Case Study: Standing Up a Research Repository
I identified the need for a centralized research repository and led the initiative to evaluate and recommend a solution. This included facilitating workshops to capture cross-team needs, creating a feature prioritization framework, and conducting vendor audits (Dovetail vs. EnjoyHQ) to drive the final tool decision.
THE PROBLEM
The product design team across CX, AX, MX, and SCMFA needed a research repository that could store, organize, and standardize user research while making it more accessible and insightful for product teams across Kroger Technology & Digital. At the time, research was stored in Confluence, but it required too much effort to navigate and often went unused. Finding past studies was slow and inconsistent, which led to duplicated research and wasted time and money—at the exact moment when the design org was scaling rapidly.
THE SOLUTION
I identified the need for a more consistent and scalable way to store and access research across Kroger’s growing design organization. To address this, I led the initiative to evaluate potential research repository tools. Through workshops, audits, and a structured comparison of options, I built the case for adopting a solution that would make research easier to find, easier to use, and more valuable to product teams.
MY ROLE
UX Research & Research Operations – I co-led Research Ops meetings and was the initiative lead for evaluating a research repository. I facilitated workshops with cross-team researchers to capture requirements, built a prioritization framework for feature needs, and conducted vendor audits to compare Dovetail and EnjoyHQ. I created the final comparison board that secured stakeholder buy-in and positioned the team to adopt a scalable, forward-looking solution.
Tools Used: Mural, Dovetail, EnjoyHQ, Confluence
Fuel Points as a Foundation
Kroger’s Fuel Points program launched in the late 1990s to reward shoppers with savings at the pump. Over time, it became a familiar part of the Kroger loyalty experience — especially for fuel-focused customers. Some shoppers even optimized their savings by purchasing gift cards during 4x Fuel Points events, stacking rewards with credit card perks and fuel discounts.
This behavior underscored just how important Fuel Points were to a subset of customers — but it also revealed the program’s limits. Points were only useful if you drove, shopped a certain way, or lived near a participating station. As delivery became more common and electric vehicles gained traction, large segments of customers were left without meaningful ways to use their points.
Meanwhile, loyalty engagement remained high. 93% of sales were tied to Kroger Plus accounts, showing that customers were still willing to exchange their data and behaviors for value. But they weren’t seeing the full benefit. Over half of qualified households weren’t redeeming their points each month, even though 88% were aware of them.