Brandon Whitehead Alex Brand Aaron Eppinger Britney Luckey Mobile App for Smarter, Easier Shopping Abstract: Grocery shopping can be a real hassle, especially for shoppers with specific preferences, dietary concerns, or an interest in saving money. In recent years, the basic shopping list has evolved into a variety of tools and mobile applications, each with different improvements over the classic pen and paper version. These tools all have great ideas, but there is no one app that does it all. We propose a mobile application that consolidates all the available information and tools into a single, intuitive shopping assistant, providing health and price comparison across different brands and stores, in store navigation, and easy list sharing, all focused around a customizable list of needed items. The effectiveness of our solution will be evaluated by analyzing in-app surveys and data gathered from willing users on the effects of the app on their habits and spending. This mobile app will have the potential to benefit everyone who grocery shops, in particular those people with specific dietary needs or concerns. Introduction: Grocery shopping is an integral part of the lives of most Americans. According to a survey from 2008, 32 million Americans will go grocery shopping on any given day, spending an average of 41 minutes just in the store [6]. In 2011, the average consumer unit (about 2.5 people) spent over $6,400 on food, almost 13% of their total annual expenditures [7]. Making the safe assumption that most of these people either don t enjoy shopping or don t like spending money, these statistics show definite room for improvement. Another 2012 survey shows that almost 80% of shoppers tried at least once in a while to purchase healthier foods, but only 31% of shoppers put a lot of effort into it [8]. The objective of our mobile application is to help people make improvements in all these areas while streamlining the grocery shopping process. The traditional solution to streamlining shopping is a simple handwritten grocery list. As mobile technology has become a staple of society and apps have sprung up for nearly everything, solutions have evolved towards shopping applications like Fooducate, RedLaser, and Out of Milk. They each have a variety of different features, like scanning food on the shelf, comparison shopping, suggested coupons, list creation and sharing, etc. However, they re all based primarily around a couple of specific features [6, 7, 8]. Our solution is an app for grocery shopping and everything involved therein. It will focus on the whole experience, from making a list and finding coupons and the cheapest store, to making healthy decisions and keeping records of trips and expenses. Our application will be successful if it decreases time spent shopping, decreases money spent shopping, creates healthier shopping decisions, or makes grocery shopping easier for the user. Optimally, the solution will meet all of these goals. The success of our app will be measured
primarily through user feedback. A quick in-app survey for randomly selected users will ask about the applications effectiveness in each of these areas. The application will also have a feature that, unless turned off by the user, will anonymously collect data on the user s purchases in regard to both cost and health rating and how often they use the app. Background / Review of Past Work: Shopping for food is a common task for every household, so applications have been created to make the shopping experience more productive and efficient, both in terms of saving money and choosing healthier food. We examined the available apps and broke them down into two categories. The first category focuses on applications that are not store specific and can be utilized regardless of where they are used. The second category focuses on store specific applications that were made for use at specific grocery stores or store chains. Not Store Specific Apps Fooducate is a mobile nutrition application that lets users scan or type in a food item. The application then displays a nutrition grade based on an algorithm that takes into account parameters such as nutrients, fat, vitamins, sugar, etc. It also shows nutrition values based on a recommended serving. A problem with Fooducate is its inability to make lists. Each item is entered separately and once displayed, the information is not retained [2]. Figure 1: Fooducate RedLaser [9] also displays a Fooducate rating when a user scans or enters in items. However, RedLaser is able to create lists of these items and display their prices. After testing RedLaser it became clear that the app was made for the simplest of lists. In list view, the items cannot be categorized and there is no indication of where the prices are from. The next application we compared was Out of Milk. It is designed specifically for making grocery lists. While it is easy to make a general list, the app is missing nutritional facts about the food items and prices on items are only available for products selected from the Deals section. A positive feature of Out of Milk is the ability to share and sync lists with other people [11]. The final non-store specific mobile app I reviewed was Shopper Grocery Shopping List (SGSL). This app is similar to Out of Milk, but without the deal section. Generic items are chosen from displayed categories. For example, the dairy section leads the user to items like milk and cheese. Restricting the user s choices to generic items or titles prevents access to prices and nutritional facts [5]. Figure 2: Out of Milk, Deal Section
