Ahold Delhaize USA
Web, mobile, in-person experiences to enrich eCommerce
Ahold Delhaize USA (formerly Peapod Digital Labs) is a technology company that provides e-commerce solutions for its grocery retail brands, including 2000+ stores of Stop & Shop, Food Lion, GIANT, and Giant Food.
As a Product Experience Design Co-op, I helped bridge digital and physical commerce by designing intuitive, scalable, and accessible experiences across mobile, web, and in-store; impacting over 8 million digitally engaged customers/week.
Timeline
June 27 - December 16, 2022
Platforms
Web, Apple iOS
Tools
Figma, User Zoom, Apple Xcode, ARKit, RealityKit, Microsoft 365
Role
Product Design, UX Research, Prototyping, User Testing, Project Ownership
My significant contribution was:
Wayfinding
Help shoppers find items faster via in-app labels, 2D Map and Augmented Reality.
Design Systems
Unify design across brands for scalability, consistency on web and mobile apps.
iOS Experiences
Utilize iOS 16 APIs to bring frequently used features to iPhone home & lock screen.
Wayfinding
Goal
Make it easy for customers to quickly locate items, enhance in-store shopping efficiency; ultimately, increase customer satisfaction through an improved wayfinding experience that saves time.
Ideation
At the start of the project, I initiated an analysis phase collaborating with stakeholders to identify wayfinding pain points, conduct competitive analysis, and brainstorm potential solutions. UX Research, customer journey mapping revealed that finding specific items in-store was tedious, frustrating, and inefficient. We determined that guided wayfinding in the app would help shoppers navigate more easily, providing a clearer path through aisle locations and making grocery shopping quicker, easier, and more efficient.
In-app Labels, 2D Map & AR Directions
To improve accessibility, I designed stock information labels, 2D indoor maps, and AR directions to guide shoppers directly to items.
Dynamic Island on iOS 16
I explored integrating newly released iOS 16’s Dynamic Island API to allow shoppers keep track of directions while switching between apps, such as Reminders where they store groceries list.
User Tests
To assess the effectiveness of mobile wayfinding solutions, the UX Researcher and I conducted 45-minute moderated feedback interview sessions with 4 regular users of the Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Food Lion apps. We evaluated different approaches, including in-app labels, 2D maps and AR, using interactive prototypes. This feedback informed design iteration decisions to better meet user needs.
Impact
3 out of 4 participants responded positively, stating that guided wayfinding helped them “find things quicker, make life easier, and shopping more convenient.” This feedback validated the importance of integrating guided wayfinding into our solution, significantly improving the shopping experience.
Design Systems
Expanding the System
Following the success of the Wayfinding project, I expanded Ahold Delhaize’s design systems to strengthen consistency across mobile and web apps for Stop & Shop, Food Lion, and Giant Food brands. I contributed new components and adapted existing ones for broader, cross-brand scalability.
Designing Versatile Components
I worked on making UI components more versatile, including buttons, menus, typography, and iconography, to support features scaling up from mobile to web, and down from web to mobile. This unified approach enabled shoppers to experience seamless navigation, regardless of the platform they used.
Cross-Platform
These improvements also helped extend functionality. For example, aisle location data could now be accessed on web, and mobile shoppers gained richer experiences like product recommendations through widgets and real-time Live Activities on iOS.
iOS Experiences
Home Screen Widgets
I designed iOS Home Screen widgets that enabled shoppers to engage more effectively with quick access to browsing and shopping tools. These widgets were designed in small, medium, and large sizes, surfacing past purchases, shopping lists, cart, rewards, savings, and digital coupons.
Leveraging AI and ML
To personalize the widget experience, I leveraged AI and machine learning insights from the Wayfinding project. By analyzing shopper's browsing patterns and purchase history, the widgets surfaced dynamic product recommendations and daily deals, helping shoppers discover relevant savings and increasing engagement directly from their iPhone Home Screen.
Live Activities
To further enhance the digital engagement and satisfaction of shoppers, I implemented the Live Activities API on iOS 16 to provide real-time updates for pickup and delivery orders. Shoppers could view their order status directly from the Lock Screen, helping them stay informed without needing to open the app.
Pickup and Delivery Orders
Live Activity notifications were designed to trigger automatically 30 minutes before a pickup window, providing proactive, time-sensitive updates. I led the design and prototyping for both pickup and delivery orders, creating a seamless, responsive experience that kept shoppers connected and improved overall fulfillment transparency.
Reception
"I’m a big fan of this, it saves me time and energy. It’s like having a personal assistant, it helps me shop conveniently.”
Customer
Giant Food, User testing participant, 2022
“This feature is beneficial for accessibility reasons, and helps me be more independent.”
Customer
Stop & Shop, User testing participant, 2022
"Rohan was a co-op, and I had the pleasure of working with him on personalization and wayfinding projects using in-store maps and augmented reality. Rohan has helped solve major pain points in our customer's grocery shopping experience and will positively impact people's everyday lives.
In the time that I worked with Rohan, I was consistently impressed by his motivation and ability to complete tasks with minimal guidance. He is a proactive and detail-oriented individual who consistently delivers high-quality work. It was also refreshing to get his perspective as he rarely shies away from innovative ideas.
In addition to his technical skills, Rohan is also a team player who is always willing to go the extra mile to help his colleagues. He has excellent communication skills and is able to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Rohan will be a valuable asset to any team. I highly recommend him."
Joseph Tumilty
Product Design Manager, Ahold Delhaize, 2022
