How might we Make shopping for camping equipment easier?
Campers who purchase camping equipment at least once per year overwhelmingly expressed that researching and purchasing camping equipment is time consuming and overwhelming.
Weekender allows shoppers to compare multiple products all in one place which reduces the time needed for research, leading to a quicker purchase.
About
Weekender is a mobile app that allows users to compare and shop for camping products all in one place.
Key Responsibilities
User Interviews, Affinity Mapping, User Personas, Design Thinking Framework, Design Systems, Wireframing, Usability Testing, UI Design, High Fidelity Prototyping
Role
UX Designer and Project Lead
Duration
December 2024-March 2025
The Challenge
Campers feel overwhelmed by the amount of product on the market.
The Solution
Through an in-app comparison chart, shoppers are able to easily compare products in one place rather than having to shuffle between multiple tabs or apps.
Shoppers are able to compare up to five products across the same categorization, thus reducing the amount of time spent on research.
Research
I felt it was important to understand what obstacles campers face when they shop for camping equipment. To do this, I conducted five structured user interviews and organized my findings into the following affinity maps.
Insight #1
The most common hurdle was the time it takes to research products.
All five participants indicated that researching camping equipment was a time-consuming process. Some even went further to indicate that a more specific pain point was the time it takes to find product specifications for comparison.
Insight #2
Many are overwhelmed by the amount of product on the market.
Three out of five participants feel overwhelmed by the amount of product on the market. They felt they didn’t know where to start when it comes to research.
Insight #3
Camping equipment is expensive.
When asked how camping equipment being expensive effects their product research process, three out of five participants said they felt they were taking a risk when making a purchase.
01
How might we make the research and comparison process quicker?
02
How might we make it so that shoppers feel less overwhelmed by the amount of options on the market?
03
How might we make purchasing camping equipment feel like less of a risk?
Key Findings
Now that I have a firm understanding of the motivations and obstacles of shoppers, I determined the app would have the following key features:
Choose Items to Compare
Allow users to choose their own items to compare to one another.
In-app Comparison Chart
Allow users to compare up to five products against the same criteria.
Add to Cart from Chart
Allow users to add item to cart directly from the comparison chart.
User Flow
I translated the features into the following user flow.
Translating Features to Screens
Now that I have mapped out the user flow to best match the needs of users, I focused on developing these features.
Home Page
Shopping “Tents”
Select Items to Compare
Comparison Chart
Order Preview
Order Confirmation
Usability Testing
Issue #1
Users felt it didn’t make sense to select items to compare prior to clicking the compare button.
Solution
Change the user flow by allowing users to click the compare button, then have boxes appear by each product that can be checked to select them for the comparison chart.
Iteration One
Iteration Two
Issue #2
Users felt there was no clear way to delete items from the comparison chart once they decided they did not want to purchase the product.
Solution
Include an option to delete each product from the comparison chart.
Iteration One
Iteration Two
Final Screens
Home Page
Shop Tents
Select Items to Compare
Select First Item
Select Second Item
Comparison Chart
Order Preview
Order Confirmation
Account Page
Conclusion
The goal of this project was to make the process of researching and purchasing camping equipment easier and less time-consuming.
Instead of having multiple tabs open across multiple different websites, Weekender allows shoppers to compare items in one place, allowing for a quicker, less daunting shopping experience.
Let’s Connect
I’d love to hear from you! Whether you have questions or want to collaborate, please reach out. Let’s chat and bring your ideas to life together.