Key findings from contextual inquiry

Digital Invisibility

Generational Tension

Physical Friction

Users don’t know what they want

Existential Threat

The market is difficult to find and understand online, suffering from "Low Discoverability on Google Maps" and a lack of basic "Shop and Product Info."

Traditional business, represented by "Shopkeeper legacies," is clashing with "Generational shifts" and heavy reliance on "WhatsApp based online commerce."

Once there, poor "Navigation" and "spaces being too cramped up" create a disconnected and difficult experience.

Most first time tourists come there not knowing what to expect and they don’t have anything in mind and even if they do they don’t where and how to find it.

The market's physical footprint is shrinking due to "Space being taken up by redevelopment," threatening its long-term survival. Tourism appeal are currently being undermined by these challenges.

चोर

bazaar

UXR and Web service design project for one of India’s oldest markets.

चोरबाज़ार

चोरबाज़ार, located in South Mumbai near Grant Road, is one of India’s oldest and most iconic flea markets, renowned for its unique blend of history and culture. The market's origins date back to the 19th century during British colonial rule. Initially known as शोरबाज़ार (noisy market) due to its bustling atmosphere and lively vendors, its name was famously mispronounced by the British as “Chor Bazaar,” which means “thieves’ market” in Hindi.

Aim

To observe and identify challenges faced by the stakeholders of Chor Bazaar and propose solutions aiming to solve the problem and add value to The Chor Bazaar experience.

3 weeks

History

Contextual enquiry

Primary research

Brainstorming

Personas

Ecosystem Map

Problem Statement

HMWs

Creating scenarios

Goal Statement

Wireframing and user flows

Information architecture

System flows

System thinking

Research & discovery

Research Synthesis

Proposed Solution

Ideation & Planning

Final Solution

Process

Research Synthesis

Brainstorming

2.1

15+ shops assessed

10+ interviews

3 field visits

Contextual Enquiry

To observe the actual behaviors, unspoken frustrations, and real-time interactions between buyers, tourists, and sellers.

Interview Insights

Market Area

Back Entry

Entrance

Problem Statement

To positively change the user experience of Chor Bazaar to address poor discoverability, mistrust, and disengagement, so that both buyers, tourists, and sellers can easily explore, connect, and transact around authentic stories and products in a trustworthy, and vibrant marketplace?

Personas

Shahid Akhtar

Junaid Afsar

Rekha Mehta

Rajesh Gupta

पहले जैसा कुछ नहीं है, पुराने चीज़ों का शौक चला गया है!

PRIMARY Shopowner

Secondary Personas

Age

42

Education

Till 10th grade

Family

One Son

Values

Proud of heritage

Laid Back

Proud of shop collection

Devices

Smart Phone, Television

Wants their children to continue their shop legacy

To have a respectful and comfortable business experience.

Certain part of consumer base has shifted to online modes such as Meesho and OLX

Loss of market relevance in recent times

Lack of interest by general public


SHOP DETAILS

Frustrations / Pain Points

Son of shop owner

Tourist

Antiques Dealer

Aspirations

Mode of Acquirement

Old Cameras

• Thrifted Jewelry • Radios • Posters

Misc. Collected Junk

Random acquirement

SHOP

Misc. Showpieces •

• Old Comics

Market still stuck in older times

Wants to work in Chorbazaar but is having doubts

Exploring cultural hotspots she's seen on Instagram

Has difficulty finding and building relationships with new, reliable shopkeepers.

Finds the market's reputation and disorganized layout intimidating.

An independent dealer who acquires antiques and vintage items from estate sales, house clearances, and smaller auctions across Maharashtra.

Ecosystem Map

sellers

reliable word of mouth connection

new reliable connections required

need motivation to continue store

next generation

shopkeepers

casual tourists

people looking for repairs

antique enthusiasts

online buyers

How might we create seamless interactions and convenient transactions between tourists, sellers, and shopkeepers, improving engagement ?​

How might we help shopkeepers and sellers build trust and communicate their authentic stories and offerings to new audiences?

