Case Study

Increasing Add-On Sales

  • Food & Beverage
  • FoodTech
  • Desktop Website

About

A leading South African meal kit delivery service. Offering includes a wide range of prepackaged meals designed by professional chefs, as well as a range of fine wines to pair with every dish. They are revolutionising the way South Africans eat by educating users about where their food comes from and how they can support small businesses and farmers.

My Role

UX/UI designer appointed to collaborate with the brand management team on the design strategy and solving top-level problems of the user experience.

The Task

Increase the sales of Add-On products among weekly meal kit subscribers. 

Problem Statement

Only 20% of the client’s weekly meal kit subscribers are actively adding Extras/Add-Ons to their carts along with their meal kit selections.

Approach

This case study outlines my proposed research plan and design process for tackling a specific challenge. While actual user research wasn’t required for this case study, I focused on outlining a strong approach that would support the project, business, and product team objectives.

Project Objectives

  • Increase the percentage of subscribers adding Extra/Add-on items to their weekly meal kit orders.
  • Improve user experience for exploring and adding extras/add-on products.

Business Objectives

  • Increase revenue by boosting extras/add-on sales.
  • Enhance customer satisfaction by providing a more integrated shopping experience.

Product Team Objectives

  • Design a user interface that encourages browsing and selection of extras/add-on items.
  • Enhance customer satisfaction by providing a more integrated shopping experience.

My Process

Focus: Analyse user behaviour and gather insights to improve the discoverability and appeal of the client’s extras/add-on products within the desktop website experience for weekly meal kit subscribers.

Hypothetical Scenario

Methodologies:

  • User Interviews: 
Understand subscriber motivations, pain points, and decision-making process regarding add-on products.

    Research Points for User Interviews:
    • Awareness of add-on products?
    • Reasons for not adding add-on products? (Price, convenience, information clarity, etc.).
    • Preferred methods for browsing and selecting add-on products (e.g., bundled options, recommendations).
    • Ideal placement of add-on product information within the meal kit selection process.
  • Usability Testing: Observe user interaction with existing add-on product features on the client’s website.
  • Heat-maps & Session Recordings: Analyse user behaviour on the website to identify areas of low engagement with add-on products.
  • Competitor Benchmarking:
    • Identify Competitors: List a few key competitors in the South African meal kit space.
    • Analysis Points: Layout, product placement, incentives, user experience.

User Personas:

Building Empathy Through User Personas

To craft an exceptional user experience, we need to truly understand the people we’re designing for. User personas are fictional characters built upon real user data, helping us develop empathy for the client’s diverse user base. Here’s how quantitative data fuels the creation of these personas.

  • Leveraging Data for User Insights: User analytics tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and social media analytics platforms provide a wealth of information. By analysing user behaviour, demographics, and online interactions, we can identify trends and patterns that shape our personas.

  • Measurable Impact –  Personas Guide Design Decisions: User personas aren’t just static profiles. They act as a guiding light for design decisions. By understanding user needs and challenges, we can define measurable objectives (Key Performance Indicators – KPIs) that translate into tangible results.

Here’s how user personas inform KPI development:

  • Increase Add-on Sales: 
As only 20% of subscribers currently add on items, we could aim for a data-driven and achievable increase in the add-on conversion rate by 15%-20% within the next quarter. This target percentage should be informed by industry benchmarks and historical user data. KPIs measuring click-through rates on ‘Add Extras’ recommendations, average order value with add-ons, and conversion rates from product views to add-on purchases can track progress towards this objective.

  • Engage Passive Subscribers: 
With 40% of users being passive, let’s target a 20% increase in weekly menu edits among this group within six months. KPIs could track the frequency of user interaction with additional details in the ‘Add Extras’ button on the Meal Kit card selections page or the number of passive users who add at least one add-on item during their next subscription renewal.

These are illustrative examples. Realistically, KPIs should be set based on industry benchmarks and historical data. However, this demonstrates how user personas can be used to define specific, measurable objectives that drive positive outcomes.

Sketches & Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Low-fidelity wireframe sketches allow for rapid exploration and iteration of design ideas. These rough representations help visualise interface elements and layout structures quickly, facilitating collaborative discussion and feedback. They prioritise functionality and usability over aesthetics, serving as a tangible starting point for refining design concepts.

