Sainsbury's
Love SmartShop
Lead Experience Designer · Sainsbury’s SmartShop Android Handset · Mar 2026 · April Fool concept
Designing checkout through moments of delight
This concept was developed as a product innovation exercise in collaboration with a Product Manager during two weeks of Personal Development Time. Love SmartShop was presented to the stakeholders during the SmartShop team’s Sprint Review and shared across the business as the (April Fool’s) Product Updates newsletter on 1 April 2026.
While it was never intended for customer release or development, and its initial purpose was purely to spark smiles across the business for April Fool’s, it evolved into thought-provoking conversations about how moments of delight could inspire future opportunities for the SmartShop experience.
Framing the challenge
SmartShop has become one of Sainsbury’s most valued digital experiences, helping customers shop in-store even more quickly and conveniently, with the option to Pay on Handset. However, customer sentiment is difficult to gather due to the context in which the product lives.
With the PM, I explored whether a small, optional moment of delight could enrich the experience without compromising the speed and simplicity customers expect.
How might we let customers show appreciation without adding frictions or disruptions to the payment flow?
Starting with customer insights
Rather than treating it as a novelty, we approached the work as we would any early-stage product idea, and started with existing customer insights as solid foundations:
Speed
Ease of use
Alongside customer research, I also ran a quick competitive analysis online to explore existing patterns.
Design approach
Design and behavioural principles guided the experience.
Protect the checkout flow
The interaction should remain completely optional and never interrupt payment.
Create an emotional connection
Instead of requesting feedback directly, the concept framed participation as a playful expression of appreciation.
Reveal more only on intent
Using progressive disclosure, the interaction expanded only when customers chose to engage, keeping the primary journey fast and uncluttered.
Micro-commitment
A small initial action lowers the barrier to engagement.
Emotional feedback
Playful feedback reinforces positive interactions.
Recognition mechanics
Different contribution tiers create increasingly rewarding feedback.
The concept
With an optional interaction embedded within the payment summary, customers could choose to:
- continue directly to payment,
- express appreciation through a playful interaction,
- receive lightweight visual feedback,
- complete checkout without additional steps or interruption.
The focus wasn't on encouraging participation, but on demonstrating how delight could coexist with efficiency.
Defining success
Although this was an exploratory concept, we wanted to think beyond the interaction itself and define how we would evaluate its impact if it were ever tested.
Rather than measuring engagement alone, we considered success across three perspectives: customers, colleagues and the wider product.
Interaction
Conversion from interactions to “tips”
Understand whether customers choose to engage with an optional checkout moment.
Customer
Higher participation as a signal of happiness
Explore whether moments of delight could become a measure of customer sentiment.
Colleagues
Recognition linked to positive SmartShop experiences
Celebrate colleagues who help create great shopping experiences.
Learning
Track whether new SmartShop features influence a “happiness score” over time
Explore how customer sentiment changes as the product evolves.
Exploring future opportunities
Although created as an April Fools concept, the project explored interaction patterns that could inspire future SmartShop experiences, and how new opportunities or existing challenges could be framed, such as:
- Capturing lightweight customer satisfaction at checkout.
- Enabling charity donations as part of payment.
- Redeeming digital coupons before completing a purchase.
- Adding shopping bags without leaving the checkout flow.
- Understand customer sentiment over time.
Reflections
This project reminded me that not every design exercise needs to result in a shipped feature to create value.
Working within a two-week Personal Development Time initiative, I collaborated with a Product Manager to transform a playful idea into a structured exploration grounded in customer insight, behavioural design and measurable hypotheses.
More importantly, it reinforced that speculative design can be a powerful tool for innovation. By creating concepts that encourage discussion rather than immediate delivery, teams can challenge assumptions, uncover new opportunities and build alignment around future product directions.
Add here the gif of the end of the animation (handset dissolved by the heart)