Tally

Overview

The problem

Too many platforms. Too many hidden fees. The same cart, rebuilt every time.

Project objectives

1. 01

   Examine how users currently compare grocery prices across platforms and identify where time and mental effort are lost.

2. 02

   Study existing price comparison tools to understand patterns, limitations, and opportunities for improvement.

3. 03

   Identify key pain points related to price transparency, fee breakdowns, and fragmented comparison workflows.

4. 04

   Design UX flows that allow users to compare individual item prices and total cart costs within a single app.

5. 05

   Create an interface that presents complex pricing information in a clear, structured, and scannable way.

6. 06

   Design and test a prototype that demonstrates how centralized comparison can reduce confusion and decision fatigue.

Market context

Grocery inflation keeps rising. Delivery fees are often unclear until checkout. Consumer Reports recently found that Instacart runs AI pricing experiments, charging different users different prices for the same item at the same store.

• 47% say delivery prices are too high
• 55% have removed items from cart due to cost
• $8–15 typical hidden fees per order
• $920B+ US grocery sales per year

Competitive landscape

Existing tools focus on individual item prices, deal alerts, or single-store catalogs. None combine full basket comparison, true total cost with all fees, and a clear recommendation in one place.

Browser extensions like Honey and Capital One Shopping apply coupons but are fundamentally web-only tools. They cannot compare totals across stores or work inside grocery delivery apps. International references like Trolley.co.uk, Frugl, and Cisean have validated demand for basket-level comparison, but none have launched in the US.

Behavioral background

Secondary research surfaced three cognitive patterns driving the problem.

• Choice overload

  When people face too many options, they are less likely to choose at all. Multiple grocery platforms with different pricing creates exactly this kind of overload.

• Decision fatigue

  Every comparison uses mental energy. By the time someone checks a third platform, the ability to evaluate the next one has already dropped, leading to impulsive choices or giving up entirely.

• Regret aversion

  The fear of choosing wrong is often stronger than the desire to choose right. People keep looking not because they expect something better, but because they are afraid of missing something.

Primary research: survey

A short survey was distributed to gather quantitative insight into how often people compare prices and what makes the process difficult. Respondents were primarily 23 to 32 year olds who shop for groceries online regularly.

• 90%

  order groceries primarily online

• Most

  are often surprised by the final total at checkout

• Top 3

  priorities while shopping: total cost, delivery fees, and discounts

• All

  coordinate grocery shopping with at least one other person

Primary research: interviews

Four one-on-one interviews were conducted with US-based adults who order groceries online at least twice a month. Sessions covered current behavior, emotional pain points, fee transparency, and what confidence would actually feel like. Themes were captured through affinity mapping.

• 

  User 1, age 24

  Instacart, Walmart, Costco, King Soopers Weekly (mostly online)

  "I will spend half an hour going back and forth between Instacart and Walmart."

  Described a near-ritual process of rebuilding the same cart in two or three apps every Sunday, motivated by finding a better deal, but usually resulting in exhaustion and lingering doubt.

• 

  User 2, age 27

  Walmart, Target, DoorDash Bi-weekly (online and in-store)

  "I know I am probably paying more than I should. I just do not have the energy to keep checking three apps every time."

  Stopped comparing entirely. Uses Walmart by default, not because he believes it is cheapest, but because checking alternatives feels worse than the possibility of overpaying.

• 

  User 3, age 31

  Walmart Plus, Instacart, Costco Weekly (online and in-store)

  "I'll check one more app just to see if it's actually cheaper, but it's annoying to keep going back and forth."

  Pays for Walmart Plus but still ends up checking another app when the total feels high. Said it would be useful to see the total across stores in one place, especially with delivery and pickup differences.

• 

  User 4, age 29

  King Soopers, Safeway, Instacart Bi-weekly (in-store and pickup)

  "If I do pickup, Safeway is sometimes cheaper. If I do delivery, King Soopers wins. I have to do that math myself every single time."

  Uses pickup almost exclusively to avoid delivery fees. Pointed out that switching from delivery to pickup can completely change which store is cheapest, and that no app currently makes this easy to compare.

Research synthesis

Four findings that shaped Tally.

1. 01
   Cart rebuilding is the biggest pain point

   Re-entering the same items across multiple platforms is the most consistently named frustration. Every interview surfaced it within the first five minutes.

