The problem

Drop's onboarding didn't evolve with the product

Drop’s onboarding flow was untouched for years as the product and business evolved. As a result, users were unaware of the different ways to earn points in the app. This lead to users missing out on points and it prolonged the process in earning points to redeem a gift card.

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Our objective – revamp the first experience to increase conversion

Our goal was to update the onboarding flow so that users understand how to earn points and the value of Drop.

To measure if our solution is successful, we used conversion as a success metric. Increased in conversion suggests that users understood how to use offers in Drop.
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Explorations

The 1st exploration: Communicating how Drop can fit into their lives

We revised the flow and added the following key screens:

Educating the user – I added an education screen to explain how the app works. The aim of this screen was to educate the user, all while communicating the value proposition of Drop

Upselling once we've communicated the value prop – I moved the notification opt-in after the user has linked their card and selected their offers, as they would have understood the value of Drop at that point
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I created rough wireframes that focused on getting the user invested in the app early on. Users answered questions about their spending habits, so they can think about how Drop can fit into their life. I then presented them with offers and weaved in education on how to use the app.
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Initial feedback: show, don't tell

This was a radical change of our existing onboarding, so we conducted user feedback sessions to validate the new designs. I worked with a user researcher to conduct a cognitive walkthrough with new users.
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Overall, the new designs performed poorly. New users understood that the app helps them earn cashback, but they still didn't understand how the app works. We also noticed that users wanted to finish onboarding as quickly possible and get into the app so that they can explore it.

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The 2nd exploration: Simplify and contextualize

We went back to the drawing board with a new goal in mind: break down education into pieces. I abandoned the questionnaire approach simplified the registration portion of the onboarding flow, so that users only had to complete the required actions to use the app

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Adding friction to get users to slow down

I still kept the education screens, but kept it brief and concise. I added extra friction so that user slows down to skim it. The goal of the screen was to prime them of what happens in app.

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In-app education

Once the user lands in app, the in-app tutorial begins. Users first land on a screen that reiterates how to use the app. Additionally, users want to be reassured that the app delivers promise, so we present them with offers from popular brands.
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We continue educating users as they explore through the app. We provide them with coachmarks at the right moments to teach them how shop in-app.
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Releasing it as an A/B test

Increase in lift, but decline in card-linking

We conducted a remote user study to understand what was going on. Additionally, we dug deep into our data to figure out where drop offs were happening. Both methods indicate that users were dropping off in the education screen.
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We hypothesized why this screen was problematic and addressed them as such:
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Competing and unclear call to actions – It’s not clear to the user they can proceed beyond this screen. Additionally, it seems like the user has to tap one of the two buttons. We simplified the design with a single call to action

Ineffective copy – The copy was unclear and was deterring users from linking their bank. It seems like the user had to pick one of the two ways to earn. We updated the copy to be clearer for the user

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Putting all our learnings together

The final outcome: 20% lift in conversion for newer cohorts

We made changes to the Get Started screen and released a second A/B test. Overall, the new designs lead to a significant increase of users who shop in-app within their first week. We saw an increase of up to 20% in newer cohorts. The minor changes to the Get Started screen also reverted the decline in users who link their card. We rolled out the designs to 100% after the successful iteration.

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Reflections

The right tools at the right time and user journeys

This project went through both big swings and incremental changes. In hindsight, I would have shown more varying designs to users to gauge which approach would have worked better.

Lastly, this project taught me that the onboarding is best done contextual and in bite-sized pieces. As designers, we are always fighting for our users time and attention. When a user downloads your app or first uses your product, you have a short window of time to educate and demonstrate the value of your app.