Usability Evaluation of No Frills’ Online Shopping Experience
About the Project
This project focuses on identifying usability breakdowns of No Frills' online website through moderated Usability Testing, Heuristic Evaluation, and Affinity Mapping.
Research Methods Used
Usability Testing, Heuristic Evaluation, Affinity Mapping
Role
UX Researcher
Timeline
March 2025 - April 2025
Tools
Team
Individual
Project Overview
This case study explores usability challenges on the No Frills website through moderated usability testing with 6 participants. Users were asked to complete four core tasks: ordering groceries for pickup or delivery, finding promotions, applying digital coupons, and creating a shopping list.
The study uncovered recurring usability issues related to navigation clarity, system feedback, and task discoverability, along with several interactions that users found intuitive and effective.
This case study focuses on synthesizing and presenting research findings to highlight key UX opportunities for improvement.
Objectives
🎯 Identify key usability issues across core user tasks on the No Frills website
🎯 Understand how users navigate and experience the interface during real-world tasks
🎯 Translate research findings into actionable UX recommendations
A glance at what was discovered at the end
👉 Key Insights + Design Recommendations
🧭 Navigation Lacked Clarity
Users struggled to initiate core tasks due to vague and overloaded navigation labels.
Clarify and streamline navigation labels to help users initiate and complete core tasks with confidence.
▶ Addresses: Unclear navigation, visual overwhelm
🚫 Critical Feedback Came Too Late
System constraints (pickup availability, account requirements) were revealed only after users had already invested effort.
Display requirements like pickup availability, minimum order values, and login prompts earlier in the user journey.
▶ Addresses: Delayed system feedback
🔎 Key Features Were Hard to Discover
Essential actions like adding items to lists or accessing coupons were buried or unclear.
Increase the visibility of key features such as digital coupons and shopping lists to reduce guesswork.
▶ Addresses: Discoverability issues
Detailed Findings by Task (4 Tasks)
Task 1: Order Groceries for Pickup or Delivery
❌ No Clear Starting Point
Participants struggled to initiate an order and clicked around the homepage trying to determine where to begin.
Why this matters
Lack of a clear entry point increases cognitive load and delays task completion.
Recommendation
💡 Introduce a prominent “Start Order” CTA on the homepage to guide users immediately.
❌ Minimum Order Requirement Communicated Too Late
The $30 minimum order requirement was only revealed after users had already progressed through the task.
Why this matters
Late disclosure disrupts task flow, increases frustration, and can lead users to abandon their order.
Recommendation
💡 Display critical information like minimum orders early in the user journey.
❌ Pickup or Delivery Availability Was Unclear
Participants selected a store but were not informed why pickup or delivery options weren’t available.
Why this matters
Lack of clear feedback leaves users confused, increases friction, and can cause task abandonment.
Recommendation
💡 Provide immediate feedback when pickup or delivery isn’t available, including explanations or alternatives.
✅ Cart Interaction Was Smooth and Intuitive
Participants appreciated that clicking “+” quickly added items to the cart with clear visual feedback, and they moved through checkout efficiently.
Why this matters
Intuitive cart interactions reduce friction, increase confidence, and support faster task completion.
Recommendation
💡 Maintain and replicate this smooth, visual feedback pattern in other interactive areas.
Task 2: Find coupons or promotions
❌ Confusing Flyer & Coupon Navigation
Participants didn’t know which tab to use or what counted as a usable coupon.
Why this matters
Unclear navigation and labelling cause confusion, slow task completion, and reduce engagement with promotions.
Recommendation
💡 Simplify and clarify flyer/coupon tabs, and label usable coupons clearly to improve discoverability.
❌ Cart Progress Lost During Navigation
One participant became lost while exploring promotions and lost their in-progress cart.
Why this matters
Losing progress creates frustration, disrupts task flow, and can lead to task abandonment.
Recommendation
💡 Preserve cart state across navigation and provide clear indicators of ongoing progress to reduce confusion.
Task 3: Apply a Digital Coupon to your cart
❌ Finding 1: Confusing account requirements – Participants didn’t know PC Optimum was needed; many tried with PC ID.
🔴 High severity
🧠 Heuristic Violated: Consistency and Standards
→ Screenshot:
❌ Finding 2: Scrollable content wasn’t obvious – several participants didn’t notice that coupon sections could be scrolled through.
🟠 Medium severity
🧠 Heuristic Violated: Visibility of system status
→ Screenshot:
✅ Finding 3: Digital coupons were viewed and interpreted successfully by some users once they accessed the right page.
🧠 Heuristic Supported: Recognition rather than recall
→ Screenshot:
✅ Recommendations
→ Keep the digital coupons within the same browser tab.
→ Add a prominent message before viewing/applying coupons: “Sign in with your PC Optimum account to use coupons.”
→ Clarify account needs: PC Optimum vs PC ID; possibly merge or explain the difference clearly at login or sign-up.
→ Highlight the scrollability of the coupons page with a visual cue or animation.
Task 4: Create a shopping list and add items to it
❌ Finding 1: The “Edit” function is misleading – Participants thought “Edit List” would let them add items, but it only allowed renaming.
🟠 Medium severity
🧠 Heuristic Violated: Match between system and real world
→ Screenshot:
❌ Finding 2: Items added to cart instead of list – Participants added items from the product page, expecting it to go to the list, but it went to the cart.
🔴 High severity
🧠 Heuristic Violated: User Control and Freedom
→ Screenshot:
✅ Finding 3: The “Add to List” feature works well once discovered.
🧠 Heuristic Supported: Flexibility and Efficiency of use
→ Screenshot:
✅ Recommendations
→ Change “Edit List” to “Rename List” and add a separate “Add Items” button.
→ When browsing items, offer a clear “Add to List” button alongside “Add to Cart”.
→ Provide feedback to confirm whether an item has been added.
→ Consider a floating “Add to List” feature accessible while browsing.
AFFINITY MAPPING
The data collected during the usability sessions were analyzed using a qualitative approach, primarily through Affinity Mapping. All observations, user comments, and behavioural notes were organized into clusters based on emerging themes.
CONCLUSION
The usability testing sessions revealed several critical areas of improvement across the No Frills website. While participants appreciated features like the flyer layout, fast cart interaction, and the ability to build shopping lists, their experiences were often hindered by unclear navigation, disorienting layout, inconsistent login requirements, and buried functionality.
Conducting this study allowed me to observe real user behaviour, uncovering friction points that might not be obvious.
NEXT STEPS
→ Sketch potential design improvements addressing usability issues identified through testing and heuristic evaluation.
→ Translate sketches into low-fidelity wireframes.
→ Develop interactive prototypes for key user flows.
→ Validate iterations through follow-up usability testing, refining solutions based on user feedback.