Best Buy

Deal Alerts

A new native application end-to-end alert feature that allows users to track product prices until they are ready to purchase.

Discovery | Ideation | Business strategy | Wireframing | Prototyping | Iteration | Usability testing | Handoff

Project overview

Best Buy wanted to help users feel confident waiting for the right deal. To address this, our team explored ways to help users stay connected to the products they care about even after leaving the browsing experience.

We designed a feature that allows users to set personalized deal alerts, receive timely notifications about price drops, and easily manage their saved alerts within the app. This solution aimed to re-engage users through relevant and actionable updates, building trust, improving retention, and ultimately driving more conversions by meeting users at the right moment in their decision journey.

Project details

Lead UX Designer

MY ROLE

Design, Product, Dev, Research, Cross teams

COLLAB

TOOLS

Figma, Miro, Jira, UserZoom

Native mobile app

MEDIUM

Problem

Users often delay purchases due to factors like pricing, comparisons, or timing. Without an easy way to stay updated, they risk missing deals, which leads to frustration, reduced engagement and potential churn for Best Buy.

How might we help users track products of interest and get notified when prices change, so they can purchase at the right time with confidence, leading to an increase in revenue and engagement?

Requirements

Allow users to set and manage deal alerts easily and receive timely notifications.

PRODUCT GOAL

OBJECTIVES

Easy to use

Simplify the alert creation process

Trustworthy

Increase user confidence through timely updates

Customizable

Empower users with control and visibility

Desirable

Encourage repeat engagement

DESIGN GOALS

Clear entry points | Ensure users can easily discover where and how to set an alert

Reliable feedback | Provide clear confirmation so users know their alert has been set

Clear and meaningful notifications | Design notifications that are recognizable and actionable so users can purchase quickly

Centralized management | Include an intuitive dashboard where users can manage or edit all their alerts in one place

Collaboration

Goal 🎯

Consistent communication to establish report, design credibility, and trust across teams

Understanding product requirements | Discussing new or changing requirements for alignment | Intentionally highlighting key requirements during design reviews | Regular review sessions for feedback and direction alignment

PRODUCT

Partnering with teams that own features that overlap with our work in order to gain alignment from all sides

CROSS TEAMS

Understanding timelines and shared goals of high quality, feasible products | Working out raised technical concerns during design reviews | Continuously communicating after handoff to answer questions and ensure visual QA

DEVELOPMENT

Solution

Wins ⭐

1 year post launch: +900k people set up an alert, 1.7m alerts set, $82m in revenue, 38k app downloads

Discovery

Key takeaways 🔑

  • Competitive analysis revealed that while setting alerts was simple, finding and managing them later wasn’t

  • Users felt frustrated and disappointed when they purchase a product only to see it go on sale shortly after

Understood what competitors were doing, and thinking of ways to make it better

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Mapped pain points around deal discovery and post purchase regret

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP

Brushing up on what has already been tested and learned

COMBING THROUGH PAST RESEARCH

Highlighted key opportunities to surface deal alerts

USER SCENARIO FLOW

Explorations

  • Alert entry point - Opt 1: Toggle inside the Price Block

  • Alert entry point - Opt 2: Integrated within Save 4 Later

  • Alert entry point - Opt 3: Inside the 'Get it for less' drawer

  • Alert management - Exploration 1

  • Alert management - Exploration 2

  • Alert management - Exploration 3

  • Notifications - Exploration 1

  • Notifications - Exploration 2

  • Notifications - Exploration 3

Research

Key findings 🔎

  • 12/15 successfully completed the task of creating a deal alert

  • 10/15 read the blue tooltip and found it useful

  • 15/15 thought this feature would be useful for them in the future

Quotes 💬

“It’s lovely and easy to navigate through”

“Something new for me, never seen anything like this when shopping online”

“It can help me save money, especially if I don’t need the item right away”

We tested and validated our designs through UsesZoom. We had support from our Research partners, however I created and ran the unmoderated study

USERZOOM GUIDE

PROTOTYPES

USERZOOM ANALYSIS

Handoff

Goal 🎯

Ensure a smooth, accurate and efficient transition from design to development, including responsive design and accessibility

METRICS

Reflection

This project reinforced the value of aligning early with Product and Development to balance user needs with business impact, something I continue to carry into every future project. I also wish we had more dedicated time for exploratory research in order to really understand what users want and need to have a good benchmark when starting to concept.

Overall I am very proud of the work and the impact it has had on Best Buy. See tangible results, both in user satisfaction and business impact, solidified how thoughtful design can shape long term engagement. It is rewarding to see how a well integrated feature can both empower users but also can drive measurable business growth!

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