2. 02
   Fee hiding destroys trust

   Service fees, dynamic pricing, and surprise charges make the final total unpredictable. Users feel misled at checkout, even on platforms they pay for.

3. 03
   Decision fatigue causes people to give up

   Many users stick to a single platform out of exhaustion, not loyalty. The act of comparing feels worse than the prospect of overpaying.

4. 04
   People want a recommendation, not a spreadsheet

   They do not want more data. They want something to say: this is your best option, and here is why. They want permission to stop searching.

Design response

Tally answers the research with four core ideas. Each one maps directly to a finding.

• 1
  One cart, three stores

  Search and add items inside Tally. The same cart compares across Walmart, King Soopers, and Safeway automatically.

  Maps to: Cart rebuilding
• 2
  True total cost

  Every comparison includes item prices, delivery fees, service charges, and taxes. What you see is what you will pay.

  Maps to: Fee hiding
• 3
  A clear recommendation

  One winner. Visible trade-offs. A reason to stop searching and place the order.

  Maps to: Decision fatigue + want a recommendation
• 4
  Shared lists

  Multiple people add items into one combined cart, compared as a single order. No more text-message coordination.

  Maps to: Pickup vs. delivery + coordinating with others

Information architecture

The app is organized around four sections, accessed through a bottom navigation bar.

• Home
  • Search & quick add
  • Cart in progress
  • Comparison results
  • Store redirect
• List
  • Shared and solo lists
  • Live cheapest bar
  • Compare CTA
• Budget
  • Spending tracker
  • Savings widget
  • Purchase history
• Profile
  • Memberships
  • Household members
  • Location & settings

Core user flow

The core journey moves from home to redirect in six steps. No platform selection. No cart rebuilding. No surprises.

Key screens

• Sign in with your details, one clear starting point.

  

• Add store memberships so prices reflect your real discounts.

  

• New users: how it works first, then discover Lists and Budget.

  

• Returning users: search, quick add, savings snapshot, and usual items.

  

• Shows results with ratings, pack size, and starting price so users can add items easily.

  

• Displays prices across stores, highlights the best option, and includes reviews.

  

• Review items, adjust quantity, and compare when ready.

  

• Tally compares prices across stores with clear progress feedback.

  

• Shows total cost across stores with delivery or pickup, highlighting the best option.

  

• Breaks down items, fees, taxes, and total, with quick comparison to other stores.

  

• Displays saved and shared lists with estimated totals and members.

  

• Shows who added what, lets users update items together, then compare as one cart.

  

• Set a grocery budget amount to track spending.

  

• Tracks spending, savings, and past purchases in one place.

  

• Manage memberships, household, location, and account settings.

  

Brand strategy

Most grocery and delivery platforms are built to drive action, not clarity. Tally positions itself differently: less like a marketplace, more like a financial tool.

Design and name exploration

Logo

That double meaning shaped the logo: the two lowercase "ll" characters are drawn to visually echo tally marks, with a soft smile placed directly below them. The result is a mark that is functional, warm, and immediately readable at any size.

Tally marks
from "ll"

+

Smiling face
below marks

Color system

Deep green anchors the brand in stability and confidence. Orange provides warmth and guides attention without creating urgency. Mint softens the experience for longer use. Lime is reserved for savings callouts and small accent moments.

Typography

Sora is the primary typeface. It carries the Tally brand in headings, navigation labels, price figures, and buttons. Plus Jakarta Sans handles body copy and descriptions, bringing warmth and readability to longer text.

Iconography

All product icons are drawn from a single Lucide-based library with rounded joins and a 2px stroke. Food and grocery items use emoji exclusively, with no icon illustrations. This keeps the icon system consistent and the product catalog expressive without requiring a custom illustration set.

Character design

A geometric mascot appears during onboarding, empty states, and marketing. It never appears in the main product interface. Its role is warm and ambient, providing a human touch without distracting from the core task.

Brand voice

Calm, direct, and honest about trade-offs. The way Tally talks is as important as how it looks.

• Calm, not anxious or salesy. No urgency tactics. No "limited time" pressure.
• Direct, no jargon. If a sentence sounds like marketing, it gets cut.
• Honest about trade-offs. If pickup is cheaper but slower, the app says so.
• Reassuring, not loud. Confidence comes from clarity.

Applications

The brand system applied across product and marketing contexts.