Walmart
Financial Well-Being
A new end-to-end comprehensive journey designed to enhance easy access to financial resources for every Walmart Associate, empowering them to better their long-term financial well-being.
Discovery | Ideation | Business strategy | Wireframing | Prototyping | Iteration | Usability testing | Handoff
Project overview
Walmartās existing financial tools were underutilized due to limited access and awareness. By integrating them into Me@Walmart, Walmartās existing app that combines personal and work needs, we aimed to empower 1.4M associates with continuous access, financial education, and tools to save and invest in their futures, all within a single, familiar platform.
At the start of the project, only 5% of Walmartās 2.3 million associates were enrolled in the 401(k) plan, revealing a significant gap in benefit awareness and adoption. This low engagement not only affected associates' long-term financial security but also posed a risk to retention and recruitment.
Project details
Co-Designer (first half)
MY ROLE
Lead Designer (second half)
Design, Product, Business, Engineer, Research
COLLAB
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Miro, Jira
MEDIUM
Native mobile app
Desktop Browser
PROBLEM
Walmart associates had limited access to their financial tools and benefits, which were only available through a VPN on in-store computers. As a result, awareness and usage of these resources remained low.
How might we incorporate financial tools into Me@Walmart in order to assist with improving their long term financial well-being?
Requirements
Support associates in their long-term financial health through taking full advantage of their benefits offered to them through Walmart. Designs need to include: 1) Link to the Even App, 2) Credit Score, 3) 401(k) Matching, and 4) Associate Stock Purchase Plan (ASPP) Election
PRODUCT GOAL
OBJECTIVES
Accessibility
Allow 24/7 access
Knowledge
Increase financial awareness
Trust
Encourage associates to save for their futures
Actionable
Take full advantage of benefits
DESIGN GOALS
Scalability | Future-proof designs
Easy to use | Readability and clear hierarchy
Responsive | Adaptive to desktop
Collaboration
Goal šÆ
Consistent communication to establish report, design credibility, and trust across teams
Constant communication throughout the process, aligning on clear requirements and goals, highlighting specific requirements when presenting designs to keep product engaged and to build trust as this showed intentional design.
PRODUCT
Involvement during early stages to align on timeline and shared goals, present during design reviews, continuous communication after handoff to answer questions and ensure visual QA.
DEVELOPMENT
Business partners participated in design reviews to ensure alignment with strategic goals and broader business strategy.
BUSINESS
Research partners supported us in developing the research guide and we led and conducted all sessions ourselves.
RESEARCH
The Me@ design leadership team were present during reviews to verify design consistency and standards, since we were integrating our new experience into their owned space.
ME@ TEAM
Solution
222k associates interacted with the new experience (1 month of data)
Wins ā
The team won the āYBM FY24 Making the Differenceā award
Discovery
Goal šÆ
To create and continually reference to help inform and guide our design process by understanding user needs, behaviors and the overall user journey.
Explorations
Research
Goals šÆ
Discover how associates save for their futures, what is most important to them, and how much they know about their benefits.
Validate designs and find out what is missing.
Key takeaways š
Majority of associates did not know how to effectively save for their futures, and were not aware of the full benefits offered to them
The designs were simple and easy to use but some elements were unclear (matching & graph.
Roth information was missing.
We tested and validated our designs through Zoom moderated studies. We had support from our Research partners, however we created and ran the studies and synthesized the findings ourselves. We talked to store associates and managers.
Handoff
Goal šÆ
Ensure a smooth, accurate and efficient transition from design to development, including responsive design and accessibility
Metrics
Data is from Feb 2023 launch - March 2023 (1 month)
Wins
Reflection
I joined this project after it had already started, so I wish I was there to help guide and inform the initial discovery process. I see discovery as a critical first step, helping ensure our solutions are user-centered and grounded in real user needs.
Overall Iām proud of this work because it showed how thoughtful design can drive real behavior change, leading not only to higher engagement but also meaningful actions like benefit updates and financial learning, while helping associates feel more supported and confident in their financial future.