Making Mobile Ordering Even Sweeter

The concept of a native mobile app had been bandied about for years at Edible Arrangements. In the previous months we had rolled out a responsive web experience that performed well on a smartphone. However, as a technology team, we felt that the opportunity to engage the customer through a dedicated mobile app justified exploration. There was apprehension from leadership because of the nature of the industry; users typically placed three or four orders a year, around key holidays, and otherwise never visited the site. We felt that we could facilitate a better checkout experience by leveraging the affordances of the phone, while also providing sufficient impetus for users to create accounts and retain the app on their phone. I was given the green light to blue sky a concept for a dedicated mobile experience.

I already had a good understanding of my customer base. There were typically two types of users: a persona (typically male), guided primarily by price, wanting to move through the process quickly and a secondary persona (generally female) interested in wanting to find the “right” arrangement for the occasion. While I saw more potential from the latter to both download and retain the application, I sought to accommodate for both paths.

To retain users, I worked with the marketing team to develop a rewards platform, which would provide an impetus to keep the app installed on their phones. To further increase engagement, a notifications system was also designed. Effectively, it drew user’s attention to exclusive sales and promotions, while also reminding them of upcoming events.

I also identified areas for potential customization in later releases: a build your own arrangement option, as well as the ability to create a personal voice or video greeting associated with your arrangement. I also suggested equipping delivery drivers with Go Pros, so they could capture footage of your loved ones face when they receive their arrangement.

Lastly, I felt it was important that the application get smarter the more you use it. So, the more purchases you make for Mom, the more the system knows what she likes and can tailor recommendations to her specific tastes.

I worked directly with executive leadership to rapidly iterate on the wireframes and visual design. Ultimately, the concept went through several versions, eventually becoming the foundation onto which their mobile app was built. User research became instrumental in shaping the journey and ultimately validated the viability of the application. We were able to make great strides in streamlining the checkout process by leveraging card scanning technology and by making storing payment methods quick and painless. During our heuristic evaluations, we found that providing multiple ways of shopping: shopping by price, by occasion and even by member of the family, allowed users to move the purchasing process the way they desired.

 

Client: Edible Arrangements

Role: Senior UX Designer

Tasks: User research, journey mapping, wireframing, visual design, prototyping, presentation, team management