Role
UI Designer
Scope
Web App Design
Team
Developers, Marketing
Year
2023
SO MART is a progressive web app designed as a hyper-local marketplace for the Cat Lai community. Unlike large e-commerce platforms, SO MART focuses on neighbors buying and selling with each other, fostering trust and convenience within the residential cluster.
From Community to Commerce
In this community commerce model, residents can easily list, browse, and purchase goods. Buyers can connect with sellers directly via in-app messaging or familiar channels like Zalo, making transactions more personal, fast, and relevant to their daily lives.
Why shopping was a struggle?
Shoppers, especially housewives, often spend 2–3 hours at traditional markets, dealing with long commutes, time-consuming price bargaining, and the risk of being overcharged.
Who we’re building for?
The primary users are housewives and busy women who juggle family responsibilities and have limited daily time for shopping.
Marketplace for Cat Lai Residents
SO MART is designed exclusively for residents and small sellers within the apartment clusters in Cat Lai. By limiting the user base to a specific community, the platform ensures trust, familiarity, and convenience in every transaction.
Making Everyday Shopping Easier
By providing a community-based online marketplace, SO MART makes shopping faster, fairer, and more convenient:
Clear, listed prices remove the anxiety of bargaining.
Intra-community shopping and delivery reduce shopping time to just 30 minutes instead of hours.
Making search intuitive for Community Commerce buyers
The search feature in SO MART was designed to help buyers quickly find the right products among a wide range of local community shops. It combines predictive search, recent history, and smart filtering to minimize effort and maximize discoverability.
By combining predictive input + browsing by categories, SO MART addresses both types of buyers:
Those who know exactly what they need.
Those who want to explore options within a category.
Crafting product pages that build buyer confidence
Buyers rely on product pages to judge not only the item but also the credibility of the seller. Clear visuals, structured descriptions, and authentic reviews reduce uncertainty and build trust.
Building trust through user-generated reviews
Reviews are one of the strongest trust signals in e-commerce. By simplifying the review process (rating, photos, text) and providing clear feedback after submission, users are more likely to contribute authentic experiences that help future buyers make confident decisions.
Open your store in minutes
Sellers can easily register, set up their shop, and start offering products to neighbors, making selling simple and community-driven.
Your shop, your community
Share what you sell with people around you. Fast, easy, and right where you live.
Learnings & reflection
This project marked my very first step into the UI/UX field, so there were many areas where I realized my limitations. While I was able to explore user needs and design flows, I learned that design is only one part of the bigger picture.
Looking back, this project gave me valuable lessons on being more thorough, communicative, and mindful of real-world execution. These reflections will guide me in my next projects as I continue to grow as a UI/UX designer.