Redesigning the Kroger app experience for over 11M users

Timeline

3 Months

My Role

Senior Product Designer

Platform

iOS & Android App

Introduction

Kroger serves millions of customers across the U.S., helping them save money, shop efficiently, and manage their health. As part of one of the company’s biggest app initiatives in 15 years, our small design team was tasked with reimagining the entire Kroger app.

I led much of the creative direction, shaping the visual language, overall experience, and photography strategy to highlight a “food-first” approach. The redesign focused on three core goals: making saving money easier, simplifying shopping, and introducing a Health Hub for prescriptions and wellness.

This was a true cross-functional effort, partnering closely with developers, engineers, PMs, marketing, digital teams, and leadership. In just a few weeks, we delivered concepts ready for leadership review, setting the stage for a Fall 2025 launch.

My Role

I was one of the lead product designers on this project, focusing on UI and creative direction. I had the privilege of collaborating with a rockstar team - Adam and Manfred - working seamlessly on a fast turnaround, all under the guidance of Kevin.

The Problem

The Kroger app hadn’t received a full redesign in 15 years and was due for a refreshed experience to better serve customers, simplify shopping, and modernize its look and functionality.

Introduction

My Role

The Problem

The Kroger app hadn’t received a full redesign in 15 years and was due for a refreshed experience to better serve customers, simplify shopping, and modernize its look and functionality.

CHALLENGE #1

Non-Intuitive Navigation

The app’s navigation and overall structure can feel visually cluttered, making it difficult for users to quickly find what they need.

Example
Browsing categories, discovering deals, and accessing savings requires multiple taps and screens, leaving users unsure of where to go next.

Impact
Confusing navigation slows down the shopping experience, frustrates users, and can lead to lower engagement and missed opportunities for savings or product discovery.

CHALLENGE #2

Inconsistent Experience

The app’s visual language lacked consistency, with varying colors, typography, and layouts across screens, leaving the overall experience feeling cluttered and disjointed.

Example
Buttons, cards, and information panels differ in style and spacing from screen to screen, making it harder for users to navigate and understand the interface.

Impact
Without a cohesive design system, the app feels fragmented, slows down development, and makes it harder to scale or introduce new features efficiently.

CHALLENGE #3

Hidden Savings

The existing savings page and tools are buried or hard to navigate, making it easy for users to miss out on deals and rewards.

Example
Offers, digital coupons, and rewards are scattered across multiple screens, requiring users to dig through menus to find relevant savings.

Impact
When savings aren’t easy to find or use, customers may miss opportunities to save money, reducing engagement and diminishing the perceived value of the app.

CHALLENGE #4

Inefficient Search

Finding specific products can be cumbersome due to limited search and filtering options.

Example
Users often scroll through multiple screens to find items.

Impact
Slow or frustrating search can lead to missed purchases, lower sales, and reduced engagement with deals and promotions.

“How might we create a seamless, intuitive, and visually consistent app experience that makes shopping and saving money easier for customers?”

Visual Exploration

Early on, we were asked to define what the new Kroger app should feel like.

I built a series of moodboards that pulled from competitor patterns, color exploration, typography, and imagery direction but also layering in our current app experience. Seeing it side-by-side made the gaps impossible to ignore.

That contrast sparked the conversations that shaped our visual direction and ultimately became the foundation for where the redesign headed.

Photography Direction

Photography is how users connect with food and products - it’s often the biggest factor, outside of price, in influencing purchase decisions. For the Kroger app redesign, I took the lead in defining the overall photography vision, crafting a presentation to align key stakeholders and collaborating with our Creative Services to guide new imagery. This was a major undertaking and, as a photographer myself, it’s where I’m truly in my element - diving deep into lighting, composition, and storytelling to create a cohesive, “food-first” experience that elevates every interaction in the app.

Early Navigation Exploration

Early on, I explored a range of navigation wireframes to rethink how the experience could feel more intuitive. These concepts were intentionally rough, focused on structure over polish, and helped us experiment with new approaches to hierarchy and flow. I wanted to lean on our unique branding and help elevate our branding. While the final direction evolved (due to Apple's liquid glass), those early wires captured how we were challenging the status quo and thinking differently about navigation.

Using Existing Libraries

Liquid Glass
Material 3
Citrus (Kroger Design System)

We wanted to push the overall app design forward, but we also had to stay grounded in platform standards. That meant designing with Liquid Glass and Apple’s system in mind, building for Material 3 on Android, and still honoring our own internal design system "Citrus".

Each platform was designed intentionally for its native patterns, but we layered in our brand system to keep the experience cohesive and unmistakably Kroger, just with a "refresh" look.