The Club Digital Platforms Relaunch
The Club App Revamp
OVERVIEW
June 2021 — April 2022
DURATION
Build a frictionless experience for our members to Live better, Earn more and Spend more
The old Club App and Club Shopping App had supported the business for years. We faced huge challenges because of both technical and product limitations of the apps, which failed to serve the growing complexity and the scale of our digital ecosystem. In addition, with increasing fierce competition in the market where a a range of loyalty apps top app charts every day, a highly engaged mobile-first experience is the key to lead. Thus, we saw business opportunities and the urge to transform the app family to a multifunctional one-stop platform to motivate The Club members to spend more and earn more – elevating the entire Club digital ecosystem.
ROLE
Research, product design, design systems, prototype, design management, vendor management, usability-testing
TEAM
3 designers, 3 product managers and 15+ engineers (internal+vendor)
TOOL
Figma, Miro, Jira, Confluence
DESIGN PROCESS
This is the design process I followed for this project.
RESEARCH
First thing first, as a shopping app in the market, it is important to keep an eye on what our competitors are doing. By conducting thorough market research, we can stay up-to-date on their offerings, strategies, and any changes that they implement. We can use this information to inform our own decision-making processes and make changes to our app that will set us apart from our competitors. Some key areas to research user interface, user experience, marketing tactics, and any unique features or offerings that they provide. Keeping a close eye on our competition is essential for maintaining a competitive edge and thriving in a crowded market.
Market Research
RESEARCH
Communicate With Users To Gain Insights
After knowing what we want to achieve from the Goal. To understand and define the problem, we interviewed 10 real Club users in 5 days. Each lasted for 1.5 hours. Members from different The Club member tiers, ages, job to tell us what is their favourite e-commerce and loyalty platforms.
DEFINE
Identify Segmentation
After 10 qualitative interviews, we identified theme and mapped out 4 user personas:
Bargain Hunter
Potential: 🤩 🤩 🤩
Fear of missing out any promotions/rewards
Come to burn all the to-be-expired Clubpoints
Social and share news with friends
Value Seeker
Potential: 🤑 🤑 🤑
Love window shopping to find the best deal
Come to shop and seek value - e.g. Clubpoints as a discount or smart protection
Club Lover
Potential: 😍 😍 😍
Look for expanded ways to earn more Clubpoint
Loyal and expect tenure-based reward
Rational Shopper
Potential: 🤔
Clear & efficient process
Come to compare for products or strong evidence - e.g. price trend
…but we can’t cater all of them. So we prioritised 3 key personas for the mobile app revamp: Bargain Hunter, Value Seeker and Club Lover.
DEFINE
In order to know more about our customers, we visualised the shopping journey in a user journey map based on our 3 key personas . The map marked their action point, what they are thinking, and their emotion.
With this map, we can collaborate with different teams to spot our customer pain points at different stages in the shopping journey or function that is nice to have for the app.
User Behaviours Analysis
DEFINE
Translate user journey to product principles
To create a successful product, you must understand the user journey and translate that into product principles. This ensures the product aligns with users' needs and desires, leading to overall success. Translating the user journey into product principles is a crucial step in product development.
IDEATE
During the most creative step of the design process, we brainstormed various solutions and meticulously crafted the information architecture to ensure that the design is not only visually appealing but also user-friendly and intuitive. This involved conducting user research to understand their needs and preferences, and then translating those insights into a cohesive design. Following this, I moved on to creating sketches and mid-fidelity wireframes with team to bring the design to life and test various iterations. Once we had a solid foundation, we developed a design system that would guide the visual language and consistency of the product. Finally, we created high-fidelity prototypes to give stakeholders a realistic view of the final product and conducted usability testing to identify any pain points and areas for improvement. By taking a rigorous approach to each step of the design process, I am confident that the final product will be a success.
Ideate with Wireframes
IDEATE
Implement Changes To The Look
To ensure a cohesive and uniform appearance of The Club's products across various platforms, including the mobile app, mobile web, and desktop web, we have developed the Club Design System. This comprehensive system has been carefully crafted to harmonize not only with the app but also with all digital touchpoints within The Club's ecosystem.
