How to use user stories to increase per customer bag size in a retail setting

Retail environments face significant pressures to increase per-customer spend. Traditional efforts often focus on marketing tactics or store layout adjustments without a clear framework that ties these interventions directly to the shopper’s intentions and experiences.

Drawing from methodologies used in software development—specifically the use of user stories—offers a structured approach that places the customer’s needs at the heart of retail design.

By first identifying distinct customer segments, retailers can craft user stories that articulate goals and friction points within the store. These narratives then guide targeted changes to signage, staff interactions, product placement, and related elements.

The result is a measurable increase in basket size and improved customer satisfaction. This article outlines a method grounded in existing research from service design and consumer behaviour, providing a roadmap from segmentation to implementation and ongoing assessment.

Introduction

Many retail strategies rely on broad operational targets or marketing-centric perspectives that do not fully account for a customer’s in-store journey. Approaches borrowed from software development offer a way to reframe the problem. User stories—short, narrative-driven tools widely used in agile product development—focus on individual user goals, challenges, and measurable outcomes (Cohn, 2004).

When applied to a store environment, these stories help retailers identify who their customers are, what they hope to achieve, and where they encounter difficulties. Research on store atmospherics, service design, and customer journey mapping supports this lens, confirming that well-informed interventions can influence purchase decisions.

Foundations: Linking User Stories to Retail Contexts

User stories originated as a tool in agile software development to keep projects user-centric and iterative. Each story typically follows a format such as: “As a [user type], I want to [do something], so I can [achieve a goal].” This format focuses teams on actual needs rather than assumptions (Cohn, 2004).

In retail, each story could represent a customer’s desire to navigate the store, select products, or learn about complementary items. Instead of relying solely on generic sales targets, the retailer can define goals through the lens of these narratives, transforming floor layout changes, staffing strategies, and promotional tactics into testable responses to identified needs.

Step 1: Customer Segmentation

Before any user stories can be written, it is necessary to understand who the shoppers are. Software development teams often create personas—fictional representations of different user types—based on research, interviews, and analytics (Cooper, 1999). The retail equivalent involves segmentation: dividing customers by shared characteristics such as frequency of visits, product categories purchased, browsing patterns, or demographic and psychographic attributes.

Segmentation can be informed by:

• Sales data analysis to identify high-value categories and repeat purchasers.
• Observational studies tracking how shoppers move through the store.
• Surveys and interviews to uncover motivations, such as time-saving priorities, enjoyment of exploring new products, or price sensitivity.

For instance, one segment might be the “busy parent,” who enters the store with a fixed shopping list and limited time. Another could be the “culinary enthusiast,” who enjoys discovering new products and flavour pairings. Once defined, these segments guide the tone and content of user stories.

Step 2: Crafting User Stories Aligned with Segments

Each segment will have distinct goals and friction points. The user story format helps capture these differences concisely. For example:

• Busy parent: “As a time-pressed shopper, I want to quickly locate necessary items and related products, so I can complete my shopping and make an informed impulse purchase without feeling delayed.”

• Culinary enthusiast: “As a shopper interested in trying new recipes, I want to find product pairings and cooking tips, so I can build confidence in exploring unfamiliar ingredients and increase my overall basket size.”

These stories identify a goal and highlight potential barriers. By tying the story to a segment, the retailer grounds decisions in known customer characteristics rather than vague assumptions.

Step 3: Identifying In-Store Pain Points

After creating user stories, it is important to pinpoint friction sources inside the store environment that prevent customers from achieving their goals. Bitner (1992) and Harris & Ezeh (2008) emphasize the role of the physical setting—signage, lighting, navigation cues—and the availability of helpful staff at critical junctures.

For the busy parent, pain points might include unclear aisle organization or limited assistance when seeking related items. For the culinary enthusiast, the difficulty lies in identifying which products pair well or not having immediate access to cooking inspiration through signage or interactive kiosks.

By articulating these pain points, the retailer clarifies exactly where improvements are needed.

Step 4: Intervention Strategies Guided by User Stories

With user stories and pain points clearly defined, retailers can develop targeted interventions. Grewal et al. (2014) confirm that staff engagement, strategic product placement, and helpful information resources can shape purchase behaviour.

Actionable steps include:

• Adjusting store layout: Provide clearer signage, create product clusters that prompt shoppers to add complementary items to their basket, and introduce wayfinding elements that reduce time spent searching.
• Empowering staff: Train associates to recognise key signals (e.g., a shopper pausing at a display) and offer suggestions that align with known customer goals.
• Interactive information: Introduce digital touchpoints with cooking tips, pairing suggestions, or meal-planning tools. This supports the culinary enthusiast’s desire to try new products.
• Dynamic promotions: Link promotions to customer goals. For a busy parent, offer time-saving bundles. For the culinary enthusiast, highlight niche items near related categories to encourage cross-category purchases.

Step 5: Implementation and Iterative Testing

Retailers should approach these changes as a cycle. Small adjustments can be rolled out and observed. Data collection methods include:

• Tracking sales in categories that received new signage or layout adjustments.
• Observing changes in average basket size among target segments.
• Conducting brief intercept surveys to gauge shopper perception, asking questions aligned with the user story goals.

Implementing changes that directly address user stories allows for structured tests. If a story focuses on helping shoppers find complementary items, the intervention’s success is measured by increased basket sizes in those categories.

Step 6: Assessment and Continuous Improvement

Measurement is central. Just as acceptance criteria validate user stories in software, retailers can define metrics that indicate success. For the busy parent, success might be measured by reduced time spent in key aisles and higher sales of related items. For the culinary enthusiast, success could be a higher incidence of purchasing cross-category products tied to a displayed recipe.

Data analysis—comparing periods before and after interventions—reveals whether changes are effective. If results fall short, the user stories serve as a guide for refinement. The cycle continues as the retailer updates interventions, introduces new user stories for emerging segments, and refines merchandising strategies to further boost basket sizes.

Conclusion

Adapting user stories from software development to the retail environment encourages a shift from top-down operational targets to a perspective driven by customer experiences.

This approach integrates segmentation, user narrative creation, in-store pain point analysis, and targeted interventions, all tied together with ongoing evaluation. Research from consumer behavior and service design literature supports that such a structured, testable methodology can elevate the shopping experience, ultimately increasing basket sizes and improving the retailer’s bottom line.

By following these steps—from understanding distinct customer segments to crafting context-sensitive user stories, implementing targeted improvements, and assessing their impact—retailers gain a practical, data-driven framework.

The outcome is a store environment better aligned with shopper goals, leading to increased per-customer spend and a more satisfying in-store journey.