How might we make it easier for buyers and tourists to discover and navigate Chor Bazaar’s unique shops and products, both online and in person?​

HMWs

Our website and app will help the buyers, tourists, sellers, shopkeepers engage more deeply through seamless discovery, storytelling, and streamlined interactions that convert interest into visits or purchases.

Proposed Solutions

Goal Statement

Selected

Digital Solution

Physical Experience & Signage

Digital & Social Media Presence

Defining Chor Bazaar’s Identity

Service Overview

Mobile Application

Onboarding

Create & manage shop profile

Dashboard to view inquiries:

From Sellers (product offers)

From Buyers/Tourists (appointments, WhatsApp/video requests)

Upload product images

Browse/search shops by category

View shop profiles

Explore map with shop locators

Browsing Shopkeepers

Selling products

Shopkeeper

Tourist/Buyer/Renter

Seller

Website

Website Dashboard

Website

AI auto-tags products and routes them to relevant shopkeeper

Receive notifis (via email/WhatsApp) if shopkeepers show interest

shop profile browsing

product listing matching

Explore map with shop locators and filters

View shop profiles

Browse/search shops by category

Mantel clocks

Wall clocks

Vintage watches

Pendulum

चोर

bazaar

चोर

bazaar

चोरबाज़ार

चोरबाज़ार

Yatra one

Anek Devanagari

Devnagari text in app and body content

Devnagari text in logo

Chorbazaar

Darker Grotesk

चोर

bazaar

#274578

Chorbazaar

Indigo

#202938

#202938

#79301F

#DDAE90

Lal Mitti

Haldi Gold

Mahogany

Clay Beige

The Website Interface

Initial wireframes and building information architecture

The primary interface of the website is used by the tourist to discover, plan and execute their trip to Chor Bazaar.

About

Landing Page

Info about chor bazar

About shop keepers

Map

Product listing

Product listing

Filters

Price

Product Page

Product Page

contact details

shop name

Description/Key words

Products

contact details

Seller details

Seller details

You may also like

Location

You may also like

See more products from the seller

How to reach

How to reach

See more products from the seller

Suggestions

Search

Collections

Eg. Bollywood/Vintage fruniture

Product listing

Filters

Explore

Tourist/Buyer

The user gets the option to add a new product for listing or they can track their existing listing.

Designed for the Seller makking the shopkeepers at Chor Bazaar more accessible for the potential sellers.

Integerating generative ai to make the whole process seamless

Editing details card

Matching with shopkeepers

The users can use the registered mobile numbers to access their listing

The AI’s image recognisation system will detect the product in the image and generate the product name, discription and the most appropriate tags for the list making it completely effortless for the seller.


Users can always edit the details.

All the tags are nested inside the the product category making it every easy for the seller it arrange and edit the details.

Based upon the product details users will get all the relevant potential shopkeepers for their products

Providing a regenate option if the user is not happy or want new tags.

The the seller interface

New listing flow

चोर

bazaar

About

Collection

Explore

BROWSE

2025 ChorBazaar. All rights reverved

About

Chor Bazaar in Mumbai is a living treasure market of antiques, vintage furniture, film posters, cameras, brassware, and curios. Family-run shops span generations, trading stories and finds. Wander lanes, meet shopkeepers, and discover pieces with history to bring home. Best explored on foot.

Explore

Shops

Collections

Shopkeepers

Track existing queries

Add new listing

View existing uploaded queries via registered phone number.

Directly upload products to sell to shopkeepers in Chorbazaar.

Now connect easily with 50+ authentic shops in Chorbazaar.

Initial wireframes and building information architecture

चोर

bazaar

About

Collection

Explore

BROWSE

2025 ChorBazaar. All rights reverved

About

Chor Bazaar in Mumbai is a living treasure market of antiques, vintage furniture, film posters, cameras, brassware, and curios. Family-run shops span generations, trading stories and finds. Wander lanes, meet shopkeepers, and discover pieces with history to bring home. Best explored on foot.