It unifies design elements, guidelines, and standards to establish a cohesive brand identity, while optimizing usability and functionality.
VALIDATE
Communicate & Test Our Designs with Users
We conducted a comprehensive test of the prototype with a diverse group of 16 users with varying levels of technical expertise to determine the effectiveness of the updates we made in terms of improving usability, enhancing the overall experience, and uncovering potential opportunities for improvement.
Following the test, we developed a detailed plan that outlines the specific steps and measures that need to be taken to implement the recommended changes. In prioritising the changes, we took into account a range of factors, including their potential impact on the user experience, as well as their feasibility in terms of available resources, time constraints, and dependencies. By carefully considering these key factors, we are confident that we will be able to make the necessary improvements to ensure that the final product is both highly effective and user-friendly.
BUILD & LAUNCH
Collaboration does matters
After an intensive collaboration spanning over nine months, we are proud to announce the successful launch of our Club Super App, new era of shopping yet loyalty platform!
We (UX/UI team) worked closely with stakeholders, project managers, developers, and vendors, utilising agile methodologies to ensure a seamless and user-friendly experience. Throughout the process, the team kept the user journey at the forefront, translating their insights into product principles that guided the design and development of the app. The collaboration between the various teams resulted in a well-rounded and robust product that exceeded expectations. We are thrilled to witness the culmination of our collective efforts, as Club Super App now emerges as a game-changing solution in the market.
RESULT
The Club’s digital platform has expanded The Club’s membership base by 11% and the revamped Mobile App has led to high downloads and engagement rate, of which the high ranking on App stores and Google Play reflected in June 2022.
Top 3 on App Store (Overall Chart)
Top 10 on Google Play (Overall Chart)
Top 1 on App Store (Shopping Category)
Top 4 on Google Play (Shopping Category)
Effort brings impact
RESULT
The launch of our app is just the beginning of our journey. We understand that it does not mean the job is done, but rather it is a pivotal point for improvement. As a digital product team, we are committed to continuously evolving and refining our app to meet the needs of our users. That is why we actively seek and embrace feedback from every possible channel, whether it is positive or negative. Positive feedback reinforces our efforts and motivates us, while negative feedback is equally valuable as it points out areas that need improvement. Every piece of feedback is a stepping stone towards creating an exceptional user experience and ensuring the long-term success of our app. Together with our users, we embark on this exciting journey of growth and innovation.
Customers’ Voices are Value to Us
RESULT
The best designs come from collaboration.
It was inspiring to see how each person was able to bring to the table a different perspective in different stages. I noticed that non-technical people are unlimited with their ideas; whereas technical people are grounded in reality and can be a great sounding board for what is possible.
Takeaways and Learnings
Design thinking is key to effective products.
This lean framework really helped to shape the workshops and discussions with the team as it allowed me to stay focussed and on track throughout the entire hackathon.
User testing doesn't end after development.
Design is a constant iteration of improving the experience for the end user. Always find ways to collect and listen to your user's feedback
AWARDS
I am proud to announce that our product has won the 6 awards at Marketing Interactive's The Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2023. These awards recognise the best loyalty and engagement programs in the Asia Pacific region. We are honoured to be recognised by such a prestigious organisation, and we are grateful to our customers and partners for their support.
Endorsement from Market Professions
-
Gold - Club HKT
Silver - Cathay Pacific Airways
Bronze- Nan Fung Group -
Gold - Club HKT
Silver - L'Oréal Hong Kong
Bronze- Hysan Marketing Services -
Gold - Club HKT
Silver - American Express
Bronze- The Hong Kong Jockey Club -
Gold- Shiseido Hong Kong
Silver - Club HKT
Bronze- Eagle Property Management (CP)
Bronze - FWD Insurance -
Gold - Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition (Hong Kong) – Cow & Gate Club
Silver - MHK Restaurants
Bronze - Club HKT -
Gold - FWD Insurance
Silver - Cathay Pacific Airways
Bronze - Club HKT