#heuristics

#heuristics

The reason is a lack of user research to understand how people think and act when shopping, and how they navigate their way through the experience to get it done. It's the user experience concept of a mental model, if you want to get fancy, or the application of a system matching the real-world heuristic they teach you about in college.

This is why your brain constantly searches for fast associations and routines that work. As children, we learn to avoid fire and step away from cliffs without thinking. As adults, we recognize what we like or dislike without much deliberation. We become fast judges of character. We learn to read a room. We even program ourselves to drive cars, operate machinery, or cook complex dishes without checking every step.

Back in college, I worked in the produce department of a local grocery store. I spent a lot of early mornings unloading cases of apples, oranges, and everything else from the back of a semi, then restocking shelves throughout the day. It wasn't glamorous, but it was oddly satisfying. Over time, I developed what felt like a quiet superpower: I could pick fruit with the best of them.