Explore

Shops

Collections

Shopkeepers

Upload image

Edit and upload details

Match with shopkeepers

चोर

bazaar

About

Collection

Explore

BROWSE

About

Chor Bazaar in Mumbai is a living treasure market of antiques, vintage furniture, film posters, cameras, brassware, and curios. Family-run shops span generations, trading stories and finds. Wander lanes, meet shopkeepers, and discover pieces with history to bring home. Best explored on foot.

Explore

Shops

Collections

Shopkeepers

Listing details

Set Price

to

₹5,000

₹10,000

Upload image

Edit and upload details

Match with shopkeepers

Description

Hand-carved brass elephant figurine, perfect for home decor. Unique Indian antique, ideal for collectors. Small, weathered patina.

20 characters left

Product Name

Brass elephant antique

11 characters left

Reupload image

Preview

Upload Listing

Product Categories

Brassware

Elephant

Good Condition

Metalwork

Metalwork

Browse categories

Re-generate

Listing Confirmed!

Thank you for your upload. Your product listing is confirmed.


You should receive Whatsapp verification soon.

View listing

Product Name

Timepieces & Horology

Electronics & Media

Metalware & Brassware

Mantel clocks

Analog radios

Analog radios

Wall clocks

CRT (tube) televisions

CRT (tube) televisions

Vintage watches

Film cameras (SLR)

Film cameras (SLR)

Wooden case clocks

Reel-to-reel players

Reel-to-reel players

Pendulum

projectors

projectors

Chronometers

Brassware

Product Categories

Add or remove product tags.

Re-generate

चोर

bazaar

About

Collection

Explore

BROWSE

About

Chor Bazaar in Mumbai is a living treasure market of antiques, vintage furniture, film posters, cameras, brassware, and curios. Family-run shops span generations, trading stories and finds. Wander lanes, meet shopkeepers, and discover pieces with history to bring home. Best explored on foot.

Explore

Shops

Collections

Shopkeepers

Upload image

Edit and upload details

Match with shopkeepers

Suggested shopkeepers

Ansari and Sons

Akhtar and Akhtar

Ancient Paradise

Camera House

+91 70445 82891

+91 85645 72890

Whatsapp

Whatsapp

Keywords matched

Keywords matched

Mantel clocks

Mantel clocks

Wall clocks

Wall clocks

Vintage watches

Vintage watches

Pendulum

Pendulum

Raamish Khatri

Khatri and Sons

+91 96756 36887

Whatsapp

Keywords matched

Mantel clocks

Wall clocks

Vintage watches

Pendulum

Browse more shopkeepers

View shopkeepers by category

Landing Page

Track your Listing

Sell new Product

All listing

Product for sale

Edit

Activity

Contacted

shop keeper details

shop keeper details

Reviewed

Add Pictures

Title

discription

Key Words

Set Price

Add Phone number

Publish

mobile number

AI

Seller interface

Seller

Project by - Abhimanyu, Pragya & Ranjabati

Guided by - Prof. Anisha Malhotra Dalvi

Shopkeeper app UI

Shopkeeper

App will be used by shopkeepers to manage storefront and get connect with interested sellers and tourists.

Login

Updates

Products

My Shop

Profile

Dashboard

Top products

New product for sale

Shop summery

Shop details

Share

Shop Switch

Edit shop details

Images

Profile setting

Change personal Details

Key words etc

Location

Manage products

Product listing

Product listing

Product details

Share

Loaction

Contact

Filters

Product details

Summary

Setting/editing

Filters

Add new

Title/description

Add images

Generate key words

Initial wireframes and building information architecture

Thank You for Scrolling

Project by - Abhimanyu, Pragya & Ranjabati

Guided by - Prof. Anisha Malhotra Dalvi

© 2025 Pragya Yadav. All rights reserved.

© 2025 Pragya Yadav. All rights reserved.