Case Study: Market Kurly UX Improvement & New Service Planning

I’d like to preface I have no affiliations with Kurly and this case study was driven by my personal interests.

Overview

Despite the title of the first attempt by expanding the early morning delivery, Market Kurly's own merit is disappearing. I suggest a way to develop Kurly while maintaining Kurly's brand direction.

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

May – July 2023 (3 Months)

Team

1 Product Designer
2 UI Designers
2 UX Researchers

Tools

Figma
Protopie
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop

Contribution

As a product design lead, I successfully led the design of a B2B-focused fintech/health app
into a user-friendly platform by:

Managing the entire design process from start to finish.
Collaborating with cross-functional teams to align goals and deliverables.
Creating a new design system that improved usability.

1. Desk Research

To better understand user behavior, I conducted a two-step user research: an online survey followed by in-depth interviews.

Online grocery market still growing

*Source: Statistics Korea, AT Kearney (2025 projected)

Rapid growth in the early-morning delivery market

*Source: Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, Korea Investment & Securities (USD estimated)

2. User Research

To better understand user behavior, I conducted a two-step user research: an online survey followed by in-depth interviews.

1st Survey: Online Questionnaire

Link

Goal: Understand lifestyle patterns and usage behavior on the Kurly app

Question Types: Preference survey, product search, purchase & review patterns, meal habits

Period: 2023.06.7–11 | 25 questions | 86 respondents

2nd Survey: In-depth Interviews

Goal: Extract needs by user segments during app usage

Question Topics: Search, review, recommendation features (combinations, dietary, budget)

Format: 18+ questions, Zoom interviews

3. Survey Results

Insight 1.

Users value reviews, but rarely write them themselves.

Q1. Have you ever written a product review after receiving a purchase?

59.3

Q6. What do you consider most important when making a purchase decision?

Insight 2.

A large portion of users struggle to decide on their meals.

4. User Persona

Based on the research, I created user personas to represent key segments and their goals, frustrations, and motivations.

Go Yeon-hee

Party Lover

“I need trustworthy reviews, but I’m too lazy to write one!”

Interest: Interested in discovering new flavor combinations and developing recipes.

Needs: I want quick, personalized reviews at a glance.

Goal: I want reviews to ensure I buy satisfying products.

Behavior:

Impulsive buyer
Prefers new flavors
Buys all at once

Hae-Mi Park

IT Designer

“What should I eat today… Deciding every time is exhausting!”

Interest: I want to have a healthy meal plan and an efficient diet.

Needs: I want a nutritionist-style meal plan to solve the “What should I eat?” problem.

Goal: A meal service tailored to my preferred menus and balanced nutrition.

Behavior:

Meal planner
Prefers new flavors
Split purchase

5. UX Strategy & Information Architecture

Visualizing the core UX strategy: identifying problems, defining goals, and outlining design & functional solutions.

PROBLEM

Lack of clear differentiation from other e-commerce platforms

⚡ Lack of clear differentiation from other e-commerce platforms

Steadily declining market presence of Kurly

⚡ Steadily declining market presence of Kurly

Unintuitive reviews

⚡ Unintuitive reviews

GOAL

- “Lifestyle Curation”

- Curating culinary experiences that define the user’s [Dining] Style.

UX DESIGN

- Data-driven recommendation features that build trust.

- Improved usability to increase participation.

FUNCTION

- Reduce unnecessary icons and add friendly dining recommendation icons.

- Reviews designed to be easy to scan at a glance.

6. Information Architecture

Leveraging research-driven insights, this IA builds upon Market Kurly’s existing architecture, reflecting findings from survey results and user persona analysis.

*IA Diagram for Market Kurly UX Renewal

7. Wire Frames

Low-fidelity screens exploring the flow from review creation to personalized meal curation. Each prototype iterates on navigation, copy, and data entry effort.