Costco Food Court
Reimagining Costco's food court experience with a new mobile ordering feature for improved convenience and efficient service.
Sole UX Designer
Sep - Nov '24
Figma, Maze, Zoom
the problem
No one enjoys long wait times and lines, even at the Costco Food Court.
Costco's food court is a customer favorite, but its current ordering system struggles to keep up during peak hours. Long wait times and crowded lines frustrate customers and can even discourage them from ordering altogether. While self-order kiosks have eased some of the pressure, they still require customers to remain nearby, limiting convenience and flexibility.
the solution
A mobile ordering feature that brings convenience and efficiency.
I redesigned the Costco food court experience by integrating a mobile ordering feature into the existing app. Customers can place orders, check estimated wait times, schedule pickups, and get real-time updates—all without standing in line or waiting near the food court.
background
It all started with an obsession with the $1.50 hot dog combo…
Growing up, I’d tag along on Costco grocery runs with my mom, and the $1.50 hot dog combo quickly became my favorite part of the trip. Even now, I still look forward to the food court, but navigating long wait times and lines during peak hours can be frustrating.
In a world where nearly everything can be now ordered with a single tap, I began to wonder: Was I the only one frustrated by wait? That question sparked my curiosity and led me to explore how a mobile ordering feature could make the experience better for everyone.
My Hypothesis
Key Assumption
competitor analysis
Where Costco stands today
As a Gen Z user familiar with food apps, I’ve come to expect mobile ordering as an essential feature. Through competitive analysis, I found that many quick-service restaurants, including direct competitors like Sam’s Club, already offered this feature. Costco’s absence in this space revealed a clear opportunity to modernize the food court experience and meet the expectations of today’s customers.
surveys
Validating the problem
Before jumping into design, I wanted to make sure this was a real problem and not just my own frustration. To do this, I created an online survey to learn about others’ Costco food court experiences and opinions on mobile ordering. Shared across Discord, Facebook, and Instagram, the survey received 16 responses.
Many participants reported long wait times during peak hours and said they’d use a mobile ordering feature if it existed. These insights validated the problem and gave me the confidence to move forward with the design.
user interviews
Listening beyond the survey
While the surveys provided a strong starting point, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of customers’ experiences. I followed up with participants who shared their contact information and selected those who visited the Costco food court at least occasionally.
I conducted 5 user interviews over Zoom to discuss their survey responses in more detail and explore their expectations for a mobile ordering feature.
analysis + insights
Costco customers want a more convenient, efficient, and predictable food court experience.
Together, the survey and interview insights validated my hypothesis: a mobile ordering feature is both desirable and has the potential to improve customer satisfaction. Using affinity mapping, I uncovered 6 key themes that revealed customers’ behaviors, expectations, and friction points when ordering from the Costco food court.
My consolidated HMW question
Project goals
Designing convenience that works for both Costco and its customers
Although this project was conceptual, I approached with real-world constraints in mind, striving to balance user needs with Costco’s business goals. Since Costco prioritizes in-store traffic, I realized that allowing customers to place food court orders from anywhere (as most food apps do) would likely conflict with their strategy.
This led me to ask myself: How could I offer customers the convenience they expect without undermining Costco’s business model? My solution was a geofenced mobile ordering feature that is only accessible when customers are near or inside a Costco warehouse and its food court.
User Need
Business Goal
Design Solution
feature prioritization
Identifying and ranking feature specifications
To define how the mobile ordering feature would work, I began by referencing Costco’s self-order kiosk system and drawing inspiration from competitor apps like Starbucks and 7-Eleven.
Using research insights, I drafted a list of specifications and ranked them based on their impact on the primary user needs of convenience and efficiency. The estimated pickup time and order status tracker ranked highest because they directly addressed frustrations with long lines and uncertainty.
USER FLOWS
Adapting the kiosk experience to mobile
From the interviews, I further discovered that many participants loved how simple and quick the self-order kiosks were. I wanted the mobile experience to capture that same ease while feeling familiar to Costco users. To achieve this, I based the user flows on Costco’s existing mobile checkout and refined them to fit the food court experience.
wireframes
Bringing all these ideas together
Using Figma, I transformed my sketches into wireframes. Based on early user feedback, I added the option for users to store and switch between multiple payment cards.
Since the 1st round of testing would conducted remotely and unmoderated through Maze, I ensured the wireframes were comprehensive enough to guide users through the experience without confusion. This helped participants focus on evaluating the feature’s usability rather than interpreting the interface itself.
first round
2 major improvements in my design
Using Maze, I collected 19 responses to evaluate if users could successfully access the feature and place an order. To measure success, I relied on three metrics: Task Completion Rate, Single Ease Question, and Time-on-Task.
Overall, test participants found the feature intuitive, describing it as "user-friendly" and "pretty good." However, two major friction points emerged, which led to the following improvements:
❌ Participants were evenly split between the Shop and Warehouse tabs when trying to locate the feature.
✅ As the feature is geofenced, I kept it under Warehouse and added a tooltip to highlight its correct location.
❌ Participants did not like the excessive scrolling and wanted a quicker option to locate their desired food item.
✅ A sticky menu bar was added to improve efficiency and enhance navigation.
second round
3 minor improvements this time
I converted the wireframes to a high-fidelity prototype and conducted 5 moderated usability tests over Zoom. Since the 1st round confirmed strong usability, I shifted my focus to collecting qualitative insights, such as user impressions and reactions, to further refine the feature.
Condense and clarify the message of push notification
Revisions included:
Remove first sentence to avoid redundancy
Add ‘order confirmation’ to help users prepare for pickup
Shorten to two lines for better readability
Adjust the color of question icon
Many participants assumed the gray question icon was inactive and not interactive. I changed the color to black for improved clarity.
Update tooltip copy to be specific
Participants found ‘feature’ too vague, so the wording was updated to make it more specific and user-friendly.
mockups
A mobile feature that allows Costco customers to place food court orders in advance, saving time and maximizing efficiency during their shopping trip.
Start your food court order from the Warehouse tab
When you're near a Costco warehouse, you can access the mobile ordering feature directly from the Warehouse tab. Estimated wait times are shown at the top for quick reference.
A pop-up message will appear for first-time users to highlight where the new feature is located.
Browse menu and quickly navigate by category
Scroll down or use the horizontal menu to jump to your preferred category. Instantly add items with a tap, or select an item to view ingredients and nutrition facts before ordering.
Check out seamlessly with live order tracking
At checkout, you can choose to pick up your order ASAP or schedule a pickup time that works best for you. You also add multiple payment cards for convenience.
Once the order is placed, you’ll receive a confirmation and live status updates as your food is prepared.
key learnings
What wisdom did I gain?
Testing early and often leads to better outcomes.
Conducting multiple rounds of testing allowed me to refine the feature and better align it with user expectations. In the first round, I added a sticky menu to help users locate items more easily. In the second, I revised the copy to make it clearer and more user-friendly. Each iteration brought me closer to a solution that better meets users' needs.
next steps
So, what’s next on the agenda?
Introduce a repeat orders feature to improve convenience for frequent customers.
Since only members can access the Costco food court and most visit regularly, it's likely that they reorder the same items. A repeat orders feature would simplify the process and let returning customers quickly reorder their favorites.
Explore ways to accommodate in-advance whole pizza orders to better serve customers with bulk needs.
During the 2nd round of usability testing, I uncovered a new user need: people wanted to place whole pizza orders ahead of time for large groups. Since this feature is geofenced, I plan to explore ways to support advance ordering while keeping that proximity requirement.
