What curbside fulfillment actually looks like
Associates receive, pick, stage, and hand off orders at the curb — all on foot, all timed. Target: 5–8 minutes from member check-in to handoff. Performance is rated on time and accuracy.
The physical workflow GIF supports end-to-end.
Two different operations, one shared platform
GIF is shared across Walmart and Sam's Club — but the two operate very differently. My challenge: design for Sam's Club within a platform built for Walmart. Keep what works, adapt what doesn't, create what's new.
Different operations. Same platform. One thoughtful migration.
We went to the floor before touching a screen
Store visits, associate interviews, workflow audits, journey mapping, and stakeholder workshops — run in parallel across both banners to find gaps the existing system couldn't see.
Five research methods, one goal: make the right design decisions for how work actually happens.
100+ members surveyed — before designing a single screen
We ran a mixed-methods study with 100+ Sam's Club members: 19 quantitative survey questions, open-ended qualitative responses, and diverse representation across regions, age groups, and membership tenures. Four objectives drove the research: understand the curbside experience from the member's side, learn how they perceive associate interactions, find moments where a brief acknowledgment creates delight, and identify opportunities while they wait.
Two perspectives, one broken experience
We mapped the full curbside journey across both the member and associate — from order placement to order dispensed. The gaps between what each party experienced revealed the design opportunities.
Selects pickup time · adds to cart · places order online or in app
Selects a time that works · receives order confirmation
Gets "order is ready" text or notification · heads to store
Drives to store · parks in curbside spot · checks in via app · waits
Associate arrives · verifies identity · loads order into vehicle
Views order in Quick Pick · grabs cart · reviews items to collect
Walks floor to pick · marks ni-pick items · returns to CPU area
Tags items · places in totes · stages in refrigerator if needed
Receives member check-in notification · collects all items · heads to parking
Pushes cart · verifies member ID · loads vehicle · completes in app
Two separate but connected gaps: associates had zero member context at handoff (human), and couldn't prep efficiently (operational). These gaps became the two features — Milestones and Prep Order.
Milestones — making the 60-second handoff feel human
GIF is member-agnostic. Associates had no context.
Associates at the curb knew nothing about the person in the car. First visit or fifth anniversary — they looked the same. A 60-second handoff is a missed opportunity to build the relationship that drives renewal.
Give associates lightweight context to acknowledge loyalty and celebrate milestones — without disrupting operational speed.
Three concepts, one timing question
The core design challenge wasn't what to show — it was when. We explored three timing models, each with a different trade-off between operational focus and personalization opportunity.
After collecting containers, a milestone badge appears. Associates can tap to review before greeting the member — or skip it. Still surfaces automatically after identity verification.
Gives associates flexibility based on workload. They're never blocked.
Show the milestone badge on the Dispense Queue — associates are aware before they even start the order.
Earlier visibility lets them prepare. Also opens the door for collecting a physical gift before walking out.
Milestone surfaces only after identity verification — right before the conversation starts.
Ops stays focused until the task is done. Personalization appears at the exact moment it's actionable.
Six milestone types, one natural conversation
Six milestone types, each with a clear trigger and a short script cue. The conversation is always the associate's choice — they're not robots. Style is theirs. Accuracy is the requirement.
Six milestone types consolidated from research — each surfacing the right context at the right moment, with a script cue but never a script requirement.
The recovery moment didn't make MVP. If a member's last order was late or wrong, the app would surface it and give the associate a script to acknowledge it. Framework is built — planned for v2.
Associate sends a café gift
For special milestones like birthdays, the GIF app surfaces a prompt — the associate can send a complimentary café voucher with one tap. No physical gift bag, no process overhead. A genuine gesture in under 5 seconds.
Member spins to win on their phone
The member's Sam's Club app lights up with a spin-to-win café reward — a hotdog, slice, or drink. Confetti, celebration, a reason to walk inside. A routine curbside pickup becomes a reason to engage with the app in-club.
Prep Order — closing the gap between how work happens and what the system knew
Prep Order was step 3 of 4 — the only step the system didn't support
Sam's Club curbside had a 4-step workflow. Three of those steps had system support. One — the most operationally critical — didn't exist in the app at all.
The app assumed one associate — collect and dispense, all at once
Associates had already built their own 3-step process — without any system support
Without system support, roles blurred — and orders got chaotic
Because the system had no prep step, there was no claim, no visibility, and no handoff mechanism. Associates improvised daily. What worked individually broke down at team scale.
Prep Order as its own state — claim early, dispense when ready
The key insight: prep and dispense don't have to happen in the same session. We gave associates the ability to claim and prep an order ahead of member arrival — then park it. When the member checks in, anyone on the team can pick up exactly where the prep left off.
Associate preps the order before the member arrives and parks it. No need to dispense immediately — the system holds the claim.
If the member checks in while prep is in progress, the associate sees a live timestamp and status update — and can jump straight to Dispense.
A badge on the dispense queue tells the whole team if another associate has already claimed the prep — no duplicate grabs.
Left to right: Queue with "prepping" badge → Scan containers → Confirm items → Prep complete / park → Member arrives with live status → Select pickup person → Order dispensed.
Four steps that match how associates actually work
In progress · results post-launch
Both features are in active development. Prototype testing confirmed natural adoption — the milestone prompt felt like a helpful nudge, not an interruption.