These are all good applications but each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Fooducate focuses on displaying nutritional facts one item at a time. RedLaser actually extracts Fooducate s nutritional information and then adds a price feature, but only has a basic list feature. Out of Milk is great for making lists but lacks nutritional information. Shopper Grocery Shopping List is too general to be effective. Store Specific Apps The Shoppers application home screen is similar to Out of Milk. A nice feature of the Shoppers app is its ability to locate the nearest store and display its weekly ads. When adding items from the ad section, users can view the prices in their list. Intuitively, upon selecting a specific store, prices on all items would be provided. However, prices are not displayed when items are added from the app s search results. Also, the app gives no nutrition information and new items are placed immovably at the top of the list [10]. Figure 3: Shoppers Next, we looked at Target s application. Their app requires the user to sign in before making a list. This suggests a lack of privacy that could deter users from using the app. The app s navigation was possibly the best of all the apps we tested. The menu allows users to easily see what sub category they are in and to skip back to the previous high level category with one click. All the other applications require users to repeatedly press the back button. This may seem a minor issue, but when adding ten items from ten different categories the back pressing becomes a serious annoyance. After selecting an item, users are shown general health information, but not in as much detail as Fooducate [12]. The Harris Teeter app is similar to the Shoppers application. It has a deals Figure 4: Target section and a separate list section. The app is actually missing the ability to browse though. Users have to know the name of the product they want and there is no pricing or nutritional information about any item [7]. Figure 5: Peapod The final app we tried was Peapod. This application is the most thorough in respect to features. All products have both prices and health information. In addition, when viewing a product there are icons that inform users if the product is free of common allergens. Another nice feature is the apps ability to sort and filter search results with filters like calories and grams of fat. After adding an item to their virtual cart, users can then view the item in a list form. The apps problems are found in its implementation, not in a lack of information. The application is slow, likely because it is layered over a web browser. Another issue is how often users must use the back button to navigate when browsing for food. The app only allows one list, the shopping cart. Users are not able to create separate lists from their cart [8].
Review of Past Work - Conclusion Our plan is to make a non-store specific mobile application that builds on the strengths of each of the applications we reviewed, while avoiding their problems. The comparison of features will provide the basis for our design. Target Users The target user group for the application is shoppers who use lists, people with allergies or medical conditions, vegetarians, and bargain hunters. The entire group needs a way to keep track of the items they want to buy. People with specific preferences need to make sure that all the items they buy fulfills their requirements, whether it s for health reasons or lifestyle choices. Bargain hunters want to save as much money as possible when they go to the store. List makers will benefit, because in addition to a seamless way to replace the traditional pen and paper method of list creation, they also get added functionality, such as item availability, pricing ahead of time, item and store suggestions, fast list sharing, reusable lists, easy access to past transaction costs as well as charts, and possibly an easy way to integrate their list with Peapod [8]. People with specific preferences will benefit because the app offers suggestions while they are creating a list, and also assists them in choosing items when they know basically what item they want but not the exact product. Also, the app will benefit bargain hunters, because it gives them an efficient and simple way to do research beforehand. This saves them time and also makes sure they are aware of as many relevant discounts as possible. The secondary user group will be people who receive shared lists from others, people who volunteer to submit various updates, and people who decide to help with item ratings. Nonusers who receive shared lists from users of the app need to be able to easily view the list, while other users who receive lists need full functionality for the shared list. These people will benefit, because they can receive a list from anywhere without worrying about jotting down the items. The volunteers need the app to feel responsive, easy to use, and capable of quickly submitting data for keeping the app's databases current. If this activity is made automatic and fluid, the app is more likely to get support from its users. The more relevant the databases are, the more everyone benefits from the application. Scenario Walkthrough Calvin, the college student, needs to pick up a few things from his local supermarket, Shoppers. After jotting down the items, he heads to the store. When he arrives, he finds out the store is out of his favorite maple syrup and cereal. Frustrated, he leaves the store and heads to the next closest store, Walmart. After picking up his items he heads home and notices an ad that was tucked under his stack of mail. He learns that another store in his area had his cereal available with a very generous sale, along with discounts for a few other items he had already bought.
