employees.
- Reflect Inventory - Some customers are looking to buy specific things. If out-of-stock items were reflected in the app, customers would not have to make an unnecessary trip. By preventing unnecessary trips, TLJ could prevent customer dissatisfaction too.
- Convenience - During the pandemic convenience is redefined to include safety (minimal or no contact, safe pickup) in addition to ease of use. Meeting both criteria would bring in more customers.
Mid-Fi Mockups—
Select Iterations—
Final Mockups—
Order Flow + Design Decisions—
Compact, but easily navigable menu with pictures to parallel the experience of seeing baked goods in-store and display information more efficiently than competitors.
Layout of menus is staggered to make it easier for people to scan through using a rigid left-right downward motion.
Favorites page for regulars who always order the same things.
Removed bottom dashboard (as seen in previous screen) so users are focused on the UI for ordering.
Option to choose iced/hot because in real life, often people would order their drinks without specifying iced/hot and we'd have to ask for clarification.
Easy access to the cart by swiping up so users would not have to abandon this order to navigate to their cart, increasing chances of sale.
Presented all crucial information on the confirmation: what was ordered, prices, payment method used, and time until pickup.
Made clear how long an order is taking and where to view your order.
To make sure users notice, I would design an animation showing where you can view your most recent order once you exited the order confirmation.
Prototype—
REFLECTIONS—
Designing with both the business and customers in mind.
In the begining I designed mostly with the customer in mind, considering how they might categorize the typical items a bakery would sell, what type of layout would be the most intuitive to use, and paralleling the real life ordering experience.
But a main goal of mine for this sprint was to create a way to help TLJ generate enough business to survive through the pandemic. This required me to approach my screens from a business standpoint as well. Features like Favorites to make ordering faster and design decisions to prevent user errors encourages more sales.
I think in many ways both a business and customer approach compliment each other because a happy customer can mean more revenue, but in a future iteration I would like to consider how a rewards program, for example, fits into the business model.
Something I think I could've put more consideration into this time around would be clear directions for curbside pickup/takeout to further ensure safety during the pandemic and laying down a strong foundation so the app could still be valuable in a post-pandemic world. Also, I'm curious about how the pandemic will affect mobile ordering apps. Will there be more dependency on them? Will people have built a habit for using them?
But a main goal of mine for this sprint was to create a way to help TLJ generate enough business to survive through the pandemic. This required me to approach my screens from a business standpoint as well. Features like Favorites to make ordering faster and design decisions to prevent user errors encourages more sales.
I think in many ways both a business and customer approach compliment each other because a happy customer can mean more revenue, but in a future iteration I would like to consider how a rewards program, for example, fits into the business model.
Something I think I could've put more consideration into this time around would be clear directions for curbside pickup/takeout to further ensure safety during the pandemic and laying down a strong foundation so the app could still be valuable in a post-pandemic world. Also, I'm curious about how the pandemic will affect mobile ordering apps. Will there be more dependency on them? Will people have built a habit for using them?
FOR THE NEXT ITERATION—
Additional features I would like to include with more time:
- Contextual actions within the cart (adjusting quantity, deleting, favoriting?) — to improve ux
- Option to add a tip — considering secondary users
- Option to input how you would like your order to be packed — to improve ux and possibly, encourage sustainability
- Consider business side of this app (for employees and TLJ) — considering secondary users
- An integrated rewards program experience — to improve ux and possibly encourage sales
- User testing with the prototype, not just polling — to improve ux