The Rounds
Tackling retention issues from end-to-end for a sustainable grocery delivery service.
Type
Academic
E-Commerce
Timeline
10 Weeks
Contributors
Sean Meiser
Chase Engelmann
Saci Lawson
Quynh Le
Role
UX Designer
User Researcher
Project Manager
(The Rounds)
01/18
Customers should want to stay
The Rounds came to us with user retention concerns as a service that revolutionizes sustainable living with convenience.
We ran comprehensive user testing to identify causes and design solutions that build a product users don’t want to leave.
(The Rounds)
02/18
Outcomes
SUS Scores
27
>
79
Sentiment Scores
2/5
>
4/5
Accidental Orders
40%
>
0%
Reduced Task Time
45m
>
15m
User’s Service Comprehension
Accuracy
40%
>
100% Correct
Confidence
3/5
>
4/5
Implemented Changes:
Transparency Sections
Buy-It-Once Feature
Editable Delivery Dates
Setting The Stage
Who they (The Rounds) are
The Rounds is a rapidly growing subscription-based grocery delivery service that makes sustainable living effortless for people living in urban cities across the east coast.
(The Rounds)
04/18
How it Works
(1)
Individually subscribe to items on a variable weekly recurring basis.
(2)
The Rounds repackages bulk food into practical portions using reusable packaging like jars.
(3)
On delivery day, The Rounds picks up any empty jars from previous deliveries while dropping off your new order.
(The Rounds)
05/18
Enter: Problem
The Business Problem
The Rounds was dealing with
user retention concerns, the biggest drop-off being at the first week mark.
But what user problems are causing the churn?
There was no existing, conclusive research, so answering this quesiton became my main task for the next 7 weeks.
(The Rounds)
06/18
Solving Problems
My (7) Solutions for a Confusing Ordering Process
What's confusing about the ordering process? Back to Problem Areas
While the team worked on the other 3 problem areas, I focused on the ordering process. Here’s what I made in one week.
Prototyped solutions were benchmarked using parallel testing (n=5) to measure success and ensure they met OKRs.
(The Rounds)
10/18
(1/7)
Navigation
"I feel like I'm in a maze."
"Where's my cart?"
Users felt confused, frustrated, and annoyed when navigating the mobile app.
I reduced the original 25 nav items to 16, improving user decision-making efficiency in alignment with Hick’s Law.
(The Rounds)
11/18
Before
After
(2/7)
Shop All
Users struggled to shop using product categories.
Users want clear, condensed, ordered information.
I reduced product card size to allow for bread crumbing, encouraging browsing and exploration.
(The Rounds)
12/18
Before
After
(3/7)
Ordering Products
4/7 new users unknowingly ordered $70+ in their first delivery due to ordering confusion.
Designed to enhance consistency and user familiarity.
Leaving users in the options drawer after adding an item to cart improves transparency by clearly laying out it’s frequency, quantity, delivery date, and the ability to remove it from cart.
(The Rounds)
13/18
Before
After
(4/7)
One Time Purchases
"If I forgot to cancel the recurring purchase and got multiple plants, I would refund and cancel my subscription immediately."
While proposals for allowing unlimited one-time purchases were initially rejected (but recently implemented!) in favor of business novelty; I created a “try it once” option as a compromise that encourages users to try new things, and empowers one-time purchases like the ones referenced above. All without abandoning a subscription-focused approach.
(The Rounds)
14/18
After
Managing Orders: Context
Confusion in this area was the leading cause of accidental purchases and the strongest predictor of churn.
Users didn’t understand the difference between autopilot and refills.
Users consistently found autopilot unintuitive and expressed desires to follow convention.
Products coming by week.
All products you’re subscribed to.
(5/7)
Managing Orders: Semantic Changes
"Where is my cart"
I renamed these two features to better align with user intuitions and expectations. I also made new icons to better communicate their function.
(The Rounds)
15/18
(6/7)
Managing Orders:
Changing “Refills”
I combined the 2 screens to reduce clicks, improve clarity, and help general usability.
(The Rounds)
16/18
Before 1
Before 2
After
(7/7)
Managing Orders:
Changing “Autopilot”
I found no need to change Autopilot’s functionality in research, so I made small touch-ups to improve consistency.
(The Rounds)
17/18
Before
After
Wrapping Up
Outcomes
SUS Scores
27
>
79
Sentiment Scores
2/5
>
4/5
Accidental Orders
40%
>
0%
Reduced Task Time
45m
>
15m
User’s Service Comprehension
Accuracy
40%
>
100% Correct
Confidence
3/5
>