Creating a return platform for a reusable packaging startup.
Background

In early 2021 I had the opportunity to meet the founders of acet, a new cutting-edge startup aiming to solve the global plastic waste crisis. Their product, reusable packaging that could be used by supermarkets, was set to replace traditional grocery packaging. The catch, customers would need to return this reusable packaging to the retailer they bought it from. Acet needed a simple and stylish return flow consumers could use to do this. Additionally, acet needed a way to attract supermarkets in the UK to its offering. I partnered with the founding team to help develop this return flow, as well as a landing page that would help put acet on the map in the retail packaging industry.
Challenges

Reusable packaging wasn't a new concept — other companies had tried the model and been unsuccessful. The first challenge was uncovering why. The second was to gain an understanding of acet's multiple user personas — retail shoppers and the retailers themselves. I'd need to understand both to design an effective solution. The third challenge — this was my first UX job with a real client.
What I Accomplished

I completed a responsive return platform for retail shoppers to return their packaging.

I worked with the acet founding team to ensure my design matched business needs.

I used an agile approach to work with the acet team & incorporate the rapidly changing business model.
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Type
Responsive Web
Role
Research & UX/UI
Timeline
April - May 2021

01 Research

Two Sides Of The Same Coin

One of the primary considerations I had to make during this project was that I needed to address two ends of a spectrum — the user end and the business end. I laid out my research goals, which were predominantly user focused. So, I also included corresponding business goals to ensure I kept both ends of the spectrum in mind.
Research Goals
Business Goals
Determine how retailers evaluate packaging for the products they stock
Identify what may motivate retailers to prioritise stocking
reusable packaging over standard packaging
Identify what may motivate consumers to purchase reusable packaging over
standard packaging
Establish how consumers would prefer to return reusable packaging
Business Goals
Attract supermarkets to acet's product offering
Attract consumers to
acet's reusable packaging

Secondary Research

To get a lay of the land, I started off doing background research on UK supermarkets and the packaging industry. I wanted to know whether supermarkets had plans to adopt new forms of packaging. I also needed to know if any packaging companies had traction, and if any of them were direct competitors.

UK Supermarkets

Market Learnings

01 Reduction Goals
All UK supermarkets have large
plastic packaging reduction goals

02 Non-Recyclable
50% of their current plastic
packaging is not recyclable

03 Increasing Demand
Consumer demand for sustainable alternatives is steadily increasing

The Competition

What's the
competition up to?

01 Dated Sites
Existing competitor sites lack style & modern feel to attract new generation

02 Limited Options
Only one direct competitor, giving acet an opportunity to capture the market

03 Not Reusable
Most competition doesn't offer
reusable options

Understanding Our Users

I conducted interviews with 3 participants to understand what their attitude was toward reusable packaging — namely if they'd use it or not. Most importantly, I wanted to uncover what kind of return experience may encourage or dissuade users from taking advantage of acet's product.
Interview Goal 01

Who is the user?
Interview Goal 02

How do they shop?
Interview Goal 03

Do they care about reusables?
Interview Goal 04

Do they want reusables?
Interview Goal 05

How would they return them?

In Their Own Words

Gordon
64, Retiree, Suburban
“The biggest competitor will probably be the recycling industry, they make it easy for us and no one really cares that recycling doesn't do much for the planet”
“The reason I grocery shop is mainly to get out of the house, so I'd want a drop-off experience that replicates that need”
Emma
29, Employed, Urban
Alex
29, Employed, Urban
“I honestly hate shopping for groceries, the easier the experience is for me the better”
Primary User Needs

01 Simplicity

A quick, easy process with as little friction as possible

02 Mobility

The ability to get out of the house and move around

03 Feel Good Factor

Knowledge that their contribution is helping the planet
Primary User Pains

01 Time

Wasting time shopping online or disposing of waste

02 Change

The motivation to try something new that's out of routine

03 Forgetting

Forgetting reusable bags or disposing of waste properly
Key Takeaways
100%
Of UK supermarkets have mandates to reduce plastic waste — they just need access to the means
For the supermarket experience, the key would be educating them about the amount of plastic waste they could avoid by using acet.
100%
Of UK shoppers prioritise saving time & avoiding change when shopping for groceries
For the shopper's experience, a familiar experience that didn't require too much effort or attention would be key.

02 Define

Meet Caroline

Caroline came to life from background research and my user interviews. She served as a reference point throughout the rest of the project, ensuring the user remained at the forefront of my design process.

Caroline, like many of us, means well. She's aware that reusing things like plastic bags is important and does her best to try to do so. She knows there's more she can do to tackle sustainability issues, and she'd be happy to do so as long as it doesn't interfere too much with her busy social and professional life. To empathise with Caroline, I went on to map out her user journey as well.

How can acet improve Caroline's journey?

As Is
Plans weekly shop
Walks to store
Often forgets bags
Uses groceries
Sorts waste
Takes out bins
To Be
Orders acet groceries
Uses groceries
Scans acet packs
Selects return option
Dropoff / Pickup
Completes Return

So what features are needed?

Having mapped out Caroline's journey and how acet may improve her experience grocery shopping, I was able to start mapping out a list of product features and requirements that would be needed to achieve this desired 'To Be' state.
Priority
Features
Priority 1: Must Have
How It Works
Priority 2: Nice to Have
About,
Impact
Priority 1: Must Have
Select Return Option
Priority 1: Must Have
Find a Dropoff,
Schedule Pickup
Priority 2: Nice to Have
Hands Free Pickup
Priority 1: Must Have
Confirmation

Mapping It All Out

Product requirements in hand, it was time to start mapping out how acet's return platform would be structured. I created a sitemap to start framing the information architecture of acet's return flow. The key was keeping things as simple as possible.

