Reimagining Walmart's Smart Reorder

Picture this: It's 2021, and Walmart's Smart Reorder pilot just crashed and burned with an NPS of -12. As Head of Design for Walmart+, leading a team of 54 incredible designers, I got an urgent ask from our SVP of Design. The ask? Our CEO had wants to transform our grocery replenishment system into something revolutionary. No pressure, right?

Role

Principal Designer

Team size managed

XFN from 4 Business Units

Duration

15 Days

The stakes were massive: Walmart needed to establish itself as a leader in the grocery subscription economy, and our customers desperately needed a solution that actually worked. With a 56% prediction accuracy and frustrated customers, we had nowhere to go but up.

Challenge

Here's what we were up against: customers were drowning in the cognitive load of meal planning, getting frustrated with out-of-stock items, and completely confused by our automation attempts. The previous system wasn't just underperforming – it was actively pushing customers away. We needed to turn this around, fast.

Design Strategy

I approached this transformation through three key phases:

Discovery & Deep Dive (Days 1-3) Instead of jumping straight to solutions, I spent three days immersed in customer pain points. Working with cross-functional teams, we uncovered that successful grocery replenishment wasn't just about accuracy – it was about building trust through transparency and delight.
Rapid Ideation & Prototyping (Days 4-8) We moved fast, but with purpose.
My approach centered on:

Leveraging AI for smart predictions while keeping humans in control
Creating transparent communication touchpoints
Adding moments of delight in unexpected places

Refinement & Executive Alignment (Days 9-15) The key was balancing innovation with feasibility. I worked directly with our AI team to ensure every feature we designed could be executed with precision.

Our guiding principle? "Happiness is never wondering what's for dinner."

The stakes were massive: Walmart needed to establish itself as a leader in the grocery subscription economy, and our customers desperately needed a solution that actually worked. With a 56% prediction accuracy and frustrated customers, we had nowhere to go but up.

Challenge

Design Strategy

I approached this transformation through three key phases:

Discovery & Deep Dive (Days 1-3) Instead of jumping straight to solutions, I spent three days immersed in customer pain points. Working with cross-functional teams, we uncovered that successful grocery replenishment wasn't just about accuracy – it was about building trust through transparency and delight.
Rapid Ideation & Prototyping (Days 4-8) We moved fast, but with purpose.
My approach centered on:

Leveraging AI for smart predictions while keeping humans in control
Creating transparent communication touchpoints
Adding moments of delight in unexpected places

Refinement & Executive Alignment (Days 9-15) The key was balancing innovation with feasibility. I worked directly with our AI team to ensure every feature we designed could be executed with precision.

Our guiding principle? "Happiness is never wondering what's for dinner."

The turnaround was remarkable. What started as a failed pilot became Walmart's showcase feature at CES 2023. Here's what we achieved:

The numbers tell an exciting story:

20,000 beta customers jumped at the chance to try the new system
10% boost in 30-day retention (a massive win in the subscription world)
80% precision in AI predictions (up from 56%)

Learnings

This project taught me something powerful about innovation: sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from revisiting our biggest failures. By embracing the mess of the previous attempt, we found clarity in what users really needed – not just a smart system, but a trustworthy partner in their daily grocery journey.