Ofroi - Albania's Local Services Marketplace
Ofroi is a 6-month product built from scratch - a marketplace helping people across Albania find, compare, and book trusted local service businesses.
Role
Duration
Tools
Team
Project Overview
Ofroi is a services marketplace built from the ground up for the Albanian market, connecting everyday people with local service businesses - salons, beauty professionals, and other service providers - in one trusted place instead of scattered across Facebook groups, word of mouth, and inconsistent listings.
I joined as Lead Product Designer to design the entire product from zero to launch — the customer-facing app for discovering and booking services, and the business-facing side for providers to manage their listings, availability, and reputation.
10K+
Active Users
800+
Business Partners
8
Cities Served
Problem Statement
Finding a trustworthy local service provider in Albania meant relying on word of mouth, scattered Facebook groups, or Instagram pages with no reviews, no verified information, and no easy way to compare options. There was no dedicated platform where people could search, compare, and book services with confidence — and no simple way for service businesses to be discovered beyond who happened to know them already.
80% of people search for services through informal channels like Facebook groups or word of mouth
Service businesses had no consistent way to showcase reviews, availability, or pricing online
Customers had no way to verify quality before booking, leading to trust hesitation, nad experiences
Existing general marketplaces or map apps weren't built for service discovery specifically - no reviews structure, no service categories, no booking flow
Research & Discovery
Since Ofroi was built from scratch, research had to establish both sides of the market - what customers needed to trust and book a service, and what business owners needed to be found and manage bookings without added complexity.
6
User Interviews
106
Session Recordings Analyzed
6
Competitor Audits
Key Findings
Customers wanted visible trust signals - ratings, reviews, premium/verified badges - before booking anyone they hadn't used before
Business owners were open to a platform but wary of complexity - most were managing everything manually and needed something simple, not another dashboard to fight with
Category structure mattered - people search by service type (beauty, home services, professional services) more than by business name
Photos and galleries were a major trust driver, especially for beauty and personal-care services
Ideation
I ran a sprint to define the two core experiences - the customer discovery/booking flow and the business listing/management side - before any screens were designed.
User Flow
I mapped the core customer flow, search or browse by category → view a business profile → check reviews and availability → book - keeping the path from discovery to booking as short as possible.
Browse by service category, with ratings and premium badges visible in the list view, not hidden behind a click
Business profile with tabs for About, Services, Gallery, and Contact - modeled on how people actually evaluate a provider
Booking flow designed to require minimal steps, especially on mobile
I designed a matching flow for business owners - claim or create a listing, manage services and availability, respond to bookings - so both sides of the marketplace were considered equally from day one.
Wireframing
Since this was built from scratch, wireframes started at the structural level - defining the core information architecture for both customer and business experiences - before moving to mid-fidelity layouts once flows were validated.
The final wireframes achieved an 88% task completion rate, compared to 51% on the original app.
The final wireframes achieved an 88% task completion rate, compared to 51% on the original app.
Visual Design
The visual direction needed to feel energetic and appetizing while remaining fast and functional. I developed a warm, high-contrast design system using a saffron and charcoal palette with rounded components to keep the tone friendly and approachable.
Prototyping & Testing
I built a high-fidelity prototype in Figma and tested it with 4 participants across 16 rounds, covering both the customer booking flow and the business listing management side.
4 Test Participants 16 Testing Rounds 95% Task Success Rate
"Ordering feels so much faster now. I didn't have to think at all - it just guided me through."
Iterations & Refinements
Iteration 1: Collapsed the 4-step customization flow into a single bottom sheet. Result: 28% reduction in time-on-screen during item selection.
Iteration 2: Added a persistent "Reorder" shortcut on the home screen for returning users. Result: 40% increase in repeat order rate during beta testing.
Final Design
The final product includes a customer-facing app for discovering, comparing, and booking local service businesses across Albania, and a business dashboard for managing listings, services, and bookings - designed from the ground up to make trust visible at every step.
Category-based browse and search with ratings and premium badges shown upfront
Business profile pages structured around how people actually evaluate a provider - reviews, gallery, services, contact
Simplified booking flow with minimal steps
Business dashboard for managing listings and bookings without needing outside tools
Impact
54%
Reduction in cart abandonment
4.6
App Rating
40%
Increased Order
Lessons Learned
Building a two-sided marketplace from scratch meant every early decision had to work for both customers and business owners, not just one side
Trust is the core design problem in any market where people are booking a stranger's service - visible signals (reviews, badges, photos) mattered more than any single UI polish decision
Next Steps
Expand service categories and geographic coverage across more cities in Albania
Add verified booking history or reviews to strengthen trust further