At this point, the acet team informed me that they would no longer be focusing on the retail-facing aspect of the site. Instead, they wanted me to shift my focus exclusively towards the consumer return flow.

Although I wouldn't be building it, I still included what the retail flow may look like in the future.

Creating The Return Flow

For my project, the focus would be on the consumer return flow. So, I created a user flow for what this return flow would look like.

The flow centred around the desired 'To Be' state that I had previously mapped out. I wanted users to be able to scan a pack, select a return option, schedule a pickup, find a drop-off point, and complete their return.

03 Design

Responsive Wireframes

Creating the responsive wireframes for acet was another remarkable learning experience. Not only was I able to iterate with my design mentor, but I got to collaborate directly with the acet team to ensure my designs matched their expectations.

This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Maintaining my resolve as a UX designer while handling feedback from the client took some getting used to.At several points, I considered bowing out of design disagreements instead of sticking to my decisions and backing them up with research. As my relationship with the acet team grew, however, so did my confidence as a designer.

By working independently, and relying on my mentor and the acet team for feedback, I was able to create a simple and elegant return layout.

04 UI & Branding

Filling in my low fidelity wires involved strategising with the acet team again. I wanted to make sure the brand reflected the message acet wanted to send its audience.

Together, the acet team and I developed some keywords to highlight what acet should represent and reflect as a brand.
Smart
Modern
Clean-Tech
Climate
Connections
Blue

Building The Brand

05 Testing

At the end of the day, this project was all about the return flow and the consumers that would be utilising it. I needed to be sure that my design was fully considering the needs of those users, so I decided to conduct some usability testing. I built a prototype of the return flow using Figma and recruited 5 participants from my network to take part.
Goal 1 Test overall return flow for consumers returning their packs
Goal 2 Test speed at which consumers complete the return flow
Goal 3 Identify any existing 'stuck' points within the return flow
Goal 4 Uncover any desired changes users may like within return flow

Scenario & Results

During your last visit to the supermarket, you noticed several items that were highlighted as coming in reusable packaging. Wanting to do something good for the planet, you bought a few of these items. You knew you'd be paying a small deposit for each of the reusable packs and would need to return them once you used up your groceries. You're now trying to return the packs, and have scanned one of their QR codes using your phone. You try to complete the return page that pops up.
Goal 1
Test overall return flow for consumers returning their packaging
5/5 users said flow was straightforward & simple
5/5 completed the flow without stopping
5/5 knew how much their return would be worth
5 users, average completion time 4 min 10 sec
Goal 2
Test speed at which consumers
complete the flow
Goal 3
Identify any existing 'stuck points
within the flow
2/5 users didn't want to add their emails for fear of marketing spam
5/5 users wanted option to remove a pack
3/5 wanted to see existing user data
4/5 wanted more confirmation details
Goal 4
Uncover any desired changes users may like to see within the flow
Key Takeaways
3‍
Wanted existing
user data
Users wanted a general idea of the group of existing customers they'd be joining, found this idea motivating.
5‍
Wanted option to
remove packs
In case they made an error, users wanted to be able to remove a pack.
2‍
Didn't want to
add their email
Users were really mistrusting of companies misusing their emails.
4‍
More confirmation details
Users wanted to know things like timeframe, confirmation number, would they get an email, etc…

Resulting Revisions

Added encouraging copy to make new acet users feel good about joining an existing community of satisfied customers.
Gave users the option to remove a pack.
Added reassuring copy for users concerned about having their emails misused for market purposes
Gave users clearer return instructions, including a return timeframe, confirmation details, and a return code

06 Final UI

Home - About & Start Return
Your Packs - Add & Remove
Your Packs - Add New Pack
Confirm With Email
Find Your Dropoff Point
Confirmation & Complete
See The Prototype

07 Next Steps

Next Steps

Acet is a brand-new company. The team has a fantastic vision and a great product, but it still needs to be rolled out to actual users. The next step for my project, from a UX perspective, would be building the platform and keeping tabs on how customers engage with it. What works? What doesn’t? Could anything operate more smoothly? How are the needs of acet’s users changing over time?

Something I’ve come back to time and time again during time in UX is that design is never done. Acet has laid the foundation, now it’s time to see how far it can go.

Learning 01 It's All About The User

Creating the acet return flow was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to understand UK grocery shoppers and catering a new experience around their needs, pains & motivations. Sustainability being a passion of mine, I got to explore why it’s been so difficult for government and organisations to change consumer behaviour toward being more planet-friendly. On one hand, companies care about the environment and want to make responsible decisions in order to further sustainability efforts and reduce waste & carbon off-set. On the other hand, if consumers don’t care, companies can’t justify a change toward more sustainable practices. At the end of the day, organisations need to consider their customers wants & needs, otherwise those customers will go elsewhere.

That insight enabled me to create a slick return flow for acet that will support them during the early stages of their business operations.

Learning 02 Juggling Is Tough

A big challenge for me during this project was juggling numerous stakeholder agendas and trying to cater to all the competing needs. For one, I regularly interfaced with the acet team to make sure I knew what their desires were for the project. I also needed to make sure I stayed current on how the demands for the acet business were changing, and they changed rather quickly throughout. At the same time, I needed to make sure I stuck to my project timelines, as well as my design decisions. This project gave me a fantastic opportunity to learn how to deal with multiple, often competing timelines, and deliver work that satisfied not only the business needs but also the needs of its customers.