endzone - a point of sale APPLICATION

 

OVERVIEW

Endzone is an in-house, cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) application developed by the Checkout Team at Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest tech teams within the company. This team was tasked with rebuilding the POS system from the ground up to replace the legacy system that had been in use. The project has been in progress for about five years, and I’ve had the privilege of being part of the team for three of those years, leading both design and research efforts.

Endzone integrates with numerous services and teams across the company. My role involves leading discovery, designing the interface and workflows, and ensuring the system delivers an efficient experience for employees while meeting the company’s business objectives. This project has been a significant undertaking, representing a transformative shift in the company’s checkout processes.

The Opportunities and Challenges

When I joined the team, there were over 50 features that needed to be designed and tested, all while keeping future initiatives in mind—such as mobile versions and checkout integrations with other applications used by teammates. The big question was: Where do I start?

To tackle this challenge, I focused on understanding the needs and priorities of the project. Below, you can see some of the methods I used to organize and align our efforts, including journey maps, planning boards, user flows, and collaborative workshops. These tools helped ensure we were designing thoughtful, scalable solutions that met both immediate needs and future goals.

WHERE DO WE START?

EMBRACE THE CHANGE - store visits and feedback

Store visits and ongoing feedback were essential to crafting a great user experience. I made it a priority to regularly visit the field and speak directly with employees to understand their needs and challenges. Additionally, I conducted surveys and utilized the feedback button within the application as we rolled out new features.

This proactive approach allowed us to gather hundreds of pieces of feedback each month, which we used to prioritize and guide the development of the most impactful features. By staying closely connected to the end users, we ensured the application evolved in a way that truly met their needs.

working through all the features

I learned the importance of closely collaborating with product management and stakeholders to ensure design stayed ahead of engineering. Together, we worked on writing detailed stories for the engineering team and planning discoveries well in advance. This proactive approach kept us aligned with the roadmap and rollout plans, ensuring we stayed on

the final product

This is a visual sample of Endzone, our point-of-sale application. Its sleek, clean design drastically reduced both training time for new employees and transaction time at checkout. These improvements have saved the company millions of dollars annually, demonstrating the significant impact of intuitive, user-focused design.

endzone anywhere - mobile version of checkout in stores

We are currently testing the mobile version of Endzone, which opens up exciting opportunities for Dick’s Sporting Goods. This version will be used for conducting in-store services and clienteling, creating a more seamless and personalized experience for our athletes. I had the privilege of coaching and leading the talented designers on our team who brought these beautiful and impactful designs to life.

REFLECTION

EndZone has delivered remarkable results, including $3.6 million in annualized productivity savings. By holiday 2025, we plan to expand EndZone to 100% of registers across all chains, unlocking further potential and driving efficiency across our stores. I have learned so much on this team and am excited to continue growing.

Key Benefits:

  • Increased Labor Optimization

  • Reduced Training Time for new teammates

  • Decreased Transaction Times

  • Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

Cyber Weekend 2024 Performance Highlights (11/29 - 12/1):

  • 5,242 active EndZone registers in operation

  • 69% increase in sales compared to 2023

  • Nearly $100M in sales on Black Friday alone

  • 85% of transactions processed through EndZone

  • Average transaction time: 76.5 seconds

  • Peak volume on Black Friday: ~1,500 transactions per minute

EndZone’s performance showcases its critical role in streamlining operations, improving the customer experience, and achieving unprecedented sales growth. I am privileged to be a part of that!