Building Trust at Checkout.

The first version of the editable cart launched in Q2 2022, but editing was limited to quantities only. Users couldn't view product details or modify customisations from the cart. As meal selection options grew more complex, the cart struggled to keep up.

Without centralised frontend ownership, new features were displayed poorly or not at all.

Users were building increasingly personalised orders, but the cart wasn't reflecting these changes. Customers experienced confusion about what was actually in their box, why items appeared, and what they would pay.

Beyond user frustrations, the cart was a critical business touchpoint. Reviewing their order affected pause and cancel decisions. With centralisation of the mealkit and ready-to-eat codebases on the roadmap, a scalable, modular cart was needed.

A cross-discipline team was formed in Q1 2022 to own the frontend cart experience. Due to my work on price clarity, I was asked to join as the lead product designer. After delivering Autosave in Q1 2024, I commenced Cart Redesign in Q2 2024.

I led usability testing, collaborated with a UX research partner on user interviews, and compiled UX principles to inform the design vision and iterations. I worked with a product owner and engineers to deliver design iterations incrementally for maximum impact.

Design delivery included a design system composite for all meal kit brands, collaboration with a UX writer, and documentation of meal selection price logic, display rules, and handover guidelines. Support for engineering delivery included copy localisation and UA testing.

The hierarchy followed the two core jobs of any e-commerce cart. Review your order, then confirm and pay. As a subscription service with six editable weeks, the cart needed to consolidate everything into one screen. Since price clarity was a top pain point, I kept paired add-ons in their own section so users always knew which items were included versus which cost extra.

The existing cart used a single-column layout that pushed order totals below the fold for larger baskets, fragmenting the review experience.

With a long-term company strategy to increase basket size, expanding add-on offerings, and introducing ready-to-eat options, alternatives like a side drawer wouldn't scale. A two-column desktop layout accommodated a larger, more complex cart while keeping order totals visible, and a full-width cross-selling carousel opened up catalogue discovery.

The primary goal was to validate the new layout without negatively impacting revenue. The results confirmed it. After iterating on the upselling banner to address a small drop in extra meal uptake, the redesign rolled out across all web markets in December 2024.

The design system had just introduced brand tokens, allowing one design to serve multiple brands at once. The cart was one of the first features to leverage this. After validating on HelloFresh, Cart Redesign rolled out to Chefs Plate, Green Chef, and EveryPlate on web in Q4 2024.

The app experiment launched in Q3 2024, bundling delivery rescheduling, savings display, and Free Item for Life labels for validation.

Financial metrics were directionally positive but not statistically significant: +0.23% net revenue, +0.26% order value, -0.39% pause rate. Engagement was strong. 11.6% of users clicked the Edit Delivery Drawer, and savings accordion expansion increased by 3.6%. With no negative impact on any metric, these features rolled out across app and web in Q2 2025.

The app experiment also coincided with UI2, HelloFresh's rebrand introducing minimalist typography and a refined colour palette. We ran a 2x2 experiment to isolate cart changes from the visual refresh, and UI2 rolled out on HelloFresh alongside the cart features.

Price clarity changes and multi-seller layout restructuring were deprioritised due to backend dependencies. We added a "Ships separately" label as a lighter solution. Payment method display was descoped after experiments showed it increased cancellations.