Express
App Store Mode
Most retail apps forget about you the second you walk into the store. Store Mode was the opposite idea: a feature that wakes up in-store and hands you what you actually need on the floor, like a map, an associate to chat with, and a scanner to check sizes without hunting down staff.
The Challenge
- Shoppers had no easy way to see a store's layout or what was in stock
- Getting help meant finding an associate, with no way to reach one from the aisle
- The in-store playlist was whatever it was, with no input from the people in the room
- Checking a size or stock meant tracking down staff and waiting
- The reviews and customer photos from the website vanished once you were in the store
- Local store events and promotions went mostly unnoticed
The Solution
- 1 Store map: find what you came for without wandering
- 2 Associate chat: reach someone for help right from the aisle
- 3 Playlist input: give shoppers a say in the in-store music
- 4 Barcode scanning: check sizes and stock on the spot
- 5 Reviews and photos: the website's social proof, in the store
- 6 What's on: local events and promotions for that location
Results
- Designed and validated with real users through research and usability testing
- Held for a future fiscal year rather than rushed out the door
- Left behind a blueprint for how the app could keep showing up in stores
- Proved the concept even though the timing wasn't right to ship it
Gallery
Click any image to expand
"Not everything good gets shipped on schedule. Store Mode was the right idea at the wrong moment, and I'd still build it today."