Research

User Interviews: Our team interviewed six people from across Canada and outside of Canada who regularly visit bakeries and purchase bakery products. I interviewed participant 2 (a housewife) and 7 (Bread King Bakeries Owner).

User interviews major findings and Insights inspiring the website:

1. Organize Website Content:

   • Structure website content logically and hierarchically to enhance user understanding and navigation.

2. Responsive Design:

   • Ensure the website is responsive across different devices for a seamless user experience.

3. High-Resolution Images:

   • Implement high-resolution, true-to-product images to provide customers with accurate product representations.

4. Visual Elements:

   • Enhance typography and color schemes to create a visually appealing and cohesive design that resonates with customers.

5. User Testing:

   • Invest in user testing to gather feedback on visual elements and menu navigation, allowing for iterative improvements based on customer preferences and behaviors.

6. High-Quality Product Images:

   • Ensure product images are high-quality and accurately represent the items being sold, using multiple angles and close-up shots to showcase details and textures.

7. Highlighting Products:

   • Feature breads and pastries prominently on the homepage or in dedicated sections, showcasing popular and trending products to capture users' attention and encourage exploration.

8. Easy-to-Navigate Menu:

   • Design a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate menu that prominently displays product prices, enabling users to quickly browse and select products.

9. Location and Contact Information:

   • Create a dedicated section on the website showcasing the bakery's location, opening hours, and contact information.

10. Review Section:

    • Integrate a review section where users can leave feedback and ratings for bakery products and services, providing valuable insights for both the bakery and potential customers.

Observational Study: I approached primary research through a combination of on-site indoors and outdoors observation on April 7 and 9, 2024.

On April 7, 2024 Sunday 2:00-2:40 PM, I observed outside of Bread King Bakeries, observing the customers, general atmosphere of the bakery and Birchmount Plaza. From 2:40 - 5PM, I observed the inside of the bakery, sketching the storefront layout (floor plan), payment behaviors and taking pictures of the store layout and products. Customer experience anecdotes were also taken including the time they went to the store, product browsing, selection process, checkout flow and customer service interaction.

On April 9, 2024 Tuesday 10-11:25AM, I observed the inside of the bakery and collected more data to gain an insight of a weekday perspective. After that, conducted a live interview with one of the owners on Tuesday to gain insights into the bakery's perspective regarding customer needs and operations. The information helped my team to understand more about Bread King Bakeries.

What I learned and major findings:

• Observations on Sunday and Tuesday are different in terms of number of customers, age range, layout of the store, time in store, browsing and purchasing behavior.

• Keywords of Bread King Bakeries: Word of mouth, 35 years in the community, Fresh and efficient customer service, open 7 days a week.

• Customers are repeat customers who know the store well and most customers went into the store alone.

• Core customer base is largely older (above the age of 30)

• Bread King Bakeries is the most popular store in Birchmount Plaza. There are always customers who come in every 3-5 minutes on Sunday.

• Some customers went into Bangladeshi Halal restaurant Adi-Biryani & Kabab House besides the Bread King Bakeries after making a purchase in the store.

• Tuesday is the slowest day of the week.

• Some customers park their vehicle in front of the store for a quick pick up. There are also customers coming by walk and bike.

• The table cloths are in blue and feel welcoming. Some labels on the wall and fresh baked items rack use chalkboard colors.

• On Sunday, onion buns sold out when I came into the store. The whole wheat buns were also sold out at the end of the day. 

• The store is accessible for people in walkers and wheelchairs. Service animals are welcome.

• Customers follow the pathway on the right which is wider in the aisle. Then browse the middle and left aisle. They will go straight to the right aisle when they know what they want to purchase, such as milk, carton of eggs and kitchen towels.

• Customers always ask questions when they do not know if the store is selling certain items and any other questions.

• A staff always in the deli area to be ready making sandwich, especially on Sunday when there are 2 store front staff.

• There are only some products in the long blue table with packages mentioning allergen/ingredients information. (Picture)

• The labels mention about “Contains Egg”. (Picture)

The observational study inspiring our team with ideas:

• Emphasize the freshness of bakery products with high-quality photos on website,

• Feature Top 10/Best-selling items on Home Page.

• Feature positive testimonials from satisfied customers to build trust with new customers. 

• Include descriptions that highlight the ingredients, textures, and flavors of products.

• Consider offering an "order ahead" functionality where customers can pre- order online for quick pick-up.

• Create a warm and inviting "About Us" section that tells the story of the bakery owners and their family. Include photos showcasing the bakery's friendly atmosphere.

• Consider providing a detailed list of allergens potentially present in the products.

• Consider blue and white as the website colour scheme of the website.

Competitive Analysis: Our team conducted a competitive analysis to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of four competitors’ websites. 

Major insights:

• The navigation bar should contain relevant links (e.g. Shop, About Us, Wholesale, Contact)

• Include high-quality product photos that contain even lighting and no background

• Include Contact and Location information in footer

• Choose a complementary colour scheme (max 3 colours)
  Use consistent typography throughout the website

• Logo should contain company name

• Include an “About Us” page with compelling storytelling about the bakery’s history, mission and values. Include photos to elevate customer trust and connectivity

• Allow customers to return to homepage or shopping page when placing an order

• Allow customers to check out as a guest