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Capstone Project ( Final Year Project )
We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it
- WWF UK Chief Exec Tanya Steele.
71%
Millennials are highly concerned about the environment.
- Pew Research Center, 2021
85%
is the online shopping penetration rate of millennials.
- Statista, 2021
3.7x
higher operating margin of companies with high ESG ratings.
- Reptrak, 2020
We are currently part of a “Millennial” generation that is highly concerned with the environment, yet also makes the largest number of online purchases compared to other age groups with this purchasing trend only to increase in the years to come.
There is a desperate need for the major e-commerce players to step up and help these users be more aware of the green alternatives out there.
1
Aim to help millennials who want to be sustainable by making them reflect on their purchases.
2
Be able to make purchases that are both economical and sustainable.
3
Furthermore, validate the efforts of the user after their order has been placed.
71%
consider sustainability as an important purchase criterion
-Business Wire, 2021
42%
of millennials are willing to pay a premium for sustainability
- Business Wire, 2021
2030
USA needs to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals
- UNDP, 2021
There has been a growing interest in sustainability and hence a change in consumer behavior causing a significant jump in the field.
Organizations and companies in the US are trying to be sustainable by the year 2030 to abide by the SDG goals set by the United Nations.
The age group is a little fuzzy but Millennials are those individuals that were born between-
They are-
Are aware of how serious the issue is with climate change and protecting the planet for future generations.
Have a considerable awareness of the world of sustainability and its benefits.
Say that sustainability is important when making purchase decisions.
Literature Survey
User Interview
User Journey
Design Exemplar
63% of shopping
begins online
47% would pay
more for sustainable products
49% of cart abandonments
are due to high prices
Sustainability is more popular in houses earning > $50k
80% believe that companies have an obligation to disclose the environmental impact
75 percent of Millennials are eco-conscious to the point of changing their buying habits
6
participants
25 to 32
age range
ONE
Want sustainable information from the getgo
"I’d love it if there was a feature that let me know if a product is good for the environment upfront cause now I have to scroll all the way down to the details and read through it and check”
TWO
Concern over Pricing
“Even though I am concerned with the environment, the price of the product matters to me the most at this point. For instance, plastic bags are cheaper and more reliable”
THREE
Nudge users to make sustainable choices
“I’ve tried to adopt the sustainable lifestyle but it’s hard to do it without any assistance from the platforms that I use”
TreeCard
The wooden Mastercard that reforests the planet as you spend.
1. Sends out detailed reports of the user's impacts
2. The wooden cards are made of sustainably sourced trees
3. Changes the way users spend their money
MasterCard Carbon Calculator
Allows you to view the estimated carbon footprint of all your purchases
1. With an understanding of your day-to-day footprint, you can make small adjustments in real time
2. A single donation, a roundup of your purchase or a monthly donation can all contribute to restoring forests around the world.
Think Dirty App
With Think Dirty, you can track dirty ingredients, discover cleaner alternatives and scan the product barcode for easy-to-understand information
1. Find out which ingredients are potentially toxic in your cosmetics and personal care products.
2. An in-depth assessment of ingredients, certifications, and health impacts is provided through the Dirty Meter.
Leafscore
This website helps consumers make greener purchases to combat climate change by giving out a green score.
1. Supports companies committed to the planet by "voting with dollars," which forces manufacturers to take environmental considerations into account
2. The products on this site are trustworthy and sustainably made with the least environmental impact possible
Target Millennials since they are the ones that are highly concerned about the environment.
Come up with a solution for an online platform since most of the shopping begins there.
Generate ideas that make sustainable purchases economical.
Make the users reflect on their purchase history so that they can alter their lifestyle to be more sustainable.
Help validate the users of the impact that they are making with their greener purchases.
How might we come up with a solution that persuades millennials who want to be sustainable to look at and purchase alternatives that are eco-friendly and at the same time economical?
Performed Guerilla testing with participants around the university that matched my persona
QUESTION
What kind of information would you like to see in the interaction that would help you pause and reflect on your purchases to be more sustainable?
One
"I wish there was a ‘Read More’ button so that I could learn more about the Sustainability Program"
Two
"It would be convenient to see if there are alternatives for the product on the search results page."
Three
"I don’t know if seeing my carbon emission helps me with making any decision since I don’t fully understand it"
2nd
Biggest retail e-commerce company in the US
-Statista, 2022
45%
of the mobile users are in the age range of 25-34
-Start.io, 2022
17.5%
reduction in scopes 1 and 2 emissions in 2020
-Walmart, 2022
Walmart is the second biggest online retail e-commerce platform in the US, second only to Amazon.
A large chunk of its mobile app users is millennials.
As a company, Walmart is doing a lot to be sustainable by the year 2030 on the business side but not much has been done on the customer side.
There is a need for Walmart to empower its users to be able to protect the planet and be more aware of the world of sustainability
Home(Opt-in)
Home(Opt-in Confirmed)
Search
Search Result
Product Page
Product Page on scroll
On adding the suggested alternative
On rejecting the suggested alternative
Shopping Cart
Reserve delivery time
Payment Summary
Eco-impact Screen
Account Settings
Account Settings on scroll
Sustainability Report
Building a database large enough to suggest sustainable alternatives to all products.
Financial repercussions caused from not promoting non-sustainable products.
Educating and motivating other personas to maintain a sustainable lifestyle.
Have a section that displays green alternatives
Sift through purchase history from email to suggest green products
Add a filter to Sort by Most Sustainable Product
Have a section that displays green alternatives
Suggest sustainable choices made by friends
Promote purchasing from local store instead of online
Promote picking alternatives from local warehouse
Show impact from picking up from delivery store
For items that may not be economical but are more sustainable-
A visual indication of the number of trees you’re protecting
After a discussion with our stakeholders, We realized that we can view google analytics data and set up automatic tools to track users’ trails. But it’s a lot of work to set that up and analyze the data.
More importantly-
It does not give us an answer as to why users are not clicking or following a flow.
The best way to measure success is
By running user tests biannually
Reduction in the number of calls/emails to the LCI team asking about which course to signup for (from customers and salespeople)
Reduction in negative feedback about LCI
Want to know more about my story? Read here >
