7Rewards • Eric Si

Maximize convenience with loyalty and engagements

7 Eleven - 7Rewards

Rewarding Consumers with Physical stamps and stamp cards are popular in early 2010, but in late 2017 7-Eleven launched a rewards app to reward their consumers even more!

With the enhanced experience, consumers can use 7Rewards to view the location of the nearest 7-Eleven, view offers, redeem coupons, earn loyalty points and collect rewards. In the store, the consumer can view any offers on their device and redeem the discount at checkout.

The Challenge

Enhance the Reward Experience

The client approached us with three primary objectives - to create an app with information on the go for their consumers, digitalise their reward system, and improve foot count in their stores.

We were to deliver an iPhone and Android mobile app, together with a front-end website.

The Goals

Be the first option of convenience stores for Consumers. Increase traffic and motivate users to visit their nearest 7-Eleven.
Get rewards and information as quick and easy. Give the Consumers more control over the way they can earn rewards.
Physical to digital. Digitalising reward system - Record reward stamps with $5 spent.
No security issue. The mobile application will interact with the POS system, so all integration with the app and POS system has to be seamless.

Roles & Duration

I am tasked to design both the experience and interface of the mobile application and website, working closely with the Project Manager, developer and client's Product Manager.

Research - I've worked with the client's product manager to uncover insights and transform concepts into product features that address the behaviours and motivations of the consumers.

Experience strategy - Created Prototypes to share the vision, design principles and content strategy, which helps the stakeholders understand the idea, alignment, and decision-making.

Interface design - Designed the app for Andriod, iOS, and the website for other information. I executed journeys, wireframes, prototypes and design specs.

UAT/Security test - Working with the Project Manager, we did UAT for user flows and to find security loopholes to ensure that all design intentions and experience are aligned.

The project started in January 2017 and launched to May 2017 The app and website is launched in Singapore on May, 2017.

Research

Discover and Define

Understanding the existing reward system
The existing reward system rewards users with a physical sticker stamp for every $5 spent on a single receipt. Users can redeem rewards when they have enough sticker stamps. Here are some additional problems highlighted by the store's managers:

Sticker stamps are unaccounted for, as cashier staff might forget to reward consumers or keep the sticker stamps for themselves.
The shopper loses their physical sticker as the sticker stamps are small and easily misplaced.
Not able to get more data about users like how e-commerce stores can.

Competitor analysis
Then we looked into the market to examine our immediate competition on what they have to offer.

None of the competitors has any online reward systems.
Most applications focus on other services that are under food and beverages.

For 7-Eleven, other than improving and digitalising the reward system, the client would also want the app to increase footfall to their stores and understand their consumer's purchasing habits.

Understanding user need
Interviews were conducted with a small group of 60 who have visited 7-Eleven before, and our findings showed:

Most of our interviewees are familiar with the sticker stamp rewards system but find that it is troublesome as it’s physical stickers, and they will throw it away most of the time.
While some of them keep the stickers to redeem rewards, they will sometimes be worried that they forget to redeem the rewards and feel frustrated about it.
They agreed that they do not mind downloading the app if the reward and promotions is accessible via the app.

The users would prefer something that can make collecting and redeeming rewards as easy as possible.

Ideation

Design and Develop

By understanding what the business and users would like and need, the project manager and I have brainstormed and proposed a few solutions.

After going over the concepts, we discuss the feasibility of implementing them and revising them during our testing phase.

Data is treasure

All businesses wants to understand their users' buying habits, but how do we gather the information if the purchase is offline?

We proposed translating user's buying habits to customise promotions

Since purchasing information is recorded in the POS machine, combined with the member code users provide when they redeem the stamps, we can link both information to categorise our users.

Therefore, we can push promotions based on users' purchasing habits to the most suitable targeted group.

Hey, come on in! Here is a deal for you!
For instance, we would want to implement geolocation to automatically push notifications to the users whenever they are near a store.

While this seems like a good idea to get the users in the stores, we've found out during UAT that the number of 7-Eleven in close proximity is high, and users will be annoyed if we keep prompting them if they are near a 7-Eleven store.

Thus, we proposed to change to using a Bluetooth beacon as it can improve the accuracy of the distance between the user and the store. As for the notification, we reduced the frequency to once per week.

Other functions

Earning stamps
Users can earn stamps by scanning the barcode in the app for every $5 amount spent

Mini games
After collecting the required amount on the stamp, it will unlock mini-games for users to win vouchers

Redeeming vouchers
Vouchers are stored safely in the app's wallet, and set notification remainder for any expiring vouchers

Bar code scanning
One Tap to light up/off screen, as there are users prefer dimming of screens which lead to cashiers have hard time scanning

Services, and store locations
Find your nearest stores, and check what products or services each 7-Eleven store around you provides

Application flow

This is best viewed on DesktopKeeping the app flow simple and letting user earn and redeem with ease.

What's next?

Before presenting it to the client, we've confirmed all the information internally and then briefed our developers to understand if they foresee any issues with what we are proposing. Once everything is cleared we proceed with presenting the whole idea to the client, with the user journey, wireframes and the prototype.

Next, the project manager set up a meeting with the client's IT team as the application will be communicating with their internal POS system.

While the intergration is going on, the developers from our team works on the application base on the wireframe and the interface based on 7-Eleven's brand.

Rewards with Convinence

App is available on both iOS App Store and Google Play store
By improving the experience, patrons of 7-Eleven can now view all information and collect rewards with every purchase using the mobile app