Guindo Design
Strategic Digital Product Design

BM Supermarkets

Functional definition and design of the loyalty app

In 2015, the Aktios Global IT Services team contacted us to tackle the challenge of defining and designing the first mobile application for BM Supermarkets, a benchmark in the retail sector in northern Spain.

BM was in the midst of a digital transformation process and needed a channel that would strengthen customer loyalty and improve their shopping experience both in the physical and online environment. The project was planned in collaboration with the marketing and technology teams of BM and Aktios, with the aim of defining an MVP that would serve as a scalable basis for future versions of the application.

Based on work sessions, interviews with stakeholders and analysis of references from the retail sector, we identified the following needs:

• The app had to be a useful, not promotional, tool, focused on a main function that would provide real value to the customer.
• Loyalty management (coupons, balance, personalized promotions) had to articulate the experience.
• The design had to allow for a phased evolution, from a simple MVP to a broader digital ecosystem.

During the initial workshops, we helped prioritize functionalities and build a common vision for the project. This allowed us to balance business expectations with the real needs of users, avoiding an overloaded application and ensuring a clear focus from the beginning.

Functional definition and scope of the MVP

At the beginning of 2016, we specified the second proposal, in which we defined the functional prototype of the initial version of the app that would include the following functionalities:

• Management of discount coupons / digital vouchers
• List of sale items and active promotions
• Location of nearby establishments
• Agenda of activities and events of the chain
• Customer service chat

At the same time, we proposed a future roadmap that included expanded functionality: shopping lists, integration with recipes, theme clubs, beacon-based notifications, etc.

We also attended to the cross-experience on Android and iOS: although we adapted the interaction patterns of each system, we unified the information architecture and task logic to ensure coherence and scalability.

Prototyping and validation

We published the project architecture and functional prototypes in a collaborative environment accessible to the entire team. In joint sessions we iterated the flows, the key screens and the main navigation, ensuring that each decision was aligned with the business objectives and the user's needs.

Subsequently, once the structure was validated, we developed the reference visual designs. We opted for a functional and accessible aesthetic, but aligned with the graphic line of BM.

The project culminated in the delivery of a fully defined functional prototype and a visual design ready for implementation by the Aktios technical team. This 'version 1' of the BM app was launched as a tool focused on customer loyalty (voucher management, promotions and direct brand-user connection) and served as a basis for subsequent evolutions.