Daniel Constantin

Work

About

trader joe's app

Reduce shopping uncertainty

A mobile app that helps customers avoid crowded stores and check product availability before visiting.

Brand-Aligned

Privacy-Respecting

Research-Driven

The problem

Trader Joe's stores are small and often become crowded during peak hours. The combination of high customer traffic and full-sized carts creates congestion that makes navigating aisles difficult. As a result, customers experience frustration while shopping.

This crowding undermines Trader Joe's otherwise enjoyable and distinctive shopping experience. Customers who visit primarily for unique or specialty items may reconsider their trips due to the stress of navigating crowded stores.

Customers visit primarily for unique products and frequently make impulse purchases.

Customers visit primarily for unique products and frequently make impulse purchases.

Unclear product availability causes frustration, especially when items are out of stock or discontinued.

What We Learned

To explore opportunities related to Trader Joe's, I helped create and distribute a survey to 8 Loyola University New Orleans students, including one Trader Joe's crew member. Using the responses, my team conducted a thematic analysis to identify key insights.

Research & Discovery

What We Learned

To explore opportunities related to Trader Joe's, I helped create and distribute a survey to 8 Loyola University New Orleans students, including one Trader Joe's crew member. Using the responses, my team conducted a thematic analysis to identify key insights.

Research Artifact · Customer Persona

Age 19

Film Student

Budget-Conscious

Eco-Aware

Olivia Marks is a film student always looking to experience something fresh. She wants to eat healthy but doesn't have a big budget. Her art focuses on environmental awareness.

Schedule

Busy with lengthy film classes Mon–Thu and heavy homework on Fridays. She only has time to go shopping on weekends, but still has a lot of work to finish before the next week.

Likes

  • Unique food

  • Organic food

  • Sustainable products

  • Quirky atmosphere

Dislikes

  • Unsustainable products

  • Junk food

  • Crowded areas

Favorite Products

  • Chili & Lime Corn Tortilla Chips

  • Apple Cherry Fruit Leather Wrap

  • Bubble Waffles (Limited Time)

Goals

  • Buy her favorite specialty items from Trader Joe's

  • Discover interesting new products

  • Avoid rush hours to finish shopping without waiting around

  • Have time to complete schoolwork and hang out with friends

Pain Points

  • Limited time items getting pulled

  • Trouble moving through crowds

  • Long lines

  • Spending too long looking around at new products

Research Artifact · Customer Journey Map

Using the persona, I mapped Olivia's typical Trader Joe's visit across six stages to identify where the experience breaks down and why.

Emotional arc across the journey

Excited

Frustrated (peak)

Bittersweet

Stage 01 /

Arrival & Parking

Doing

Driving to Trader Joe's and finding parking

Thinking

"I can't wait to see what new stuff they've got—I'd really like some bubble waffles!"

"Ugh, I can't find where to park and I bet they're real busy too."

Feeling

Initial excitement followed by annoyance

Stage 02 /

Searching the Store

Doing

Searching the store for products

Thinking

"Wow, these signs are funny!"

"I'm basically playing bumper carts just trying to get down the aisle."

"Where'd they put the bubble waffles? Did they stop selling them?"

Feeling

Intrigued but overwhelmed and indecisive

Stage 03 /

Navigation & Cart

Doing

Navigating the store after picking products

Thinking

"Oh no, look at the time! I'd better check out already."

"Turning this cart is getting tough — I got way more than I thought."

Feeling

Slightly stressed

Stage 04 /

Checkout Line

Doing

Waiting in line to checkout

Thinking

"This line is endless… I was supposed to start homework half an hour ago!"

"I just want to get home and try that new pasta. I'm starving."

Feeling

Impatient, anxious and hungry

Stage 05 /

Cashier

Doing

Checking out with a cashier

Thinking

"Finally at checkout. Let's get this over with."

"This all costs $150?! Can I put something back?"

Feeling

Relieved, then stressed and indecisive

Stage 06 /

Exit

Doing

Exiting the store and getting in the car

Thinking

"Finally out! Time to try some new snacks."

