THE ESSENTIAL APP STORE
Redesigning the app to be more exclusive for members and consistent with the website.
A PREMIUM APP FOR ESSENTIAL MEMBERS
Project Lead
Lead Designer
Role
2022 - 2024
Year
UX/UI
Product Strategy
Visual Direction
Graphic Design
Disciplines
Data shows more than half of Essential members have the app and half of revenue comes from The Essential app. There is a 98% retention rate with members who have the app so it is crucial that the app storefront is consistent with the website and products are easily discoverable.
In order to improve conversion rate and average order value, we decided to facelift the entire design by re-structuring the navigation, adding in new features, and ensure the layout and flow of the app was consistent with the website.
I was the project lead and in charge of re-designing the app - coordinating and integrating new features, designing the pages, and coordinating with team members on making sure the back end automations were consistent with all changes.
Intro
CHALLENGES
01
How can we design the app to be more exclusive and easier for members to shop on?
02
How can we design the app to work around limitations with customization and have it be consistent with the website?
03
The app doesn’t automatically sync with web updates which leads to broken links, forgotten pages, and holes in the collection. How can the app be structured to prevent this?
04
Can we utilize any additional plugins that works with Tapcart and the website, and install that to improve overall conversion?
THE OLD ESSENTIAL APP
App design that had links directing towards missing pages, needed constant manual maintenance, and didn’t have navigation.
Navigation
The top left button is a search function which could be better used for a drawer or pop up navigation to the aisles.
The search exists in 3 locations: top left, search bar on top of every page, and in the bottom menu. One of them could be replaced with another fuction.
The drops button on the bottom menu leads to a blank page and serves no purpose.
Collection Pages
Collection pages would have forgotten old assets and banners that were uploaded manually.
Links would lead to nowhere when the product or collection was archived
Overall collection pages would not be consistent with the website and collection orders as well as features & functions did not work in tandem.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
Asking Essential members what they think of the app and how their experience could be improved.
“I’ve been a member for over 2 years now and I exclusively shop on the app - it’s just easier for me to access my account & orders...The organization of the app could be better...everything feels too long..it takes me too much effort to get to a specific collection sometimes.”
C.H.
A BnB Business Owner
"I compared the app to the website and I like how the website has filters and extra buttons and icons to navigate into a categorized group of products. The app needs some of that."
Franny M.
Loyal Essential Member
“I don’t really use the app as much as the website because it feels like the stuff (pages) on the app isn’t as updated and detailed as the website. ”
Alex Van Holtz
New Essential Member
OLD APP METRICS
3.25%
Conversion Rate
8.28%
Add to Cart Rate
$64.71
AOV
NEW ESSENTIAL APP
A new app design with a new navigation, organized digestible pages, and added features that works in tandem with the website.
Restructured the entire app navigation to improve collection and product discovery and make it more user friendly.
OPTIMIZED APP NAVIGATION & ICONS
Separated aisles into smaller groups so that each page isn’t an endless scroll ensuring that the overall structure still parallels the website.
CREATED ADDITIONAL PAGES TO IMPROVE DISCOVERY
App needs constant manual maintenance which can become easily overlooked therefore I removed any themed or specific custom banners and updated app to sync with website updates.
UPDATED CUSTOM BANNERS & BI-WEEKLY SWEEPS ROUTINELY
Integrated features on the app that can work cross-functionally with the website so that the customer can have a seamless experience when shopping on the app or the website.
PRODUCT BADGES & WISHLIST
NEW APP METRICS
4.95%
Conversion Rate
+1.7% Increase
11.13%
Add to Cart Rate
+2.85% Increase
$115.94
AOV
+$51 Increase
Conclusion
As a result of redesigning The Essential app, we were able to double the app sessions & activity, improve AOV by $51 and improve conversion rate by 1.7%.
Additionally, we did some quality‑of‑life improvements: created a unified store-aisle system for the app, transitioned to system fonts, and unified navigation bars.
Please note, the UI and animations in this project has been updated to reflect my current standards.