FutureFarm
Agricultural eCommerce Marketplace
Streamlining Bulk Purchases for Farmers
Date
Nov 2024 - Present
Deliverables
iOS
Android
Responsive website
My Role
User research
Responsive design
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability testing
Design system
Team
CTO
Lead engineer
Front-end developers
Back-end developers
Objective
FutureFarm is an agricultural eCommerce platform that enables farmers to purchase farming resource, and helps distributors sell them. To support FutureFarm’s global business expansion and drive higher revenue, I focused on streamlining the shopping experience with the goal of increasing average order value (AOV) as a key success metric.
PDP
ORDER PAGE
checkout
Previous Design
Problems
One item per transaction system causes inefficiency of making bulk purchases
Users have been complaining about the inefficiency of making bulk purchases, as they could only buy one item per transaction. As the business grew, these complaints became more frequent. The current business constraint is the drop-shipping model, which doesn’t involve a central warehouse. The company recognised this issue and wanted to find a solution. With these pain points in mind, I began conducting research to deeper understand and address the problems.
Personas
With the existing insights in the company, I created B2B and B2C user personas to understand each user type's needs. I found the app was designed with B2B users in mind, which led to challenges for B2C users. The main pain point was the inefficiency of bulk purchasing, as B2C users had to make individual purchases instead of adding multiple items to a single transaction.
👨💼 B2B User Type
James Carter
The Agricultural Distributor
Age: 45
Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Product Type: Fertilisers & Crop Protections
Goals
Offer competitive pricing and deliver products on time.
Streamline logistics and order processing.
Pain Points
Difficulty tracking market trends and adjusting pricing dynamically.
Managing logistics and accommodating various payment methods for each order.
Farmers’ hesitancy to adopt digital ordering platforms.
🧑🌾 B2C User Type (End-User)
Sarah Thompson
The Independent Farmer
Age: 38
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Farm Type: Livestock & Crops
Goals
Find the best prices for agricultural inputs (fuel, fertiliser, seeds).
Managing online purchases easily without constantly tracking.
Pain Points
Time-consuming price comparisons across multiple suppliers.
Lack of transparency in pricing and order tracking.
Limited access to bulk discounts due to being an independent farmer.
It’s time to understand B2C users better...
User Insights
I conducted user research, including interviews with 3 active users and 2 new users, along with app feedback and insights from the customer service team. I found that users experience usability issues, unclear navigation, and misleading information during the purchasing process create friction and inconvenience for users.
🧑🌾 User Interviews & 💬 App Feedback & 📞 Customer Service
The order form is hard to read and navigate. I often have to double-check to ensure I didn’t miss anything.
I’ve heard a lot about digital ordering, but I’m not sure I trust it yet. The platform needs to feel more reliable.
Where can I download the safety documents?
Can’t I buy multiple items? It takes me directly to payment.
I didn’t notice the checkbox for the license agreement.
I was confused by the checkout process; it didn’t seem clear where my cart was or how to complete the purchase.
It would be really helpful to track my orders and see where everything is at in one place.
Where can I ask questions about the products?
The texts are too small and hard to read.
I have to scroll a lot to reach checkout when all product details are expanded.
The app doesn’t always show accurate stock levels, so I get frustrated when items aren’t available.
The prices seem inconsistent. Sometimes they’re not updated in real time, which is frustrating.
Internal Stakeholder Interview
I interviewed our CEO and CTO for insights from both user and business perspectives, cross-checking their input with my research. They emphasised expanding the business, increasing average order value, and providing a seamless bulk purchasing experience for farmers.
💡 Business point of view
Business Goal
Expand to the global market and drive higher order values for better cash flow.
Commercial Goal
Increase Average Order Value through bundled orders.
Technical Challenge
Revise the system to allow bulk purchases instead of limiting one item per order.
🧑🌾 B2C users’ point of view
Bulk Purchase Expectation
Farmers expect to buy in bulk and need a smooth process to purchase multiple items in a single transaction.
Ordering Usability
Ordering process requires users to repeatedly navigate between product and price information.
how are we going to balance these?
Current User Journey
I mapped the user journey to understand B2C users' experience with the FutureFarm app. Users struggled with navigating product details, found the order form challenging to complete, and faced inefficiencies due to the inability to purchase multiple products in one transaction.
How might we streamline the ordering experience?
Pain Points & Solutions
Pain Point 1
Frustration navigating product details and completing the order form
PDP
ORDER PAGE
Users had to switch between the Product Detail Page and the Order Page to check the price per quantity and enter the quantity.
Users had limited options to edit contact details or add new addresses on the Order Page, often resorting to the delivery notes section for special requests.