  1. Cart Component: Save & Checkout process
  2. Pop-Up Moda

Sketch: Cart Component

Sketch: Pop-Up Modal

Design solutions

  • Add On Card Carousel within the checkout Cart with 5 quick tabs offering easy access to the following additional product categories: 
  • Frozen
  • Wine
  • Market
  • Weekend Boxes

Pop-up modals are linked to the following product categories: 

Frozen

  • Craft Meals
  • Craft Pizzas
  • Craft Desserts
  • Kids Meals

Wine

  • Red Wine
  • White Wine
  • Rosé
  • Bubbly & Dessert Wine

Market

  • Deli
  • Meat & Protein
  • Snacks & Treats
  • Eggs, Dairy & Dairy Alt. (Alternatives)
  • Bread & Bakery
  • Pantry
  • Fresh Produce
  • Beverage

Low-Fidelity Wireframe: Cart Component

Low-Fidelity Wireframe: Pop-Up Modal

Sketch: Cart Component

Cart Component/Checkout Process

Meal Kit Quick Tab: Card Selection - Default State
Meal Kit Quick Tab: Card Selection - Active Hover State
Frozen Quick Tab: Card Selection - Default State
Frozen Pop-Up Modal

Current Layout

Meal Kit Landing Page: Add Extras Button

Current Card Design
Add Extras Button Active
  1. The card layout includes the Add Extras button in the card.
  2. When the user clicks on the ‘Add Extras’ button, a pop-up modal is displayed in the card component with 1-3 options.

  • Limited Visibility:
    The Add Extras modal in the Card hides a portion of the card content, potentially obscuring important information.

  • Limited Selection:
    The Add Extras modal only shows a small number of add-on options, restricting user discovery.

Limitations imposed by the ‘Add Another Meal Kit Dish’ button in the cart/checkout process:

  • Scope Restriction:
    It only encourages adding more meal kits, neglecting the potential for users to add complementary items from the broader product range.

  • Missed Upsell Opportunity:
    While it encourages buying more meal kits, it misses the chance to upsell users on additional items like Frozen craft meals, pizzas, desserts, kids meals, wines, various Market items and Weekend boxes that could complete their meal experience. This button is only available for Meal Kit subscription orders and therefore neglects the potential upsell of products to On-Demand orders across the various selling points.

  • Repetition for Existing Users:
    For established Meal Kit subscribers, this button might feel repetitive as they likely already know they can add more meal kits.

Proposed Design Solutions:

  1. Remove the ‘Add Extras’ button with a ‘pop-up modal’ from the card.

  2. Make Add-ons available in the Cart component/ Checkout process.

Proposed solution Card

Limitations addressed:

  • Progressive Disclosure: The base card displays essential information only.
  • Focus on Primary Task: Users primarily focus on choosing meal kits, keeping the card design clean and action-oriented towards adding the meal itself.
  • Enhanced Discovery: By moving add-ons to the cart/checkout, you can present a wider selection of options using the carousel card menu. This allows users to browse and discover relevant add-ons at the right stage in the purchase journey after they’ve committed to a meal kit.
  • Seamless Flow: Integrating add-ons in the cart/checkout maintains the user’s flow of selecting meals and adding additional items.

Potential Quantifiable Impact

While it’s difficult to predict a definitive quantifiable impact without access to the business’s specific data. We can consider some hypothetical scenarios based on industry averages and potential user behaviour changes:

Scenario 1:
Increased Add-on Visibility

  • Current Add-on Visibility: Only 20% of users explore the add-on options.
  • Impact of Carousel: With a carousel showcasing a wider variety of add-ons in the cart/checkout, let’s assume add-on visibility increases to 60% of users.
  • Conversion Rate: Industry averages for add-on purchases in e-commerce range from 2% to 10%. Let’s assume a conservative 3% conversion rate for add-ons seen in the carousel.

Hypothetical Impact:

  • Out of 100 Meal Kit subscribers:
    Previously, 20 users saw limited add-ons, with 4 users (20% * 2%) converting to add-on purchases.
    With the carousel, 60 users see the add-ons, with 18 users converting (60% * 3%).
    This translates to a potential 14 user increase (18 users – 4 users) in add-on purchases per 100 Meal Kit subscribers.

Scenario 2:
Upsell Opportunity and Average Order Value Increase

  • Average Order Value (AOV): Let’s assume the current average order value for Meal Kits is R500.
  • Upsell Potential: With the carousel showcasing complementary items like beverages, proteins, or desserts, the average order value could potentially increase by R100.

Hypothetical Impact:

  • Out of 100 Meal Kit subscribers:
    Previously, the total revenue from Meal Kits was R50,000 (100 users * R500 AOV). With the carousel upsell opportunity, the total revenue could increase to R60,000 (100 users * R600 AOV).
    This translates to a potential R10,000 increase in total revenue from Meal Kits.

Important Note:
These are hypothetical scenarios, and the actual impact would depend on various factors specific to the business, such as:

  • Existing User Behaviour: How many users currently explore the limited add-on options?
  • Product Pricing & Selection: Are the add-on prices attractive, and is the selection relevant to the meal kits
  • Personalisation: Can the carousel be personalised to user preferences based on data collected?

However, these scenarios illustrate the potential for a carousel card menu to significantly increase add-on visibility, upsell opportunities, and overall revenue. By A/B testing the new design with a control group, the business can measure the actual impact on user behaviour and quantify the improvements.

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