ICA
ICA Gruppen AB is a Swedish retailer franchise with a focus on food and health.
The group also owns a bank, real estate division and a pharmacy chain.
Role
UX Designer
Project
Master thesis
Client
ICA Gruppen
Year
2022
Background
This thesis project explored opportunities to enhance the shopping experience in ICA's physical stores, with the goal of improving customer satisfaction, boosting staff efficiency, and supporting ICA's revenue growth. Through research and analysis, recommendations were presented to ICA as potential solutions to strengthen their competitive position in the retail market.
ICA - Master thesis
Service
Digital app
Client
ICA
Year
2022
Have you ever struggled to find a product in a grocery store? I have.
One day, I was searching for coriander seeds at my local ICA. Naturally, I went to the spice department. But after several minutes of searching, I discovered the seeds were in the Asian food section. That moment of frustration made me realize how common this challenge is—and it inspired me to investigate ICA customers' pain points and create a solution that improves the shopping experience.
A Personal Experience
Challenges
Difficulty locating products, leading to frustration and inefficiency. For ICA, this risks lost sales as customers leave empty-handed or turn to competitors.
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Customer
I was searching for a product that I assumed was out of stock, only to find it placed in a different location than where it’s usually stocked in my regular ICA store.
Customer
When I'm looking for something specific, I use ICA's app to search. However, I'm not always great at reading maps, and I often end up going to the wrong shelf anyway.
Customer
I was looking for porridge rice. I searched in the right section, but I was looking for the wrong packaging.
Solution
Hitta Rätt Lätt is a digital service that uses GPS mapping and product images to help users locate products quickly and easily. My redesign improves ICA’s existing app, addressing user pain points while delivering value to both ICA and its customers.
GPS
Users navigate faster with a GPS, aided by color-coded departments for clarity.
Before
After
Product images
Product images allow users to identify products instantly, reducing search time.
Before
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After
Testing & Results
System Usability Scale (SUS) Test:
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The prototype scored 85.4, indicating excellent usability.
Physical tests at ICA Maxi with three groups:
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Users with prototype: Average time to find products – 3 minutes.
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Users without prototype (using paper shopping list): Average time – 8 minutes.
Efficiency improved by 63%.
Value
For ICA:
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Increased sales as customers find products more easily.
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Competitive advantage and customer retention.
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Fewer questions for staff and better resource allocation.
For Customers:
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Saves time and energy.
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Enhances the shopping experience.
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Simplifies navigation with visual and interactive tools.
Takeaways
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Test in the Right Environment: Testing the prototype in a real store provided valuable insights and validated its practicality.
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Involve Experts Early: Collaborating with ICA staff throughout the process ensured the solution addressed real needs.
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Consider A/B Testing: Comparing the redesign with ICA’s existing app could further validate the effectiveness of the solution.