Flipp Best Price Basket Builder
The Flipp app Best Price Basket Builder is an AI-driven tool that helps budget-conscious shoppers create optimized grocery baskets by comparing sale prices across multiple stores. It automatically selects the best deals for frequently purchased items and provides real-time estimated Basket totals to ensure users stay within their budgets.
Problem Statement:
How might we use AI to enhance the Flipp app’s user experience and increase engagement with the “shopping list” feature?
Problem Background:
Over the past several years, grocery prices have risen significantly, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to feed their families while staying within budget. A recent CBC article reported that food prices are expected to rise by an additional 3 - 5%, further straining household finances. With the cost of living soaring, nearly 60% of Canadians now actively seek out discounted food products to manage expenses. However, many budget-conscious shoppers struggle to efficiently compare grocery prices and manage their spending. Manually searching for deals across multiple stores is time-consuming, and existing tools often lack the automation and personalization needed to simplify the process.
One such tool is the Flipp grocery flyer app. While functional, it is not the most user friendly. It tends to closely mirror the traditional paper flyer experience, allowing users to browse grocery store flyers and compare prices. Though this core feature remains valuable - especially for its primary audience of low- to middle-income grocery store shoppers - there is a huge potential to improve the user experience by introducing features that prioritize personalization and convenience.
Research Insights:
User Pain Points
- Manually searching for the best prices is time-consuming and frustrating
- Users want less manual work and a more seamless experience when using the Flipp app
- Flipp’s current shopping list feature does not integrate budgeting tools or smart price optimization
- Users expressed interest in features like total cost calculations and budget-based shopping lists as a way to increase their engagement with the app
- Users want a way to automatically generate a shopping list based on the best deals
- Users who don’t engage as much with the app would be more likely to use it if it intelligently suggests items based on past behaviour
- The app needs to feel more intuitive, optimizing the digital flyer experience rather than replicating the physical flyer experience
- Many shoppers tend to visit multiple stores, but need an efficient way to plan their trips
- Users would appreciate a smarter location-based experience
Supporting Data
- Location (proximity of grocery store to user’s home) is the most influential factor in grocery shopping decisions. This is followed by prices, sales, and variety
- 60% of people who were interviewed so not actively use the Flipp shopping list feature due to inefficiencies
- Users expressed strong interest in AI-driven features, with automatically generated shopping lists, sales notifications, and budget-tracking receiving the most positive responses
Feedback
The research process validated that many shoppers, particularly budget-conscious ones, feel overwhelmed by the current process and would welcome automation to simplify their grocery-shopping experience.
- “The app is not intuitive at all. It feels like flipping through a real paper flyer, rather than a digital experience.”
- “I would love a way to calculate my total grocery costs before going shopping so that I can stay on budget.”
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features:
- Best Price Basket builder: AI-powered tool that suggests the best-priced grocery basket across multiple stores
- Real-time price tracking: integrated with store flyers for the most accurate and up-to-date prices
- Budget optimization: users set a weekly budget, and the app helps ensure they stick to it
- Store selection and route planning: smart store suggestions based on price, proximity, previously-indicated user preferences, and travel time
User Flows
Please note: This submission primarily illustrates Scenario 1: First-time discovery and use of the Best Price Basket Builder feature. The happy path for this flow is shown vertically from top to bottom. Simplified user flows for other scenarios branch out horizontally from the main flow, extending from left to right.
For a detailed view of the user flow, please visit Figma.
Mockups
Future Steps
After the initial MVP, additional updates could include features such as:
- Smart-substitutions: if an item is out of stock or not on sale, the app suggests similar products with comparable savings
- Meal-planning: users can input their recipes, and the app can determine the items needed, then build an optimized shopping list
- Loyalty programs: expand to include integrations with grocery store loyalty programs
- Gamification: explore gamification elements to encourage users to save more on groceries
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Lisa Afundu
- User research is critical for identifying pain points beyond surface-level assumptions
- Initially, I assumed price comparison was the biggest frustration, but interviews revealed that inefficiencies in managing shopping lists and budgeting were equally pressing issues.
- A great product isn’t just about features, it’s about usability.
- Users found the Flipp app overwhelming and unintuitive, highlighting the importance of a smooth, streamlined user experience rather than just adding new capabilities.
- AI is not a magic solution. It needs to be thoughtfully applied.
- Initially, I thought that AI could automate everything, but I quickly realized that the real challenge is identifying where AI truly adds value and how to select the best algorithm to do it.
- You don’t need to be an AI expert to leverage AI in product management
- Coming into this course, I worried that I lacked the technical background to build AI-powered features. But I learned that while understanding AI concepts is important, the real skill is in knowing how to frame problems in the right way that AI can help solve.
- The best AI-powered products feel seamless, not futuristic.
- Initially, I thought AI features needed to be complex to be impressive. But I learned that the best AI applications are the pens that integrate smoothly into users’ existing workflows, often in ways they barely notice.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.