Meanwhile, Alice is a mother who wants to go on her monthly grocery shopping run. Before heading out, she pulls out her mobile device and stylus and launches our shopping list app. She hand writes, onto the display, all the items she intends to purchase at her neighborhood grocery store, Safeway. As she writes in all the items, the app analyzes her writing and replaces her strokes with print. As she finishes, she checks the list and confirms it for syncing. Since she had already entered her favorite store, the app sends her notifications of the total price she would end up spending at the closest Safeway. It also alerts her that a couple items are not in stock. The app suggests Giant, another nearby store with better bargains, and then verifies that all of her needed items are available. After she enters the store, she pulls out her mobile device and opens her list. She toggles shopping mode in the app, and it displays the items by aisle order in her local Giant. As she picks up the items, she marks off her list. She heads to the frozen food aisles and checks her list again. The app shows alert symbols that she expands. Alternatives to her items appear with established rankings based on her chosen preferences. One item is shown to be cheaper and another slightly more expensive, but healthier than the one she added to her list. She marks off the healthier item and adds it to her shopping cart. Behind the scenes, as she marks off items or disposes, her personal ratings increase or decrease depending on the action. These ratings are taken into account every time she goes shopping with the app. References 1. Adult Obesity Facts. (2012, Aug 13). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html 2. Fooducate. (2012). Eat healthier food, starting today! Retrieved from http://www.fooducate.com/. 3. Forgrieve, J. (2012, July 20). Americans, food shopping and health. Retrieved from http://smartblogs.com/food-and-beverage/2012/07/20/americans-food-shopping health/ 4. Goodman, J. (2008). Who does the grocery shopping, and when do they do it?. The Time Use Institute, Retrieved from www.timeuseinstitute.org 5. Google Play (2013, February 1). Shopper Grocery Shopping list, Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.midcenturymedia.shopper.light 6. Google Play (2012, December 12). Google Shopper, Retrieved from http://www.google.com/mobile/shopper/. 7. Harris Teeter Inc. (2013, February 18). HT Mobile, Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.harristeeter.htmobile. 8. Peapod LLC. (2012, December 13). Peapod Mobile, Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.peapod.app.mobile.droid. 9. RedLaser. (2011). Shop Smarter, Retrieved from www.redlaser.com 10. Shoppers. (2013, February 7). Shoppers, Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supervalu.android.shoppers 11. Out of Milk. (2012). Out of milk, Retrieved from www.outofmilk.com
12. Target (2013, February 18). Target App, Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.target.ui. 13. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). Consumer expenditures (annual) news release (USDL-12-1937). Washington DC: Consumer Expenditure Surveys. Appendix Original Proposal Problem background/motivation: Some people just do not know how to eat healthy. They go to the grocery store and buy food that, knowingly or unknowingly, is a poor health choice. There is a problem with obesity in this country [1] and this is one of the reasons why. Particular problem that you re trying to solve: So how do people change their habits when they have had the same grocery store routine, maybe for years? There are options that will have a better effect on a person s body that everyone should be exposed to. Proposed solution: ScanMyFood is a mobile app that gives a person the ability to scan an item s barcode and healthier options will be displayed that are similar. The items could be a similar calorie intake but with no artificial ingredients or maybe something else entirely depending on the level of relevancy you choose when scanning. Differentiation to past solutions: There are many apps out there that give you tips to eat healthier. Fooducate is an example, but it uses just the nutritional information to decide what is healthy or not. Ingredients, especially artificial ones, should be a factor as well as other things [2]. ScanMyFood will take more of these factors into account. Who benefits and why: All people who use the app will benefit by balancing their diet. A healthy person is a happy person, and this app should help push you in the direction to make better decisions in the supermarket. Evaluation plan: This app will be difficult to evaluate, so we will keep tabs on reviews to see how people like it. Also, after first use, the app will display an optional survey to the user to help us see what they thought. References: 1. "Adult Obesity Facts." (Aug 2012). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2. "Eat Healthier Food, Starting Today!" Fooducate Change log Our proposal has evolved from an app with a single feature that shows healthier alternatives to scanned in foods, to a multi-feature smart grocery list creator. We thought it would be more beneficial to make an app that, when used to search for or scan in foods, would show related products the user could buy to make certain recipes and help to create a healthy grocery list based on everyday necessities. It seems inefficient to have an app that requires every item to be scanned in and checked for healthier options. Instead, having an app that easily creates a well-rounded grocery list for a single person or family, as well as search local stores for the best
prices, calculate estimated grocery list prices, and search for local savings and discounts on selected items will be very useful to all the target groups in improving their shopping experiences.