MariaMaria App

Price Comparison and Online Supermarket

The MariaMaria App is a solution created to assist with food shopping. It allows users to search for prices at local supermarkets, organize their shopping, and monitor the expiration dates of products in their pantry.

The goal of the application is to simplify and optimize users’ shopping, making it more efficient and cost-effective.

Problem

The rising cost of living directly affects our savings and it’s not necessary to look at economic statistics to notice the increase in prices.

In 2020, the value of the basic food basket had an increase of 28.53%, with the average price going from R$ 784.16 (December 2019) to R$ 1,007.89 in December 2020. Of the 39 products surveyed by DIEESE, 36 showed increases throughout the year.

In addition to the cost of living increase, we identified problems such as:

Excessive spending: According to recent research, Brazilians spend about 20% more on their purchases than necessary.
Lack of organization: It’s common for people to forget an item on the shopping list or buy unnecessary items. This can lead to a waste of time and money.
Expired products: According to a survey, about 30% of food purchased in Brazil is wasted due to expired products.

Market Analysis

The market analysis for MariaMaria is extremely positive, considering the size of the media market and the media retail market, both estimated at values above R$ 69 billion and R$ 4.8 billion, respectively.

Considering a market share available for MariaMaria of 5%, there is a great opportunity for the platform to generate revenue, which can be achieved through monetization by monthly fee to display advertisements from establishments on the app or through commission on purchases made through the application.

Considering the size of the retail media market and the available market share for MariaMaria, it’s possible to estimate a potential revenue of about R$ 240 million, which represents a great opportunity for the platform to grow and establish itself in the market.

Certainties, Solutions and Doubts

In this context, the company has developed a CSD Matrix, with questions related to the target audience and their needs. Below, the information from this matrix will be presented for a better understanding of the market and consumers.

The certainties point to the fact that many people still prefer to go to physical supermarkets, while the assumptions indicate that the company’s initial target audience is people from the C and D classes, who seek savings and want to have an application to help them organize their pantry. Finally, the doubts refer to how people use shopping lists, research supermarket prices, and organize their pantries.

Research with the audience

To develop the main functionalities and prioritize the roadmap, we conducted a behavior research with the users based on the inferences from the CSD Matrix.

The main questions were: – Do you usually go shopping with someone else in a supermarket? – Decisive factor for buying or not a certain product:

– Price – Quality – Need

– Describe step-by-step how you shop in a supermarket/mini market:

– By specific sections – By aisles – Other ways

– When using a shopping list, where do you write down the information?

– Paper – Notebook – Notes on the phone – Whatsapp

– How do you compare prices of Supermarkets/Mini markets?

– In-person – Catalogue – Internet – Others – Supermarket’s app – Social media – Supermarket’s website – Procon’s list

– What bothers you during a shopping process in a supermarket?

– Crowded supermarket – High prices – Lack of product – Other factors

– If you could only have 1 of these solutions, which one would you choose?

– App to compare Supermarkets’ prices – App to create shopping lists – App to organize your pantry

Results

Based on the surveys conducted with the public, we were able to obtain valuable insights into consumer behavior regarding shopping in supermarkets. Below are some of the data:

Through the analysis of responses, we identified that most users usually shop alone, and that the most decisive factor for purchase is price followed by quality and the need for the product. Regarding purchasing habits, we noticed that most users take notes on paper or on their cellphones. When it comes to comparing prices between supermarkets, most users compare in person or don’t compare at all, followed by the internet and flyers to find the best deals. As for the most bothersome factors during the shopping process, it’s having to wait in line at the supermarket. Finally, when asked about choosing a solution to improve the shopping experience, most respondents chose an app to compare prices at supermarkets. These insights helped us prioritize the features on our roadmap to better meet the users’ needs.

Persona

After the survey with the audience, we were able to obtain valuable information about our potential customers and their needs. Based on this data, we developed personas to represent our initial target audience in a more accurate and detailed way.

User Journey

Next, we mapped out a user journey for supermarket shoppers, with the goal of understanding the entire purchasing process of our customers and identifying possible opportunities in creating and improving our product.

Workflow Process

After the product discovery process, we established the flow of price data acquisition, which is our value proposition for the end user.

The flow starts with the capture of Establishment data, from which we gather Product and Price information. Then, we send it to our curation base where we associate the prices with the names of the products captured both offline (physical stores) and online (store website and other portals). All of this is delivered to the user, making their experience simple and practical.

Prototyping

After the product discovery process, we established the flow of price data acquisition, which is our value proposition to the end-user.

The Home module is the main screen of the application, which presents the most relevant information to the user, such as promotions of products in local supermarkets, their recently created shopping lists, and the quantity of items in their pantry.

The Price search module allows the user to search for product prices in different supermarkets in the region, making it easier to choose the most economical option.

The Shopping List module allows the user to create a personalized shopping list by adding the items they need to buy at the supermarket. The user can also search an entire list at once and know the total value of their list.

The Pantry module allows the user to have more efficient control over the products they have in their pantry, including expiration dates. With this information, the user can avoid food waste and better plan their purchases.

The User Profile module is where the user can edit their personal information, such as name and address, as well as configure their notification preferences and choose the product categories they consume the most.

Try it out!

See in practice how the navigation of the prototype works.