Yo Local: The solution to helping neighbourhood businesses after COVID-19

12 min readMay 6, 2020

Introduction

During the lockdown laws by COVID-19, we were concerned about the impact that this pandemic could have in the face of a possible crisis in local and small businesses. Businesses that are not digitized are the ones that will have the hardest time getting back to normal and need help to get ahead.

On the other hand, people want to help these businesses, but they need information and security to make sure they are supporting those who need it.

That is why we developed Yo Local, our neighbourhood store crowdfunding marketplace with recommendations that help residents and communities who want to get quality local products so that they feel that they are having a positive impact when shopping at a nearby store.

First contact

Once the challenge started, we dedicated the first week to understanding the situation and proposing some hypotheses. To do this, we carried out desk research that allowed us to focus on how and to whom we could help.

The results allowed us to see a clear trend in higher consumption via online platforms during the quarantine and, above all, through the mobile phone, the device in which Internet consumption increased the most.

Hypothesis

The research helped us validate that hypothesis and we reached the following conclusions:

“ Small businesses are not digitized and need help from other groups.”
“Many of the businesses will close their doors if they don’t get help to get ahead.”
“ People want to help small businesses , but they will need information.”
“People do not have the certainty that they are helping the business that needs it and it is key to be able to trust.”

We conducted an online survey to obtain quantitative data on eating, purchasing, communication and information habits, among others, and we analyzed the responses of 311 participants. At the same time, we did 16 interviews with local business owners and 14 interviews with consumers, whose opinion allowed us to delve into qualitative aspects.

Findings

By collecting all the information, we managed to find various insights to shape the idea. We share some of them:

“We have had to throw away the entire product, as it is a perishable product.”
“We are very worried. It is the only source of income we have . ”
“We are postponing the work but without the certainty of whether we will be able to recover it.”
“ People should realize the importance of small and medium trade in our lives.”
“Because of the emergency I now make addresses via WhatsApp “.
“When this is all over, people won’t want to spend as much as they used to.”
“We have social media and the web, but it doesn’t do much good .”
“I have received some support initiatives proposed by clients .”
“ Create a collaborative community where we can help each other when needed.”

Platforms such as de Miro, facilitated remote work for the analysis of the interviews.

The main concern of merchants and customers is the low online presence of local businesses, which means that their customers do not have the necessary information or a communication channel to access their products and make purchases in the neighbourhood.

‘User Persona’

There are two types of very important profiles with common concerns and that need each other. On the one hand, there are traders, who share the short-term frustrations and concerns of their economic environment. On the other hand, the consumer is another key user in the relationship with the merchant. This user is the one who defines consumer habits, needs and positive solutions that can help the customer in the future.

This is how we met Joaquín, an entrepreneur with a business that has suffered economic losses during the quarantine, affecting his main source of income. Joaquín wants to be able to recover so that he does not have to close and adapt to the new normality (especially, becoming more digital), because he needs to recover that source of income to help his family get ahead.

Paloma is our user person with the customer profile. She is part of a community concerned about the country’s economy and the situation that confinement has caused, and that is why she wants to help small businesses so that we can overcome it all together.

Define

To delve into the user persona we use an empathy map. We found benefits and pain points for each of them, much clearer after validating them with the research.

The empathy map shows that the consumer has a tendency to buy in large stores because it is easier for them and there is a greater variety of products. In their environment, there is talk that consumer habits are changing with the pandemic and that local businesses have to go digital in order to offer reliable information about the products they sold since it generates distrust to enter these stores.

On the other hand, the merchant has uncertainty about his business. When forced to physically close, he has to find other options to continue with his business. He is determined to use platforms that facilitate communication and the dissemination of his products to find his clients there, who are the ones who will help him maintain his business. He is very willing to make changes and is ready to take action.

Ideation

With a clearer picture of our users, we launched how might we to start devising the solution based on our research. Thus we come to the definitive HMW that articulates the work we have done.

How could we facilitate a connection to local businesses that are not essential and have been quarantined by the coronavirus?

The figure of the facilitator was key to taking advantage of time and establishing the times and processes to be followed during the brainstorming exercise. The result was revealing and we managed to come up with many ideas to move forward with.

At the end of the session, we use a matrix to classify ideas and choose the most viable and innovative ones.

The dotmocracy allowed us to choose the ideas that best respond to the research.

Lace and the value proposition

To achieve the value proposition, we made the fit between research and ideation to visualize the frustrations and joys of the user person.

Both the customer profile and the value map focus on the direction of our project. This allowed us to prioritize the frustrations and joys of the user persona on which we can intervene and reach a solution, thus defining the value proposition.

From the beginning, we have insisted on the importance of having two user person, given the findings of our research. Both the consumer and the merchant must have a value proposition, which led us to define them as follows:

Consumer
Our neighborhood store crowdfunding marketplace with recommendations helps neighborhood residents and communities who want to get reliable, quality and natural products (and, in turn, help local businesses) to avoid the frustration of not finding everything they need. You need or the expected quality and increase your sense of security of buying quality products and doing something that impacts.
Merchant
Our neighborhood store crowdfunding marketplace with recommendations helps entrepreneurs who offer second-necessity products and who want to sell their products, make themselves known and recover their economy after COVID-19 to avoid the frustration of not being digitized or having advertising and increase your sense of security of selling the best products, caring for and serving the neighborhood residents.

Business model ( Business Model Canvas )

We use the business model (BMC) to study the feasibility of the project. To do this, we analyze who our key partners are, the actions we need to take and the economic sustainability of the project.

