Marketplace Mobile App
Edible Arrangements
Sole designer on a B2B mobile app that empowered Edible Arrangements franchise store owners to order supplies, manage inventory, and communicate with vendors — from anywhere. The project addressed deep structural problems with the existing web platform while adding entirely new mobile-first capabilities.
A Website That Was Getting in the Way
The Problem
The existing web-based ordering platform had significant usability issues: poor search results, too many steps to complete a purchase, no mobile access, and no way for suppliers to manage their own product listings without deleting them entirely. Store owners across the country were frustrated — and the business was feeling it.
The Assignment
Working closely with a Product Manager, I was brought in as the sole UX/UI designer to reimagine the ordering experience from the ground up — building a mobile app that store owners could use on-the-go, with a dramatically improved search and browse experience and a new vendor management layer.
Stakeholder Requirements
Fewer Clicks
Re-envision all purchasing flows to streamline the process — including adding new payment options: credit card, check, Amazon Pay, and deferred payments.
Mobile-First
Empower store owners to order goods for their stores while traveling or away from the office — a capability the existing website simply could not offer.
Suggestive Selling
The app should recommend complementary products at key moments in the purchase flow — surfacing cross-sell opportunities that the flat website missed.
Supplier Controls
Suppliers needed a login where they could update stock levels without the ability to permanently delete products — a critical data integrity requirement.
What 10–15 Store Owners Said
Interviews with store owners across the United States surfaced a clear and consistent set of pain points: search results returned items in wrong categories; there was no mobile version for managing orders on the go; multi-store owners had no way to switch between their locations; the communications area was hard to find; and there was no Auto-Ship option for regularly ordered items. The single comment that every person interviewed made, without exception: "Make it like Amazon."
The Search Problem Had No Easy Fix
The root cause of poor search results was inadequate product tags and metadata — items simply weren't categorized correctly in the database. Resources to re-tag the entire catalog were not forthcoming in any reasonable timeframe. That constraint drove everything: rather than waiting for a data fix that wasn't coming, the design needed to work around the limitation and still deliver accurate, useful results. I started sketching immediately, working with the Product Manager to validate ideas with developers as the concepts took shape.
How We Solved the Experience
- 01
Filtering by Category, Supplier, and Occasion
Rather than relying solely on text search — which produced poor results due to tagging issues — we added robust filtering as a primary navigation mode. Users could browse by category, supplier, or occasion and find what they needed without typing a single word.
- 02
Predictive Text Search
For users who did want to search, predictive text provided easy access to product pages — filling the gap while the underlying tag quality remained inconsistent.
- 03
Suggestive Selling Throughout the Flow
Cross-sell banners appeared in search results and on the home screen. Product pages featured a 'Usually Bought With' section. The cart included a 'Don't Forget' module. Every handoff moment in the purchase flow became an opportunity for discovery.
- 04
Multi-Store Owner Support
A top-level store selector let multi-location owners choose which store they were shopping for. All pricing, payment options, and delivery details adjusted automatically to the selected location.
- 05
Auto-Ship
In the cart, users could flag items for Auto-Ship and set the frequency — directly addressing one of the most consistent requests from the interview phase.
- 06
Mailbox-Style Communications
The previously buried communications area was redesigned as a mailbox-style inbox accessible directly from the profile icon — making it easy to find and use without hunting through menus.
Store Owner Screens
Categories & Product Detail
Cart, Payment & Delivery
New Capabilities for Suppliers
- 01
Product Management
Vetted and approved vendor accounts could quickly update product listings — marking items as Out of Stock, adjusting availability, or choosing to edit details — without the ability to permanently delete products from the catalog.
- 02
Product Detail Editing
Vendors could edit the product type, name, pricing, and description directly from their mobile account — removing the dependency on central admin for routine catalog maintenance.
- 03
Shipment Tracking
Vendors gained visibility into their shipments across all stores — a new capability that reduced inbound support requests and gave suppliers a clearer picture of their distribution.
Supplier Management Views
Store Owners and Vendors Put It Through Its Paces
What They Said
Participants were given the task of locating items using the new filtering system. Use of the preset sections — Categories, Occasions, and Suppliers — varied by user, proving that including all three was the right call. Quotes from sessions: 'Cool! Can I see it again?' 'Pretty darn intuitive.' 'Simple. Liked it.' 'Smooth flow — I didn't have to type.'
The Dev Challenge
Amazon-style ecommerce patterns were either unavailable or unfamiliar to the development team based in Pakistan — a real execution risk. The solution: comprehensive style guides with explicit spacing specs, font sizes, and component behavior. Once those were in place, implementation came together quickly and accurately.
What Comes After Launch
The most impactful next step remains the search quality problem at its root: convincing management to allocate resources for better tagging, and allowing vendors to tag their own products so search results improve organically over time. Beyond that — A/B testing the Category vs. Occasion nomenclature, and expanding the experience to desktop and responsive tablet layouts.
