"For an app to succeed you need to understand who you are designing for": Tesco's head of UX reveals brand's new grocery app
Tesco's new grocery apps will be rolled out in the coming weeks having been developed with the UX design front and centre.
According to the UK's largest supermarket chain's head of UX within its mobile experience team, the new grocery app will be released in the next few weeks with a "fresh design" and "new interaction style".
Speaking at Apps World, Richard Lewis said that now was an exciting time for UX Design which has become "such a crucial part of the process when it comes to app development" and all the more so within Tesco as it continues to build it multichannel retail ambitions.
He continued to state that there was "a real shift in perception as to what skills designers bring to process. It has moved away from the perception of a UX designer sat in room not engaging with rest of the team - now much more transparent design process," he claimed, adding that designers must consider the goals of the business, technical feasibility and customer needs when implementing a UX project.
However he added; "Above all it's about design and the team must have a real appreciation of design, page layout, typography, with a real balance of different expertise," in order to be successful.
"For an app to succeed you need to understand who you are designing for. Break down the personas and engage the whole team," he advised. "It's not just the UX guys, make sure the product team are heavily engaged and that everyone in the product development group is able to understand and put a face to who their customer is."
Lewis continued to state that despite the rise of online retail, that in-store was also "critical" when designing for the retailers and is crucial in helping build and maintain loyalty.
"The grocery app is a utility tool, its shopping but it can be so much more by bringing in data, which we can bring in through our Clubcard proposition. If you can keep you customers engaged you can use your app as a marketing tool and engage customers at an ever more deep level as they advocate it to their friends, then your app starts to do your advertising for you."
The Tesco grocery app will be rolled out on both Android and iOS, The Drum understands.