Transforming E-commerce: Simplifying group buying with an engaging and gamified shopping experience for users, unlocking reduced prices and a sense of community.

The conventional e-commerce model is too scattered with loads of startups offering several unique selling propositions in terms of pricing, logistics, and product inventory. In contrast, group or community buying is a completely new and untapped market.


Community buying in a nutshell, allows users to buy the products in groups at significantly reduced prices. While the idea sounds fascinating to an average online grocery buyer, buying in groups is equally frustrating. The challenge is to design a simplified shopping experience for these group buyers in a more engaging and gamified way.

As the sole designer on this project, my main tasks are understanding the ecommerce behavior of group buying and creating a gamified and engaging user experience. To achieve this, I conducted research and developed high-fidelity designs and prototypes.

Understanding of requirements and brainstorming possible solutions.

Do secondary research & qualitative research.

Create high-fidelity designs & prototypes.

According to a study by Nielsen, 83% of global consumers trust recommendations from family and friends over advertising. This suggests that there is potential for community buying to tap into this trust and increase customer loyalty.

However, a survey by Accenture found that 61% of consumers find the current group buying experience frustrating due to issues such as communication, delivery, and product availability. To address this challenge, some companies have implemented gamification strategies to incentivize group buying and increase engagement.

For example, T-mall, the Chinese online retailer, has used gamification to encourage users to form groups to purchase discounted products.

People like group buying for several reasons, including:

Lower prices: Group buying allows buyers to purchase products or services at a lower price since the cost is shared among a larger group of people.

Sense of community: Group buying can create a sense of community among buyers who share similar interests and goals.

Fun and social experience: Buying in groups can be a fun and social experience, particularly for consumers who enjoy shopping with friends or family members.

Exclusivity: Group buying can offer access to exclusive products or experiences that may not be available through traditional retail channels.

Gamification: Group buying can be gamified by incorporating elements of competition or reward, which can make the shopping experience more engaging and enjoyable

The target audience of group buying budget-conscious shoppers who are looking to save money by purchasing products in bulk at discounted prices. Additionally, these users may be interested in discovering new products and brands through group buying.

The age isn’t specified for this type of user they might be lying in between 24+ years or those teenagers who are earning their own money.

I have developed two distinct user personas to cater to the needs and preferences of both the younger generation and adults. This approach allows me to design and tailor user experiences that resonate with each target audience, ensuring a more effective and engaging design solution.

To design a more engaging shopping experience and increase user interaction, I have implemented the following features:

Daily rewards so people come back daily and open the app to get rewards, by doing this we will motivate people to open the app daily.


Spin the wheel, is also an engaging strategy to make the customer opens the app and enjoy rewards by spinning the wheel.


Play Mini Games, Mini games just like the messenger launched in the covid so people play more and stay inside their homes. This will give a customer a target to achieve, for example, if the customer gets a high score and manage to make it to the top of the leaderboard then he will get rewards for shopping (this is my hypothesis).

After analyzing the problem statement, I have come up with an innovative and engaging user interface for the app that aims to simplify the group buying experience while making it more interactive for our users. My focus is on integrating gamified features that will make the app more enjoyable and encourage customers to spend more time engaging with it.

One of the key features is the introduction of daily rewards, which will incentivize customers to return to the app on a regular basis. I believe that this will be an effective way of keeping customers engaged and motivated to keep using the app. Additionally, I plan to incorporate a spin-the-wheel feature that will offer customers the chance to win various prizes and discounts. This feature has proven to be quite popular in other e-commerce apps, and I am confident that it will be well-received by our customers as well.

Another important aspect of our design is the emphasis on simplicity and ease of use. I understand that group buying can be a frustrating experience for some customers, which is why I have worked hard to ensure that our app is easy to navigate and understand. All of our main features will be easily accessible and scannable so that customers can quickly find what they are looking for.

Overall, the goal is to create an app that is not only functional and practical but also enjoyable and engaging for our users. I believe that our gamified features and emphasis on simplicity will set us apart from other e-commerce apps and attract a wider range of customers to our platform.