Design Delightful Experiences

Yanmi

Full-stack UXUI Designer

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Yanmi

Full-stack UXUI Designer

Contact

Yanmi

Full-stack UXUI Designer

My bf keeps getting his Starbucks fix, even though he thinks the app is terrible — why?

01 The Situation

02 UX Analysis

03 Improve "Quick Order"

04 Conclusion

My bf keeps getting his Starbucks fix, even though he thinks the app is terrible — why?

01 The Situation

02 UX Analysis

03 Improve "Quick Order"

04 Conclusion

The Situation

Starbucks has a high customer retention rate of 44%

Compared to industry average of 25%

I buy locally roasted beans and freshly grind it to make my coffee. On the contrary, my boyfriend prefers his Starbucks fix.

Offended at first…but come to realise people just have very unique preferences when it comes to coffee.

I wanted to figure out why…and besides, great opportunity to look into why Starbucks has such a loyal customer base.

The Situation

Starbucks has a high customer retention rate of 44%

Compared to industry average of 25%

I buy locally roasted beans and freshly grind it to make my coffee. On the contrary, my boyfriend prefers his Starbucks fix.

Offended at first…but come to realise people just have very unique preferences when it comes to coffee.

I wanted to figure out why…and besides, great opportunity to look into why Starbucks has such a loyal customer base.

UX Analysis

Building Customer Loyalty Right From The Start

As a new customer, you go through the usual Account Creation process, but on the last step, you either get a new Starbucks Card or add an existing one. You can buy items with a Starbucks Card.

Card Balance

HKD $10.0

Add money

Card Balance

HKD $10.0

Add money

User Psychology 01

Prepayment Bias

By asking a customer to invest early in the onboarding process and allowing them to personalise what their card looks like provides a sense of ownership and a psychological motivation for them to continue using the app and derive value from the prepaid amount (user retention). Overtime, this payment method becomes part of their routine.

Asking users to pay upfront requires a huge commitment. When done incorrectly it can deter potential customers and affect user acquisition. Why does it work for Starbucks? They're a well-established brand with a strong customer base and those who use the app are very likely to have been a previous customer.

User Psychology 02

Conceptual Model

From a business perspective we call this a “loyalty card” or “gift card”. However, if you examine the UI pattern of these screens, they are very similar to a prepaid metro card (think Octopus Card in Hong Kong, Opal in Australia or Oyster in London). This familiarity with the act of paying for your daily "morning brew" on the way to the office via the metro creates a fantastic combination for busy working professionals seeking efficiency and an energy boost.

UX Analysis

Building Customer Loyalty Right From The Start

As a new customer, you go through the usual Account Creation process, but on the last step, you either get a new Starbucks Card or add an existing one. You can buy items with a Starbucks Card.

Card Balance

HKD $10.0

Add money

User Psychology 01

Prepayment Bias

User Psychology 02

Conceptual Model

Placing The Same Order Quickly

He gets the same items each time, but to my surprise, he doesn’t use the Quick Order function, because it "doesn't work".

He thinks the app is “XXXX” (aka terrible) but he keeps using it.

He gets the same items each time, but to my surprise, he doesn’t use the Quick Order function, because it "doesn't work".

He thinks the app is “XXXX” (aka terrible) but he keeps using it.

The user is tapping "Pay" button in frustration and it is not working. If they bother, they have to figure out it's because there is not enough money on their card. But, you can't top up on this page either…

Placing The Same Order Quickly

He gets the same items each time, but to my surprise, he doesn’t use the Quick Order function, because it "doesn't work".

He thinks the app is “XXXX” (aka terrible) but he keeps using it.

Placing The Same Order Quickly

Improve "Quick Order"

Fixing the Quick Order function

In the current design, users who do not have Auto Reload enabled will always encounter the issue with insufficient balance. They are also unable to use the Quick Order function and will have to exit the flow.

Let's fix this —the objective is to increase usage rate of “Quick Order” function, so all users can make more recurring purchases easily with one tap.

Before

No error message or corrective action on how to proceed to pay for Quick Order function.

Before

No error message or corrective action on how to proceed to pay for Quick Order function.

Before

No error message or corrective action on how to proceed to pay for Quick Order function.

Auto Reload does not work without adding a payment card first…and user figures out Add Payment Card is actually accessed some where else…

Conclusion

Okay, so let’s summarise why he sticks with his Starbucks coffee, and why Starbucks can maintain such loyal customer base.

The Obvious :

For busy work professionals who wants to consistently enjoy the same items and quality each time, having someone to make your creamy milk-frothed latte from a proper expresso machine quickly, without having to clean up is just much more efficient and satisfying.

Even though ordering in the app is not pleasant, he keeps using it because he can skip the queue and also “the barista recognises me every time and knows what my usual is”. Seamless offline and online experiences are just as important.

The Not So Obvious:

There are a few strategies used to make getting your Starbucks a frequent habit. These are based on commonly used product frameworks (HEART and AARRR).

Strategy

Goal

Personalisation

Personalised Starbucks Card on account creation, greetings

Happiness

Seamless ordering & payment

Quick order function, saved items, skip the queue, Auto reload payment card, top-up with Apple/Google/Samsung pay, QR code payment at store

Adoption, Engagement

Rewards program

Welcome offer, birthday treats, exclusive perks for different membership levels, collect reward stars

Activation, Adoption, Engagement, Retention

Seasonal campaigns

Advertising speciality drinks on homepage to keep things fresh and updated

Retention

Gifting

Gift a Starbucks Card, send an item

Referral, Acquisition