Project Context
In todays' world the vast majority of people have smart phones where they are constantly engaging and connecting with the world around them. From an ecommerce perspective the majority of users will now access websites from their phones or tablets. This requires the need for them to be optimised for mobile screens and devices. This is not where the customer requirements or possibilities stop though. Dedicated mobile applications can also be utilised for marketing, engagement, research, loyalty growth as well as access to technology that can support what tools and functionalities can be offered to customers to support their journeys and user experiences.
Hancocks had therefore decided to develop a mobile application to support both their digital and physical stores. As a UI/UX designer I was tasked with designing the application to provide greater customer engagement and loyalty in addition to supporting revenue growth.
Key Insights
By talking through the vision of the application with key stake holders from Hancocks I was able to understand where the disconnects were between the company's offerings and customer engagement. I could also identify where the marketing strategy was struggling and what needed to be addressed to provide a stronger omni-channel sales and marketing strategy.
- Communications for store specific offers and manager specials were limited to emails. This is not always noticeable in a timely manner.
- No tools are provided to easily locate products in store.
- Payment in store could be time consuming. Waiting in a queue and having to have a checkout operative check and scan every item takes time.
- No incentives for loyalty were provided to retain and grow custom.
- Customers had to find emails to pick up click and collect orders. Alternative communication methods could be used to improve the collection process.
Design Requirements
Having identified the opportunities to improve engagement between Hancocks and their customers, as well as areas where development of tools for the customers could help support their user journeys and grow sales. I had a clear idea of where major strides could be made through utilising mobile technology.
As technology has advanced and the Internet of Things has become more prevalent, it makes sense to tap into this channel. This is intwined with the growing reliance we all have on our mobile devices, providing us with tools that keep us connected, simplify our day to day lives, but also provide an opportunity for businesses to engage with us as consumers.
Alongside the Chief Digital Officer, we set the goals to improve relevant marketing communications to the customers and provide a 'scan and go' tool that sped up the shopping experience within the stores.
1. Provide a Home Screen that included up to date feeds from the customers preferred stores as well as the general marketing communications.
2. Allow the ability for customers to engage with posted content.
3. Use device location data to provide push notifications about offers and store news.
4. Utilise device cameras to scan product barcodes; pre-scanning products whilst shopping to speed up payment.
I believed that there were also additional features that could be added to provide greater engagement and customer retention, as well as pushing device capabilities further to enhance the users experience and drive sales.
1. Use device location to provide notification to store on customer arrival for click and collect orders.
2. Provide a push notification prompt with a code/QR code to provide to the stores for a quick and easy pickup of click and collect orders.
3. Give users the ability to browse the product catalogue and see store stock data, as well as being able to build a shopping list with product location in store to help customers find them.
4. Use beacon technology such as iBeacons to notify customers of promotions in store, offer a more personalised experience, provide directions around the store, as well as allowing Hancocks to see time in store and footfall data.
5. Offer a loyalty program where customers are encouraged to engage, reach certain spend goals, or buy certain products to receive discounts and rewards.
App Mockups
Final Thoughts
The application was successfully designed to meet the key stakeholders' criteria; providing a tool for marketing communications, a store locator, as well as a tool to speed up the customers shopping experience via shop and go functionality.
I however still believe that developing an app to support marketing and sales needs to provide greater functionality to engage with the customers, encouraging the users to use the application. One of the key benefits of developing an application is the availability of technology within the device that can support the users' experience. Functionality that would be beneficial to Hancocks includes near field communications, push notifications and location services. However, during the design process the decision was made against providing solutions that helped the customer build a shopping list, navigate the stores internal layout, locate products in store, geo targeted push notifications for click and collect orders as well beacon technology for highlighting products in store. I believe that to really add value to the customers journey, the application should be developed further to include these useful tools as well as providing an in app reward system that encourages continuous engagement.
