Designing and validating a local commerce platform for independent retailers
Trove was an early-stage product exploring how technology could better connect local producers and independent retailers with customers, particularly as COVID accelerated demand for local delivery and digital access.
I worked closely with the founder to define the product strategy, validate assumptions with real businesses, and design a scalable service model that balanced customer convenience with the operational realities of small retailers.
The work focused on de-risking the concept, validating demand, and shaping a realistic MVP that could be taken forward for build and investment.
Client
Trove
Duration
4 Months
Role
Lead Product Designer
Challenge
Local shops and food producers were under increasing pressure from supermarkets and delivery platforms that offered speed and convenience, but often at the expense of margins, control, and community connection.
At the same time:
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Many independent businesses lacked digital capability
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Existing platforms were complex, expensive, or poorly suited to small retailers
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Customers wanted to shop locally but defaulted to national platforms for convenience
The challenge was to determine:
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Whether a shared local commerce platform could work
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What services would genuinely add value to businesses
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How to design something scalable without increasing operational burden
My Role
Product Designer / Service Designer
I led:
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Discovery and hypothesis definition
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End-to-end journey mapping
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User research and testing with local businesses
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Concept and service design
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Early validation of the product and business model
Working closely with the founder, I helped shape both the product direction and the commercial thinking behind the platform.
Approach
Mapping the End-to-End Journey
I mapped the full customer and business journey, from discovery through to fulfilment, to understand where value could realistically be added.
This highlighted multiple interconnected stages:
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Discovery & local awareness
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Digital presence and engagement
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Ordering and payment
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Collection or delivery
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Ongoing relationship management
This work surfaced a key insight:
The opportunity wasn’t a single product feature, it was a coordinated service model.
Defining Assumptions & Hypothesis
We identified and tested a series of core assumptions, including:
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People would use a single digital destination to discover local businesses
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Small retailers would adopt a lightweight digital system if onboarding were simple
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Customers would value click & collect or coordinated delivery
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A centralised service could reduce operational burden for shops
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Local delivery could be viable if coordinated across multiple businesses
These assumptions shaped what we chose to test, and what we deliberately didn’t build yet.
Develop
I conducted interviews and usability testing with independent retailers, producers, and shop owners to understand:
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How they currently manage orders, stock, and deliveries
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Their comfort with technology
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What would prevent adoption
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Where value genuinely existed
Key insights included:
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Most businesses had no formal stock or order management system
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Many relied on paper processes and word of mouth
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Delivery was seen as valuable but operationally difficult
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Simplicity and trust mattered more than advanced features
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Anything that added admin time would fail
These insights directly influenced the product direction and feature prioritisation.
Designing the MVP Concept
Using these insights, I designed a concept focused on:
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A simple digital presence for local businesses
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A lightweight ordering and collection model
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Optional delivery coordination
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Pre-configured setup to reduce technical friction
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Clear separation between customer, business, and fulfilment journeys
Rather than building a complex marketplace, the product focused on:
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Reducing friction
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Supporting real workflows
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Allowing businesses to opt in gradually
This reduced risk while keeping the model scalable.
Outcome + Impact
Product Direction
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Defined a clear MVP scope grounded in real business needs
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Prioritised features that reduced friction over feature depth
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Validated the importance of assisted onboarding and setup
User Validation
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Tested concepts with multiple independent retailers
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Identified strong demand for:
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Simple delivery coordination
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Low-effort digital presence
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Transparent pricing
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Surface key usability risks early, before development
Strategic Value
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Provided the founder with a validated product direction
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Informed commercial modelling and investor conversations
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Reduced uncertainty around adoption and operational complexity
