Pingo Doce
From Impulse Buys to Meaningful Moments
Pingo Doce, Portugal's oldest modern retail chain, that completed 45 years in 2025, was facing growing competitive challenges. With over 460 stores and reaching 85% of Portuguese households, the company needed to strengthen the value of its private label, which represented 40% of total sales.
Problem
The Indulgence category (ice cream, cookies, chocolates, potato chips and similar) presented a particular challenge. Although 91% of consumers bought private labelled products, only 11% chose this supermarket specifically for its brands. Indulgent products, by nature, are purchased more by impulse and emotion than by rational planning.
Outcome
Transforming Pingo Doce’s indulgence shopping with a new strategy for its indulgent product line, focusing on emotional and social connections, by introducing themed packs for specific occasions (e.g., "Movie Night," "Game Day," "Chill at Home"). The campaign was also supported by social media influencers and targeted ads.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Team
1 Project Manager
4 Designers
4 Digital Marketeers
Pingo Doce
& Indulgence Category
Before designing our solution, we needed to understand Pingo Doce’s positioning in the indulgence category.
Pingo Doce’s strenghts
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How are Pingo Doce’s indulgences products positioned?
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The indulgence products are often placed alongside branded competitors, making them less distinguishable
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Unlike premium brands with strong emotional marketing, Pingo Doce relied mostly on price-based promotions
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Packaging and shelf placement did not emphasize the emotional experience behind indulgent purchases.
We analysed market trends and consumer behaviour around indulgences. These insights confirmed that we needed to link social occasions with snack choices.
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Food consumption increases by 30% when eating with others
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82% of people reported eating without being hungry
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In 48% of cases, consumption is greater when it occurs in a larger group
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85% consider indulgent snacks an occasional treat but buy them biweekly
To identify opportunities, we analysed how other competitors position indulgence products in both digital and physical spaces.
Interviews & Surveys:
Understanding Shoppers
We conducted 13 interviews and attained 101 survey responses to understand why, when, and how customers buy indulgences.
Surveys
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91% buy private label products
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85% consider consuming indulgent products an occasional pleasure
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85% purchase indulgences every two weeks
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40% want more variety
Interviews
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Buys for personal consumption and sharing
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Organizes social events on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
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Shopping with company influences purchasing in larger quantities
Designing for
Two Shopper Types
We identified two key personas based on our user research, surveys, and interviews. Each represents distinct shopping behaviors and motivations within the indulgence category.
Customer Journey:
From Planning to Purchase
To design an ideal and engaging indulgence shopping experience, we mapped out the end-to-end journey of our users, identifying key pain points and opportunities for improvement.
Simplifying the
Shopping Experience
We designed a flow that simplifies the process of discovering, customising, and purchasing indulgence products—whether shopping alone or with friends, ensuring a frictionless and engaging journey.
Exploring Solutions
Through Quick Sketches
Before jumping into wireframes, we started with quick sketches to explore different solutions for the user flow and visual hierarchy.
Rapid Prototyping
to Validate the Flow
Given the tight timeline, we skipped low-fidelity wireframes and jumped straight to medium fidelity.
As we were working within the Pingo Doce design system, we already had predefined components, colors, and typography, allowing us to focus on testing the user flow rather than the UI details.
Why This Approach Worked
By rapidly prototyping and testing in medium fidelity, we ensured that the core user experience was solid before moving into high-fidelity designs, keeping the project on track despite tight deadlines.
Usability Testing:
Iterating for a Smoother Experience
Before
Users found the onboarding process too long, experiencing it as a barrier towards entry.
After
We condensed all essential information into a single, clear screen, allowing users to get started faster.
Before
Cards were too large, and pack contents weren’t visually distinct, causing them to look like individual products.
After
We added a rewards button to show accumulated points, reduced card sizes, introduced product modification options, and placed a rectangle around pack items to make them visually distinct.
Before
The "Moment" view became confusing as the number of products increased due to the horizontal scroll, making it harder for users to manage their selections.
After
We switched to a vertical layout, reduced the card size, and improved visibility, allowing users to quickly view and edit their pack.
Before
Users had to confirm each product individually, making the checkout process slow.
After
We added a "Select All" checkbox, allowing users to confirm everything in one click, significantly improving efficiency.
Expanding on Pingo Doce's Visual Language
To maintain consistency with Pingo Doce's existing design system, we leveraged pre-established components, colors, and typography, while creating new elements tailored to the "Moment-Based Shopping Experience."
Smart Route
The Fastest Path to Your Perfect Moment
To enhance the in-store experience, we plan to implement a smart route system that maps the store layout and guides the user through the most efficient path to collect all the products in their moment pack.
Pingo Doce Lens
Augmented Reality for Product Discovery
By using Augmented Reality (AR), the user can simply point their phone camera at a shelf or aisle, and the app will highlight all Pingo Doce private label products in real time.
Designing Moments,
Not Just Products
By shifting the focus from "what to buy" to "what moment you're buying for", we created a more emotional and personalized shopping experience.
The tight timeline pushed us to skip low-fidelity wireframes, allowing us to test the flow earlier and improve the experience more efficiently.
Using Pingo Doce's existing design system allowed us to ensure visual consistency while developing new components that boosted the overall experience.
✅ People buy for moments, not just cravings.
✅ Early user testing is key to identifying pain points and iterating quickly.
✅ Reusing design system components speeds up the process, but customizing new elements for specific experiences adds value.
✅ Adding sound and motion feedback increased engagement and emotional connection.