Idea Canvas

With all the UX part done, we made a canvas idea to land everything we had researched, devised and validated as the last step before prototyping.

Prototypes

Storyboards and user testing

In order to test the solution, we made two storyboards, one for the consumer and one for the merchant.

Consumer

Here we can see the user shopping in his neighbourhood after a pandemic. Seeing that many businesses are in crisis or closed, she goes to Yo Local to buy a product and discovers that there are other businesses near her home that can meet her needs.

We also tested with these users flow in Mid-Fidelity to get an idea of the platform and test features that we had doubts about. For example, the display of stores as a map or in a list, a donation functionality for businesses and other details that helped us improve the product.

The platform was well received and we obtained the following lessons:

The consumer likes to have the freedom to access the display of the two modes, both in a list format and on map.
Regarding contributions to the store, we wanted to indicate “donate a coffee” as some blogs or sites do to receive financial aid, but users did not understand what we were talking about, so we decided to change the copy and align it more to the funding platforms. For this reason, we decided to call it “collaboration” and establish fixed amounts or the possibility for the user to choose the amount they want to give.
Regarding the monetization of the platform, we had included a contribution option to the platform at checkout, but it was intrusive and it was not understood why we were asking for a contribution again, so we decided to eliminate it.

Merchant

With our platform, merchants find a way to publicize their business, as well as their products and the offers they launch.

Flexibility is important because everyone works in a way and they don’t always have time to include all of their references.

In testing, we discovered that the platform’s strong points, which are the help to merchants and the thermometer that records contributions, are the most controversial characteristics for merchants themselves. With your feedback, we decided to hide the contribution figure.

Regarding the monetization of the platform, they believe that it is a good option to indicate that it receives donations and invite them to do so, but they consider that it should be separate from the purchase process. We discovered that merchants may be willing to pay a percentage of their profits for our financing.

We also discovered that many open shops have offered to be collection and sales points for those that are closed, so we include this advantage in our prototype.

All these learnings helped us to design the prototype in high fidelity.

Design Styles

With our brand, we wanted to communicate the spirit of collaboration, positivism, and transparency (among others) that have prevailed throughout the investigation. So we choose colours, fonts and illustrations that evoke these characteristics.

Regarding the logo, we brainstormed associated words to find the best option. Until we found the final name, we called ourselves ‘Muimui’ and, despite the fact that the name seemed catchy and close, it did not really convey the objective of the project. Lastly, ‘Yo Compro Local’ emerged, although we decided to shorten it to ‘YoLocal’ in order to apply it to different means of contact with customers.

‘YoLocal’ denotes belonging, commitment and security. It is associated with commitment to the neighbourhood and to local products. In turn, we have included the location icon in the logo to further reinforce the idea that wherever you are, there is a neighbourhood store at your fingertips.

Hi-fi prototype

Thanks to the feedback we received, we decided to leave both view modes (list and map). In addition, within the business file, the user can collaborate with the store in a non-intrusive way and take advantage of its offers. You can also see important features such as recommendations from other users.

Within the checkout, we place the collection option at a nearby delivery point, which is an added value. In that same part, we add the possibility of supporting the platform, both sharing in RRSS so that they know us, and with a monetary contribution.

The merchant can register at the bottom of the screen and add their store. During testing, we found that merchants value flexibility in adding products. Therefore, on the product page, they can add different data and generate the offers they want for their business (all products, best sellers, special offers, etc.).

Once the store is registered on the platform and before loading its products, we verify that it is a real store to give security to customers. The merchant can easily edit the store data and the platform moderators review it before doing the update.

The merchant can see his daily and monthly objectives in the sales section of the segmented control. The contributions to the store thermometer also appear in this section, aligned to our colour palette and style tile.

Next steps

Continue iterating and testing prototypes with both consumers and merchants to define and finish designing all user states and flows.
Validate the prototype with the development team to ensure its viability, prioritize features and organize sprints.
Modify it according to development limitations and implement improvements in visual design, defining a recognizable brand image in all channels.
Define a phased MVP launch strategy.
Review the financing to support our platform.
Develop the product, buy the domain, hosting, etc.
Attract users and define the corresponding OKR and KPI.
Prepare to launch. Once the platform is ready, we will continue to measure and collect user metrics to improve our service.
Iterate, always iterate …

Main learnings and conclusions

Undertaking a new challenge in a quarantine situation is leaving your comfort zone. Especially when you have to devise a solution to a problem in five weeks among seven strangers spread out in different cities and countries 100% remotely.

What we can say is that in these five weeks we have formed a team that has complimented and challenged each other. We have learned, taught, listened and been heard.

We come from different professions, with different visions and biases from different cultures. Learning: You never have to take anything for granted.
Empathy is part of the group. Without internal empathy, we cannot empathize with the user.
Working remotely makes us use and learn tools that we did not know before. It is a good time to learn!
Sometimes going back is not going back, but moving forward. If you have questions, re-investigate the user. That’s what pivoting and iterating is all about.
Adapting to changes and circumstances (or the buzzword, resilience) is always easier when you trust your team.

Thanks to this great team!

Irina Ovary, Blanca Ortega, Olaia Irigoyen, Roberta Paschoal, Fernando Groba, Andrés Catama, Valeria Benitez

Irina Ovary — UX Designer | Product Manager
Blanca Ortega — UX/UI Designer
Olaia Irigoyen — UX/UI Designer | Industrial Design Engineer
Roberta Paschoal — UX UI Design | Marketing and Communication
Fernando Groba — UX/UI Designer
Valeria Benitez — UX/UI Designer
Carme Gasch — Project Manager
Andrés Catama — UX/UI Designer | Publicista