1
1
2
Solution 1
Improving Usability on PDP & Order Page
We believe that by improving the user interface and making product details clearer, users will make more informed decisions and experience a smoother ordering process.
So, if we enhance the product detail and checkout pages, we will reduce drop-off points and friction.
We will know this by measuring the drop-off rate and conversion rate.
PDP
PDP
Users can easily check the price/quantity while selecting the quantity, as both are displayed nearby.
Product details are easy to navigate with expandable sections for finer details.
1
2
Pain Point 2
Inability to purchase multiple products in one transaction
There was no option to purchase multiple items in one transaction, requiring separate orders for each product.
ORDER PAGE
→ (dIRECTLY) →
checkout
Solution 2
Implementing Basket Feature
We believe that introducing a basket feature will allow users to purchase multiple items in a single transaction.
So, if we enable users to add multiple items and edit order details before checkout, they can complete bulk purchases more efficiently and save on shipping costs.
We will know this by measuring the Average Order Value.
The basket feature enables users to purchase multiple products in a single transaction, streamlining the ordering process.
Users can adjust order quantities with flexibility before checkout.
Given the nature of businesses, users often require deliveries to multiple locations. The new basket menu allows users to select delivery addresses and add notes in the basket.
BASKET
DELIVERY ADDRESS
1
2
how did the users find the new designs?
Usability Testing
I conducted usability testing with 5 B2C users to assess how easily they could select product quantities, review pricing details, and complete the basket addition process without confusion. Feedback revealed issues with pricing visibility, information accessibility, and overall usability.
Some product titles were cut off due to restricted space, making identification difficult.
The delivery selection button was easily missed, despite being placed at the top of each item.
Users were uncertain why the CTA was deactivated.
Delivery address selection was unclear, leading to repeated user actions.
Users had to manually leave notes for the same address each time, adding extra effort.
BASKET
DELIVERY ADDRESS
Users overlooked stock availability, leading to confusion.
Users still had to look for safety documents under Specifications, this still lacked visibility.
PDP
PDP
Pricing details (total vs. individual price) were unclear, causing hesitation.
Final Design
The final design improved navigation, streamlined ordering, and ensured key information was easily accessible.
Design System
I developed a modular design system with reusable components, color palette, and typography to address FutureFarm's design inconsistencies and handover inefficiencies. The system was implemented in Storybook to ensure cross-team alignment and improve accessibility.
Typography
Tap Bar
Typeface
Roboto - Google Font
Aa
Light
300
Aa
Regular
400
Aa
Medium
500
Aa
Semibold
600
Aa
Bold
700
Text Style
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Body 2
Body 1
Body 3
Name
Bold 700
Bold 700
Bold 700
Bold 700
Medium 500
Regular 400
Regular 400
Regular 400
Weight
38/46
30/38
24/32
16/24
14/22
12/20
20/28
16/24
Size/Line-Height
Home
Browse
Basket
Profile
Home
Browse
Basket
Profile
Home
Browse
Basket
Profile
Home
Browse
Basket
Profile
Colours
Alert Notifications
Warning
Info
Error
Success
Primary
Neutral
Main
60%
30%
10%
Secondary
Accent
Buttons
Primary
Hover
Disabled
Secondary
Hover
Disabled
Text
Success Text
Error Text
Info Text
Warning Text
Checkbox
Default Checkbox
Default Checkbox
Disabled Checkbox
Radio Button
Toggle
Active Radio
Default Radio
Expected Impact
The solutions are in development and undergoing user acceptance testing, with a planned launch in March. We expect to see measurable results by Q1 2026. Currently, the average order value is £2–3K, but with these updates, we anticipate it increasing to £15K once fully adopted.
400%
increase in
Average Order Value
25%
increase in
Conversion Rate
Learnings
Agricultural eCommerce has unique purchasing behaviours. Farmers often need different delivery addresses for different products, require eligibility verification for certain products, and rely on key documents before ordering. They also prioritise price-per-quantity comparisons.
Users need clear indicators and confirmations at every step. I found that they rely on visual cues and feedback messages far more than expected. I incorporated explicit action prompts and confirmation messages throughout the interactions to improve clarity.
Key information needs to stay visible throughout the ordering process. Farmers need reminders of critical details to make informed decisions. I ensured that essential information, such as pricing breakdowns, eligibility requirements, and delivery details, remains accessible until the checkout step.
Next Steps
After user acceptance testing, I will analyse feedback to identify further improvements for a smoother ordering process.
With another project in the pipeline, I will continue updating the design system and collaborating with developers to integrate updates into the library.
I will document a work process to improve handovers with developers, ensuring smoother collaboration and implementation.
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