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IRINA WOLF

Cartsmart – Helping Shoppers Make Confident, Value-Based Decisions

​Cartsmart is an early-stage consumer tech startup, set out to simplify online shopping with an MVP that helps users quickly find the best value through personalized surveys, smart comparisons, and transparent reviews.

Fortune 500 Corp        AI/ML        Enterprise        B2B        Web App

Company/Industry

Startup, product reviews

Role

UX Product Designer

Team

CEO,  2 software engineers

Timeline

2020

Anomaly Report By Unit (1).png

Problem

Users felt overwhelmed while shopping online:

  • too many options

  • mistrust in reviews

  • didn’t know what features were worth the price

  • "Just tell me the best 5 products in 5 minutes"

Business Goal

Create an MVP of a product review site that helps users make confident, value-based shopping decisions — while supporting a revenue model through affiliate links and incentivized reviews.

My Role & Scope

As the sole UX/UI Designer, I owned the end-to-end design process for the MVP: 

  • research, strategy, flows & wireframes, prototyping, usability testing, UI design

My Process

I began by interviewing 5 online shoppers and auditing competitors like Amazon and Consumer Reports. I uncovered that users wanted personalized advice and simple comparisons — not long review articles or tech specs.

Key Insights

  • 54% abandon e-commerce sites due to decision fatigue

  • Users wanted unbiased reviews, trusted visuals, and clarity on what really matters

Design Approach

  • Defined MVP with stakeholders

  • Created user flows, prioritized features via mutual business/user goals

  • Designed low → mid → high fidelity prototypes

  • Ran remote usability testing with 6 users

Solution

The MVP prototype included:

  • Personalized quiz to tailor product recommendations

  • Visual product comparison table

  • Review voting (up/down) and expert recognition

  • Focused UI for clarity and confidence

  • “I loved how it recommended top products without making me read 10 different articles.”

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Impact

  • All users completed test tasks with minimal friction

  • Prototype validated core concept and flow

  • Clear UX direction ready for handoff

  • I left before launch (joined a new role), but the product vision was solidified.

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This project taught me the value of design restraint — knowing what not to include in an MVP. By staying focused on user trust and value-first decisions, I designed a product that was clear, human, and ready to scale.

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