"These chips taste great, but I wish I didn't spend so long looking around. I just can't afford to when lines are so long."

Feeling

Satisfied yet regretful and pressed for time

Design Process

From Ideas to Direction

Early brainstorming explored two paths: making the crowded experience more enjoyable, or reducing in-store traffic. Some concepts — like gamified checkout rewards or social trivia during wait times — were inventive, but ultimately would have added complexity and slowed things down further.

I pivoted to the more impactful solution: help customers avoid peak hours entirely, rather than trying to transform behavior inside a crowded store.

Key Design Decision

"The CCTV concept provided strong visual insight into store crowding, but raised real privacy concerns. I replaced it with a parking lot traffic indicator — equally informative, and aligned with Trader Joe's values."

A

Direction

Store Traffic Visibility

Let users check how busy their local store is before committing to a trip. Initially explored live CCTV feeds, later replaced with a parking lot indicator.

B

Feature

Product Availability

A product page showing item stock and quantity. Limited-time products are clearly labeled so shoppers aren't confused when they disappear.

C

Feature

Trip Scheduling

A weekly view of expected store traffic lets users schedule visits during quieter windows, fitting shopping around their lives rather than the other way around.

D

Pivot

Privacy-First Redesign

Trader Joe's doesn't use in-store cameras. The CCTV concept was replaced with a parking lot traffic indicator — a strong crowd signal that respects privacy.

Final Solution

The Companion App

The final concept is a Trader Joe's companion app designed to reduce shopping stress by giving customers the information they need before ever leaving home. The prototype was built in Figma as a high-fidelity interactive mockup.

Location Selection

Set a specific Trader Joe's so all data — traffic, inventory, scheduling — reflects that store.

Store Traffic

View real-time busyness via a parking lot traffic indicator. Avoid crowds without relying on intrusive cameras.

Product Availability

Browse inventory, check stock levels, and see clearly when limited-time items are running low.

Shopping List

Build a list and see live availability for each item. Know before you go whether what you want is in stock.

Trip Scheduling

View weekly traffic patterns and plan a visit when crowds are lowest, timed around your schedule.

Testing & Iteration

What Users Revealed

I conducted usability testing with five students using the high-fidelity Figma prototype. Participants completed six tasks covering core features: setting a store location, checking busyness, adding items to a shopping list, using product filters, and scheduling a visit.

The sessions surfaced several recurring patterns that reshaped the final design.

Most users skipped or ignored the tutorial entirely — even a brief one-time walkthrough wasn't read.

Removed the tutorial. The interface was redesigned to be self-explanatory from first interaction.

Users instinctively reached for a search bar first — both for items and for store locations.

Made the search bar functional on the map page and restructured tasks to match search-first behavior.

The hamburger menu used for product filters was confusing — users didn't recognize it as a filter control.

Replaced with a visible dropdown filter and inline search bar on the product page.

The CCTV feature felt intrusive to some users — unclear why a grocery app would show live camera feeds.

Replaced with parking lot traffic visualization — same practical value, no privacy concerns.

Problems

Changes Made

Outcomes & Reflection

Reflection

This project reinforced how much of good UX is about removing friction rather than adding features. The clearest lesson: design must align with both user expectations and brand values — not just technical possibility.

What I Learned

  • Even short tutorials go unread — interfaces must explain themselves

  • Search is often the first tool users reach for in digital products

  • Design decisions must reflect company values, not just technical possibility

  • The best solution isn't always the most sophisticated one

What I'd Change

  • Require location selection before accessing any feature — more realistic and teaches the app naturally

  • Build out individual product pages with nutritional info

  • Expand filter options based on new feature set

Next Steps

  • Design detailed individual product pages

  • Expand and test filter functionality

  • Run usability sessions on new features

  • Explore onboarding that teaches through doing, not instruction

Trader Joe's Mobile App Concept · UX Case Study · 2025

UX Design · UI Design · Prototyping

Research-Driven