Image of ION Orchard captured by chensiyuan
How might we create an engaging service experience that helps shoppers optimise their time spent with ION Orchard’s touchpoints?
This project was a revamp aimed to update the key digital touchpoints in time for the 10th anniversary of ION Orchard, one of Asia’s top shopping destinations.
My Role
UX Design, Research, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Visual Design
Project 2018
Timeline 3 months
Tools Sketch, Zeplin, Adobe Illustrator
User Research & Insights
We started from scratch with user interviews to understand where the website and mobile app stood in the shoppers’ overall user journey. One big challenge was the large scope of shopper segments, which revealed a wide range of user behaviours based on cultural background & technological savviness.
Key insights
Local members shop frequently and actively make plans to go to ION Orchard due to its convenient location and the membership perks they get to enjoy. Their key pain point is the membership features buried in the app, which most were unaware of and resorted to relying on the physical counter service.
Non-members from both tourists and local segments mostly shop there when they happen to pass by it. Locals visit the website to locate dining places, and most do not see any reason why they would need an app as they don’t visit often enough to justify downloading it. Their key pain point is the navigability of the website.
Synthesis & Design
We worked on the redesign to solve two key problems: bringing upfront the membership functions on the app and surfacing the store search for & suggesting loyalty perks or services on the website.
Designing the Solution
We designed easier app access for members to scan receipts for points and redeem deals. To be more engaging, we recommended deals based on the member’s tier privileges and shopping interests. A progress tracker was added to visually indicate how close they are to reaching the next membership milestone.
For the new website, we chose to focus on fulfilling the goal of potential shoppers searching for store information on the website, with information that is easier to access. We also redesigned the deal & event detail screens to recommend relevant deals and content.
Early wireframe sketches to explore possible layouts for the website’s homepage and loyalty rewards page
Launch & Impact
We did a few rounds of internal usability testing of the app and website to ensure the new design was effective. The impact of the redesign was evident: membership sign up increased by 30% after the launch, and more members redeemed deals with the app. The app also won ‘Best Use of Mobile (Property)’ awarded at the MOB-EX Awards 2020.
Overall, it was a very valuable opportunity to execute the research study across a sizeable number of user segments. This insight gave the project direction a solid foundation for us to focus on key user problems to solve.