Challenge

[October 2024]

AutoZone’s existing experience is designed for traditional auto shops that operate from a fixed location and are assigned a single nearby store. However, mobile mechanics work across multiple job sites, meaning their “nearest store” changes throughout the day. Because the platform wasn’t built with this mobility in mind, mechanics lacked a simple, efficient way to update their preferred store — making it harder to shop for parts and schedule pick-ups at the location closest to where they would be working next.

Process

To solve this problem, I began by analyzing how the AutoZone retail app allows customers to change stores — a feature I originally designed as the Senior Lead UX Designer. This provided a strong foundation for adapting the experience to the needs of mobile mechanics.

I leveraged insights from our UX Research team to understand mechanics’ workflows, pain points, and expectations for store selection on the go. From there, I mapped the end-to-end user flows and ensured all acceptance criteria defined by the Product team were captured and aligned with the new solution.

Using Atomic Design principles, I built modular components and high-fidelity designs that could scale and adapt as the commercial experience evolved. Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with development to confirm technical feasibility, clarify requirements, and ensure design specifications were implemented accurately.

I supported the project from concept to completion, validating and testing the build to ensure the final experience met user needs and delivered the intended functionality.

Outcome

The updated store-selection experience successfully addressed a key gap for mobile mechanics, enabling them to quickly choose the AutoZone location closest to each job site. Over the past year, the mobile channel has seen exponential growth, contributing to double-digit increases in both sales and overall engagement within the commercial app. This improvement not only streamlined mechanics’ workflows but also strengthened AutoZone’s position in the mobile commercial market.