Gather
Let's find your next adventure!
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Overview
Gather is a new social gathering mobile app that aims to help people meet new friends. However, according to the company data, only 20% of users who say they are going actually end up attending events.
The goal: Increase the conversion rate of event attendance.
The solution: Create a rewards system that incentivizes attending events.
My Role
UX Researcher & Designer
Competitive Analysis, Wireframing, Usability Testing
October 2022 - December 2022
Industry Leaders
To get some inspiration on how to other apps achieved similar business goals, I wanted to study industry leaders for inspiration and see how their apps are presented. There were three industry leaders that were used in competitive analysis: Facebook, Eventbrite, and MeetUp.
A table analyzing Eventbrite.
Discovery Phase
Research Plan
After reviewing the industry leaders, it was time to delve further into the specific objective at hand:
How might we increase the conversion of actual event attendees?
In order to narrow the scope of my research, I crafted a research plan that included the research methodology, target user base, and these specific research questions:
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What prevents people from actually attending events?
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Are users getting effective communication about upcoming events?
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Is there a way to incentivize going to events?
Research Method
In order to gather data in a quick, cost-effective manner, I opted for desk research through reading various articles and threads that addressed my research questions.
Data Analysis & Insights
From the data collected, a few key insights helped establish the foundation for Gather:
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E-mail reminders tend to be forgotten, so apps like Facebook use reminders on the app itself.
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Incentives for actual event attendees are a powerful conversion tool.
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Pictures, videos, and testimonies help increase conversion to events.
Sketching & Wireframing
Based on my insights, I knew that I wanted to create a system that incentivizes attending events and have attendees take pictures and create testimonies to increase conversion. To start, I did some quick sketches of the screens on my red routes.
The main focus of the sketches was to establish the key red routes for Gather:
1. As any other standard social gathering app, I wanted users to explore events in their area, book dates, and purchase tickets.
2. I was inspired by Yelp and their check-in process for restaurants. Using a similar formula, I wanted to have users check in, add images, and leave a review.
3. Once they reach a certain threshold, these points can be redeemed for varous rewards.
From there, they were transformed into low-fidelity screens using Figma. For the homepage, I was inspired by Starbucks when creating the visual representation of the point collection. The checkout process I created was inspired by various e-commerce applications that were used in an NN/g article.
High-fidelity Screens
I established a color palette using coolors.co that encapsulated a warm, inviting, and adventurous feeling between the dark green and bright orange. After a round of usability testing with 5 participants, I iterated on my low-fidelity screens and began building out my high-fidelity screens.
From these usability tests, users felt that:
1. There wasn’t a clear enough first step on the homepage
2. The redemption system was confusing
3. There were unnecessary steps in the check-in and redemption process
A second round of usability testing was then conducted, and I began iterating on my high-fidelity screens even further.
From these usability tests, users felt that:
1. The dates on the calendar weren’t marked off clearly enough
2. There should be a clearer indication that a user is eligible for a reward
The Future of Gather
The future of Gather is exciting. For future iterations, there could be tags in the “Explore” page to help users sort and filter categories of events. A/B testing can be a powerful tool in understanding how to best present the points system on the homepage. Furthermore, with more user research, we can uncover other innovative ways to incentivize attending events, whether that be through more rewards or another system.
In a current world where people feel more isolated than ever, Gather aims to reconnect the human experience of social events. As a researcher and designer, I hope that this app helps people explore the world and their community.