Improving Cart Visibility and Conversion for Publix

Publix (Grocery eCommerce)

A mobile-first cart redesign that increased engagement and simplified the checkout flow.

Context

Publix aimed to improve their shopping app by refining cart visibility, simplifying navigation, and improving the overall checkout experience.

As the End-to-End Lead Designer, I collaborated with the Publix App team across research, ideation, and testing.

Timeline

Oct 2023 – Dec 2023

Focus

App, UI/UX, Design System

Problem

The existing cart experience created friction across the app:

1. Low relevance and slow discovery

2. The cart was visually hard to spot

3. The navigation hierarchy confused users

4. The shopping bag icon led to ambiguity

5. Empty cart state created a dead-end and zero exploration opportunity

These issues blocked essential user tasks.

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Approach

To solve these issues, I followed a structured process:

Competitive Analysis

Reviewed cart patterns from Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, and others to understand industry standards for:

• Cart placement

• Empty state design

• Purchase flows

• Iconography

Ideation

Designed three distinct iterations exploring:

• Cart placement

• Empty state flows

• Cart with items

• Tutorial guidance

User Testing

Conducted A/B/C testing with 54 participants to measure:

• Time on task

• Ability to locate PAY

• Understanding of new cart placement

• Naming clarity for cart vs bag

User Testing Insights

Users found the new PAY location immediately

• No increase in task time

• 85 percent recommended a tooltip tutorial

• 75 percent found “cart” to be grocery-associated, causing naming confusion

These insights shaped the final decisions.

Final Designs

This resulted in a fragmented user experience that didn’t scale for future features or themes

New Cart Placement

Moved the cart into the bottom navigation for maximum visibility and reach.

Quick-Link Enhancements

Added banners, PAY entry point, and historical analytics based on user purchases.

Tooltip Tutorial

A brief in-app cue explains the new PAY location upon first use.

Empty State Redesign

Added categories, weekly specials, and discovery paths to eliminate dead ends.

These decisions created a scalable foundation that supported trust, clarity, and future marketplace features.

Outcomes

The redesigned cart experience is now in development with the Publix app team and sets the foundation for future enhancements, including Phase 2 navigation updates.

Next Projects

Product Detail Page Optimization

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Improving Gordon Food Service’s B2B PDP with clearer hierarchy, better product context, and streamlined ordering workflows.

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Pearson (EdTech)

Turning raw performance data into clear, actionable insights across web and native.