Post #2: Web/Mobile App Critique

 

Review of the King Soopers Mobile App

The web/mobile app to be critiqued is the King Soopers mobile app. In case you are not familiar, King Soopers is a grocery store chain popular in Colorado and other places. The launch page for the app is pictured to the right. There are several key functions with this app. Users can access the pharmacy and order or review prescriptions. Users can browse for coupons, deals, and more. Users can set up a Kroger Pay (Kroger is the parent company of King Soopers, so many items on the app say Kroger rather than King Soopers) to then use the app to pay at checkout.

Since this is an app for a retail grocery store, the main functionality of the app is centered around shopping. There are 3 main ways a user can use this app for shopping: 1) Pick-up, 2) Delivery, and 3) Shopping List. The pick-up and delivery work the same from the shopping aspect and only differ in how the user will receive their groceries. Ironically, it often takes much longer for a pick-up order to be prepared than for a delivery order. This is because King Soopers uses their own employees to prepare pick-up orders whereas 3^rd party vendors handle the delivery orders.

This review will focus on the list function. Users can shop from the store’s inventory just like shopping for pick-up or delivery. Users use a search function to find their desired items, then click the ‘Save to List’ button to add their items to their list. Users can even use their phone’s camera to scan the barcode of items to add that item to their list.

Then, when shopping, the app sorts the list by aisle. This is very useful for making it through the store in one pass rather than having to go back and forth to get all the items on the list. Another advantage is in finding items. Then, when a user finds their item they can just click the checkbox on their phone and the item is moved to the ‘Completed Items’ section of their list.

For shoppers on a budget, the app shows the price for every item allowing a user to compare items before heading to the store. The list also shows the estimated subtotal. These are in addition to additional coupons that are only available on the app.

The King Sooper’s app has great functionality and there seems to be little that is not included. As for usability, some of the options are accessed through small buttons, so the developers could improve the app by adding additional methods to access each option. The overall design is good with a fun, but not overwhelming, style.

Suggestions for improvement begin with the biggest problem with the app, reliability. Some of the functionality changes when the app determines that the user is actually in the store. For instance, Kroger Pay is only available when a user is in the store. This is probably done for security reasons which is good. The problem is that the app is prone to crashing when a user goes into the store. This can be especially frustrating when a user spends time preparing a shopping list only to have the app crash once they get to the store and need their list.

Another suggestion is in regard to the coupons. To benefit from one of the app’s digital coupons, the user must sift through a list of coupons, click a button to ‘clip’ the coupon they want to use, then scan the coupon at checkout. This multi-step process is cumbersome and prohibitively time-consuming. The usability could be improved by streamlining the coupon process.

Finally, the app could benefit from a scan-as-you-shop functionality similar to Walmart’s Scan & Go. With Walmart’s Scan & Go users use their phones to scan items as they shop. Then, at checkout, they simply scan a QR code, and they are on their way. Adding an option like this would save real-time for customers.

This is my review of the King Soopers app. Let me know what you think in the comments below.