When the pandemic hit, in-store shopping nearly stopped. Employees were stretched thin, customers avoided contact, and checkout lines became a bottleneck. Best Buy’s stock fell 45% in March 2020, and leadership needed a safer, faster way to serve customers in-store without sacrificing sales.
Enabling mobile checkout at scale
Helping customers shop faster and safer during COVID
Case Study
App
2022
Overview
Problem
- Forced customers to wait in long checkout lines
- Increased contact risk during the pandemic
- Slowed down store traffic and employee efficiency
Solution
- Designed a scan-and-go checkout flow for speed
- Simplified payments with clear, guided steps
- Launched across 100 pilot stores to reduce friction
Collaborators
My Role
UX Designer II (Design Lead)
Employee Selling Tools Team
Design
Product
Engineering
+8
Research
Results
Mobile Self-Checkout Transactions
+125K
Results from 100 pilot stores over a 30-day period with “Grab & Go” small items only
Customer Transaction Speed
+32%
Measured by average time from scan to payment confirmation across pilot stores
Grab & Go Item Sales
+18%
Driven by faster checkout and higher confidence with small-item purchases
App Downloads
+11%
Increased adoption after launch through in-store signage, promotions and visibility
My Responsibilities
Design Responsibilities
• User Experience Design
• User Interface Design
• Information Architecture
• Interaction Design
• Design System Integration
Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Product Strategy Alignment
• Research & Synthesis with PM + UXR
• Stakeholder Workshops
• Developer Handoff & QA
• KPI Definition & Post-launch Analysis
Timeline & Status
Timeline
Q1 2020 – Q2 2022
Status
Shipped
Team
Design
Experience Design Manager
Sr. Product Designer
Sr. Product Designer
Product
Sr. Product Manager, E-Comm
Engineering
Dir. Engineering, Retail Tech
Sr. Engineering Manager
+8
Engineers & QAs
Research
Sr. UX Researcher
UX Researcher
Tools
Design
Collaboration
Engineering
Research
See More Details
Includes responsibilities, timeline, status, team details and tools
Problem
A global pandemic hit the country, our customers and our stock price hard. Something had to be done.
Employee sanitizing counter before store opening (Credit: Best Buy)
Best Buy stock performance during early pandemic period
Solution
I helped launched a Mobile Self-Checkout feature to help customers scan, pay and exit quickly.
Overview of the end-to-end checkout experience
We built a new “Mobile Self-Checkout” feature directly inside the Best Buy app. Customers could scan products, pay instantly, and walk out with a digital receipt: no register, no waiting, no contact.
Simple illustrations clarifying the checkout flow
Certain products require the full checkout at a register
A short onboarding screen explains the flow: scan, pay, and show your digital receipt at the door. Larger or restricted items automatically route to an employee checkout, so the system stays flexible and compliant.
One-tap protection plan option for eligible products
Complex items needing serial number scan to proceed
We added logic for multi-scan products (like devices with serial numbers) and optional add-ons like protection plans. This let customers buy complex tech as easily as a charging cable, all without any employee assistance.
Process
We looked at the past data and combined ith with new asks to build out the feature quickly.
Self-Checkout addresses the key pandemic-era bottlenecks
Customer checkout preferences (Best Buy User Research, 2020)
We mapped how customers move through stores and where time was lost. Then we rebuilt the checkout journey to be faster, simpler, and more intuitive. From research, we distilled six values: Quick, Secure, Simple, Options, Quiet, and Personal and used them as our north star throughout design.
Cross-functional collaboration (XFN)
Team
How we collaborated
Design
Partnered with the Seattle Consumer App team to align patterns, system constraints, and flows across iOS, Android, and Web
Product
Worked with PMs to define scope, prioritize MVP, and validate impact metrics
Engineering
Collaborated on scanner tech, payment flow, and barcode accuracy to ensure smooth store performance
Research
Observed in-store sessions, gathered employee and customer feedback, and helped validate final flows through pilot stores
Based on our findings and requirements, we started to build out the feature. This was a small yet nimble team that needed to ship quickly and efficiently. We planned to pilot the feature across 100 stores to validate performance before scaling nationwide.
“Any checkout method that can help me save time and not stand at the register is the most important thing.”
Customer, "Best Buy User Research, 2020”
The above quote really put us in the mindset of our customers. They were tired, scared, anxious and more while waiting in the stores. They wanted to come in, buy what they needed and leave. Every piece of functionality had to help them do this.
Wireframing with the Seattle Consumer App design team
I worked closely with the Seattle team to define screen structure and scanning logic. Together we shaped how the layout supported both product and tech needs.
Iterating and refining the barcode scanner flow
The scanner went through numerous iterations before we landed on the final design. I was in constant communication with my team to check in, pivot and polish as we went. In the end, the scanner not only scanning quicker but users had fewer issues using it.
Redesigning the exit receipt for better usability
The simple Exit Receipt evolved into a fully robust and solid foundation for the future. With new features to build confidence, we also added key pieces of information for both the customer and employee scanning the barcode.
Final employee research before pilot launch
In-store signage introducing the new Self-Checkout feature
We partnered with store employees to test prototypes on-site. Their feedback shaped everything from button placement to instructional copy. Once ready, stores promoted the feature with in-store signage ahead of the holiday season.
Black Friday crowds at Best Buy (Credit: Best Buy)
We fully integrated our Self-Checkout feature in the Best Buy App just in time for Thanksgiving. We shipped just in time for the biggest shopping weekend of the year. This feature would help stores manage store traffic while keeping interactions safe and efficient.
Results
Customers and employees loved how the feature saved them time and gave them peace of mind.
Pilot across 100 stores over 30 days for “Grab & Go” purchases
Average checkout time measured from scan to payment confirmation
During the weeks leading up to and after Black Friday, we saw the usage of the feature jump. Even after Black Friday was over, customers were still using the feature since it was often faster than waiting in line.
“It was great to use since there was only 1 register open with a dozen people in line. I was able to pay and leave the store quickly.”
In-Store Customer
During a tough time for Best Buy, it was great to get customer feedback letting us know they appreciated the feature. While it's not perfect, we knew that we built something the people appreciated in a tough time.
Roadmap
Next, we're expanding the feature to allow for more payment types and more products.
New payment methods integrated into the feature
Expanded product eligibility for Self-Checkout
Moving forward, we’re enabling Apple Pay and Google Pay and expanding eligibility beyond small “Grab & Go” items to full-aisle purchases. This will make the experience even faster and extend self-checkout to more of Best Buy’s catalog.