Interaction and Design Barriers for Older Adults in Food Delivery Apps: A Usability Study

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the usability of two Food Delivery Apps (FDAs) available in the market with a sample of older adults. We performed a usability study of basic tasks required to purchase groceries with 12 participants (Mage = 70.92, SD = 4.56). Results showed that interaction experience with both apps was similar. Most participants could perform the tasks, but not efficiently. Tasks that took the longest mean time were adding the first product to the cart and scheduling the delivery service. We found 22 interface barriers for FDA1 and 23 for FDA2. The most frequent errors were caused by a lack of a clear roadmap to guide the purchase process, unclear feedback when adding products, information overload, and difficulty distinguishing interactive buttons from text/icons and mandatory actions from optional ones. System Usability Scale results were below the suggested cut-off point of 68. We provide recommendations that could help design accessible FDAs for older adults and make them easier to use for everyone.