Swan. Grocery delivery ecosystem for the UAE market

UNITED ARABIAN EMIRATES 2018-2019PRODUCT STRATEGY, UX DESIGN, BACK OFFICE DESIGN, RTL DESIGN, AND BRANDING

Swan went from concept to launch in a single engagement — and kept growing after. We helped build and ship the entire ecosystem: customer app, Scan & Go, picker and driver apps, store dashboard, brand identity with custom character illustrations, and launch marketing. Post-launch, we continued evolving the product with research-driven features like quick reorder and smart substitutions.

4.5⭑

Rating in App Store and Google Play

12k

Orders per month in 90 days after the launch

100+

Connected stores across Dubai and Abu Dhabi

QUICK, SIMPLE AND DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE

We designed the experience around the idea of speed and small, delightful moments aimed to engage customers during their online grocery routine. Preview-based category listing allows customers to navigate the app quickly and add products to the cart without opening the product details page.

Large imagery helps users to make proper product decisions quicker, while one-step checkout automatically saves users’ preferences and allows them to check out with just one tap.

SCAN & GO

We also designed a Scan & Go mobile application that allowed customers to scan their items as they shop and check out via the app to skip the lines. We came up with a test-proven approach of thumb-first interaction that enables customers to easily navigate the app using only one finger while holding the items in another hand.

PICKER AND RIDER APPS

From the delivery process perspective, the Swan application has a slightly different model of work than other apps in the category. Unlike Postmates and Instacart, order assembly and order delivery are done by different people. In the case of Swan, order assembly is done by a Picker, usually a store employee, while order delivery is carried out by Drivers.

STORE DASHBOARD

BRAND AND CHARACTER DESIGN

In parallel with the product designs, we were working on the branding and marketing activities. We’ve created the brand identity and cooperated with talented illustrator Anastasiia Andriichuk to create a Swan character and a set of illustrations that reflect a fun and playful experience.

MARKETING SUPPORT

Additionally, we worked on all marketing activities necessary to launch the product on the market. We prepared a landing page, launched advertising campaigns on social media, and created a series of branded materials for offline advertising.

In cooperation with AND ACTION video agency, we created a set of promo videos for the launch.

Video by AND ACTION

ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS

After the successful launch of the MLP, we continued to work on improvements, optimization, and implementation of the shelved features that were not included in the first version.

Quick reorder

During our research on people’s grocery shopping habits, we found out that every shopping list consists of products that people buy regularly. To save time on finding the essentials, we decided to introduce the “reorder” feature, which allows customers to quickly purchase products from previous orders. With this feature, our customers can rest assured that their household is running efficiently and that they never forget to buy the dog food.

Substitutions

Customers sometimes had to cancel the order because 3 out of 5 products were missing. To address that problem, we came up with an idea to always show the user substitute options for items that are often low in stock or essentials. Now, when a user adds a hot item to the cart, Swan’s recommendation engine would provide a selection of substitutes.