How FBS became the app’s core workflow

The project in brief

In 2021, Yandex Market launched a mobile app for sellers. It already let sellers start selling from a phone; a catalogue, DBS, and a dashboard followed. But the app remained a product with basic workflows and a small audience. Its main working process was missing: 71% of sellers used the FBS model, yet those orders could only be processed on the web.

We made FBS the app’s central product launch. I owned the direction and made the key decisions myself: I helped frame the problem and research it, set the approach, designed the key workflows, and took the product to launch with the product team. This was an independent product role in a highly uncertain project—the solution had to be assembled almost from scratch. The team tested prototypes in three RITE rounds, ran a beta with more than 100 volunteers on iOS and Android, and rolled the feature out in stages.

From August 2022 to August 2023, the share of sellers using the app grew from 5% to 53%, DAU grew from 2,000 to 20,000, and processed orders grew from 300 to 20,000 per day. FBS was a key factor in this trajectory, but it was not the only change to the app during that period.

The app had to become a working tool

The seller app appeared in November 2021. It started with an MVP and basic workflows, followed by the catalogue, DBS, the dashboard, and other features. This proved that sellers could solve some tasks from a phone, but it did not yet make the app their main working tool.

Before the FBS launch, only 5% of sellers used the app. At the same time, FBS—a model in which a seller stores goods in their own warehouse and Market delivers orders to buyers—was chosen by 71% of sellers. The largest segment could not complete its main daily task in the app.

That defined the priority: instead of adding one more small capability, bring the full FBS order processing cycle to the phone.

My role

I owned the direction and made the key decisions myself: I helped frame the problem and research it, set the approach, designed the key workflows, and took the product to launch with the product team. This was an independent product role in a highly uncertain project—the solution had to be assembled almost from scratch.

Goals instead of “improve the app”

1. More than half of Market sellers use the app.
2. The app’s ease-of-use rating improves.
3. The number of daily active users grows.

First, understand how the seller works

Order processing only looks linear from the outside. In practice, it depends on order status, product type, labelling, documents, and the packing method. Simply shrinking a web interface to phone size would give sellers the same complexity on a smaller screen.

Research and finding the solution

We broke the seller’s workflow into stages, constraints, and different scenarios. This helped us see gaps across the whole journey—from monitoring orders to delivery—instead of in individual screens.

Prototyping and testing

Based on the research, we built prototypes and tested them with sellers. At Market, designers take part in research directly, shortening the distance between an observation and a change to the solution.

We tested in three RITE rounds. After a problematic scenario, the team did not wait for the entire study to finish: we refined the prototype immediately and tested the next version with the next participants. The solution became more precise as the tests progressed.

Design critique

Regular design critiques helped us find weak points before launch. We reviewed workflows with the team, compared options, and clarified what the seller should notice at each step.

Four workflows instead of one ideal path

The final solution accounted for four different order-processing scenarios. The interface adapted to the current status and showed the actions the seller needed right then.

• Smart scannerFound an order or product by barcode and helped fill in the Chestny ZNAK code.
• Contextual actionsThe available actions changed with the current step in the workflow.
• Electronic documentsCould be signed with one tap without mandatory printing.
• Packing checklistReplaced paper lists and stayed next to the order on the phone.

We did not copy the web cabinet wholesale. The phone used its strengths: the camera became a working tool, documents and guidance appeared in context, and unnecessary actions disappeared from the current step.

Beta before the full launch

Before opening the feature to the whole audience, we ran a beta with more than 100 volunteers on two platforms. This let us test not only individual screens, but the complete working cycle with real orders.

After beta, the feature rolled out in stages. This gave the team room to observe behaviour and product quality without putting the risk of a major update on every seller at once.

Results

Key metrics changed between August 2022 and August 2023:

• 5% → 53%share of sellers using the app
• 23% → 38%share of “excellent” ease-of-use ratings
• 2,000 → 20,000DAU
• 300 → 20,000orders processed in the app per day

The FBS launch directly influenced this trajectory: the app gained the main working workflow for its largest seller group. At the same time, the product continued to develop other features, so it would be wrong to attribute the entire annual growth to one release.