AutoZone eCommerce App

Redesign DIY B2C App

I work cross-functionally to collaborate with PM & Engineers to design a brand new eCommerce App for iOS & Android. Our team effort helps boost our existing App Store Ratings from 2.7 to 4.7.

Company

AutoZone Headquarters

Role

Lead UI & UX Design

Industries

Auto parts

Date

January 2023

When the AutoZone Mobile app was released in 2010, it was one of the first & few in the after-market automotive category. It brought with it convenient access to pricing & store availability right on your phone. In years since its release, the app took a Cinderella treatment to many other initiatives. Without a fully dedicated team and time to truly invest in navigating the fast-moving mobile space, the app struggled to stay parallel with the company roadmap and keep up with similar experiences in the e-commerce industry. I was part of an ambitious project to take a brownfield approach to redesign the AutoZone DIY Mobile App experience.

The Goal

Our goal for this project was to rebuild the app's foundation, transforming it into a robust product that supports business growth while delivering meaningful value to our users

The Challenge

We faced the challenge of completely rebuilding the app's foundation to transform it into a robust product capable of not only supporting the business's growth but also delivering meaningful value to our users.

UX Expectations

- The project began as a contributor mostly responsible for research & user experience design. - Strategizing with PO’s on upcoming roadmap items, refining user stories & evaluating progress on KPI goals. Working with UI to choose which hills to die on, conducting user research, defining user flows, helping with prototypes for testing and hand in hand fighting (and sometimes losing) battles for experience improvements. Collaborating with my fellow designers to produce hi-fidelity comps, design interactions and finesse the details. Bridging the gap between design and implementation, collaborating with developers on wireframe documentation and research for in-progress features. Reaching across the aisle to my web design counterparts & the design system team to ensure consistency, challenge the status quo & prepare for cross-platform features

App Audit & Research

1️⃣

Fundamental usability & stability were challenged

Beyond the notes on the dated UI, we found that users were frustrated with the navigation & sluggish response times.

2️⃣

The app specific feature set was lacking.

Compared to similar e-commerce apps, users felt we weren't up to par. They expected us to take full advantage of the power of a native application to enhance the experience.

3️⃣

Disparate & under developed features made omni channel efforts difficult

Compared to similar e-commerce apps, users felt we weren't up to par. They expected us to take full advantage of the power of a native application to enhance the experience.

Getting informed
With millions of people already using the app in a million different ways, we needed to take the time to deconstruct. Partnered with a 3rd Party Research team we broke out our analytical skills to complete a competitive analysis and conduct a pulse check on the current app's user base.

Early insights
We knew from the current market that users' expectations for mobile e-commerce had grown beyond pure catalog functionality. Through Q&A sessions with stakeholders and user interviews, we were able to take a fresh look at the current user journey to identify three critical pain points.

Key Takeaways

🔑 Usability Issues Confirmed: The app was indeed hard to use, dated, and slow, as initially hypothesized.

🔑 Evolving User Expectations: User expectations had evolved more than anticipated, showing a shift in how they interact with the app

🔑Integrated Experience: User expectations had evolved more than anticipated, showing a shift in how they interact with the app

🔑 Convenience is Key:The primary factor influencing whether users chose the app or physical store was convenience at the moment of need.

White Boarding / Wire-framing

Exploring the Opportunity & Defining the Vision: Finding where the app fit into the wholistic customer journey.
We’d gathered a little background, learned where we’d come from, then came time to break the mold, let our minds run wild. The reality was, our current product had little to no vision. We were about to embark on a journey without a North Star. But rather than looking at that as a negative, we saw it as an opportunity, a clean slate.

From the integration of OBD2 readers to geofencing for in-store modes and live chat help. The ideas flew in copious amounts. We wanted to create the most valuable tool in the garage: A Personalized Vehicle Centric Experience.

Let's be clear: faced with a mountain of technical debt, a tight deadline, and limited resources, we knew that these ideas weren't immediately achievable. But one key takeaway from this process was the importance of having a vision. Just as it's impossible to build a house without blueprints, it's equally challenging to build a product without a roadmap.

And since we're on the topic of architecture, let's talk about foundations

Foundation Goals

📌 A tool that earns higher levels of customer loyalty: Create intuitive and enjoyable self-service experiences that build trust and empower customers to nurture a long-term relationship.

📌 Fast and Seamless shopping experience: Enable quick and streamlined shopping and checkout experience for customers who know what they need.

📌 Guide customers to the right decisions: Provide consistent and personalized recommendations to make sure customers find the right part for the right job, every-time.

Defining the MVP

We'd explored outside the box and concepted what we thought would be the perfect product. Then came time to garner expectations & define the MVP. With fluctuating priorities and resources we needed to be flexible, agile😉.

Planning was open and collaborative guided by user expectations & requests, level of effort to complete & quality of the experience we could deliver given our constraints. We prioritizing incremental improvements of core functionality with frequent releases, over complete overalls and shiny new features. Our users had waited long enough..

Final Designs

With the updated AutoZone app, it’s easier to take care of your vehicle than ever before.
Order the right parts and accessories for your car or truck with just a few taps. Get the parts you need fast with same-day store pick up or convenient ship to home delivery. Track your AutoZone Rewards balance and get information on your local store straight from the home screen. With AutoZone on your phone, you're that much closer to getting back on the road

Guide Customers to the Right Decisions

Manage Vehicles
View DIY suggestions with maintenance Info, check your vehicle's specifications, keep track of all of your vehicles in one convenient place.

Fast and seamless Shopping Experience

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store or Ship to Your Home
Browse, research, and check availability from any of our 5,500 stores across the United States. Easily get the parts you need the same day with store pick up or have them shipped directly to your house.

A tool that earns higher levels of customer loyalty.