X
Growing adoption of a Shopify app
Investigating why so few Shopify businesses use the free Rokt app.
Background
What is Rokt?
Rokt is an ecommerce technology company that runs ads and offers on the checkout pages of Ticketmaster, Uber, Domino’s and others.
Customers get ads after a purchase
On the confirmation page, every time a customer clicks on an ad, the website/app earns revenue from that advertiser.
That means every purchase is an opportunity to earn revenue from ads. On the biggest US retail stores, this can reach $300k+ in a single day.
That means every purchase is an opportunity to earn revenue from ads. On the biggest US retail stores, this can reach $300k+ in a single day.
Problem
Very few Shopify stores use the app even though it’s free.
In 2022, the number of new stores that installed the app were VERY few – less than 5 new stores per month. Since the app’s launch in March 2020, the number of stores that install and leave a review remained low.
My Role
As the sole Product Designer on the app team, I was responsible for the research and design of the app.
The team included a Product Manager, Engineering Lead, and 4 Engineers.
I led this research project between Feb and Jul 2023, working with my Product Manager and receiving guidance from a UX Researcher. Â Â
The team included a Product Manager, Engineering Lead, and 4 Engineers.
I led this research project between Feb and Jul 2023, working with my Product Manager and receiving guidance from a UX Researcher. Â Â
App users were people who helped manage a Shopify store - small business owners, marketing people, product people, operations, developers and more.
I was responsible for the design of the entire app.
Solution
Figure out what the problem was and where it occurred.
Before jumping to conclusions like...
– “We should build more features into the app to create more value for users”
– “We need better marketing”
– “We need to fix our onboarding”
...we zoomed out to look at everything we knew and what we needed to find out.
There were many unknowns we needed clarity on. Who were our users?
– Who were the decision-makers?
– How do stores find out about Rokt? Â
– Why do stores decide to install?
– Why do stores decide not to install?
Here is the discovery process we went through.
– “We should build more features into the app to create more value for users”
– “We need better marketing”
– “We need to fix our onboarding”
...we zoomed out to look at everything we knew and what we needed to find out.
There were many unknowns we needed clarity on. Who were our users?
– Who were the decision-makers?
– How do stores find out about Rokt? Â
– Why do stores decide to install?
– Why do stores decide not to install?
Here is the discovery process we went through.
Decide who to target
The number of customers a Shopify store has ranges from zero to A LOT. We targeted larger stores with 10k+ orders per month because they had the most revenue potential.
Map out the funnel
Using the Pirate Metrics framework, we mapped out the lifecycle of our Shopify stores and defined how to measure each stage. E.g.
Acquisition = Installs per month
Activation = Showing Rokt on the page
Retention = Uninstalls
Acquisition = Installs per month
Activation = Showing Rokt on the page
Retention = Uninstalls
Identify problem areas
Our Sales team told us most prospects they met with hadn’t heard of Rokt. Once stores installed the app, users generally had no issues with set up. Retention was also fairly good.
So the problem was low awareness (not many knew about us) and low acquisition (not many had a good reason to install Rokt).
So the problem was low awareness (not many knew about us) and low acquisition (not many had a good reason to install Rokt).
Investigate problem areas
After talking to Sales, Marketing, our users, and a long trawl through our CRM, we found:
– Stores typically worried about the basics first like shipping, marketing etc
– Businesses care a lot about their brand and are usually against showing ads
– Most stores we acquired from sales outreach or existing relationships, which is not very scalable.
– Stores typically worried about the basics first like shipping, marketing etc
– Businesses care a lot about their brand and are usually against showing ads
– Most stores we acquired from sales outreach or existing relationships, which is not very scalable.
Get reviews
As we went along, we found that getting app reviews was important for two reasons:
– They help Shopify users find the right apps to use
– They indicate to Shopify which apps to promote
So increasing app reviews became another goal alongside installs.
– They help Shopify users find the right apps to use
– They indicate to Shopify which apps to promote
So increasing app reviews became another goal alongside installs.
Outcome
Some wins, some losses.
As expected, everything went according to plan...
(It did not)
The Wins
Better marketing. We worked with Marketing to set up organic and paid search and found this was effective for driving traffic to the app in the Shopify app store.
User recruitment system. We set up a system to recruit CEOs, Founders, Directors etc for user interviews. They were invaluable. We recruited 15 participants in 4 months.
‍Increased app reviews by 29%.
‍Increased users for beta feature by 123%. More info in the mini case study below.
User recruitment system. We set up a system to recruit CEOs, Founders, Directors etc for user interviews. They were invaluable. We recruited 15 participants in 4 months.
‍Increased app reviews by 29%.
‍Increased users for beta feature by 123%. More info in the mini case study below.
The Losses
Org restructure. I was reallocated to another team and this project was deprioritised. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish this project.
‍Number of installs. The rate of installs remained flat. While a lot of answers were uncovered and good information was learned, installs still largely depended on the Sales team.
‍Number of installs. The rate of installs remained flat. While a lot of answers were uncovered and good information was learned, installs still largely depended on the Sales team.
X
Increasing users for a beta feature
A mini case study
Background
Post-purchase upsells in the Rokt app
A new feature was launched in the app in May 2023. This allowed Shopify stores to offer their customers a discounted item after they make a purchase. It’s sort of like a cashier asking if you want to add socks when you go to pay for new shoes in a store.
Problem
It was launched as a free trial, but had very few users.
Only 19 stores were using the feature one month post-launch.
From some user interviews we conducted thanks to setting up a user recruitment system, we found the reasons were:
‍Poor onboarding. People didn’t know how the feature worked or how it would benefit them.
‍Unfamiliarity. Many Shopify users weren’t familiar with post-purchase upsells, even though many apps offered the feature. 75% of our largest stores weren’t using it.
From some user interviews we conducted thanks to setting up a user recruitment system, we found the reasons were:
‍Poor onboarding. People didn’t know how the feature worked or how it would benefit them.
‍Unfamiliarity. Many Shopify users weren’t familiar with post-purchase upsells, even though many apps offered the feature. 75% of our largest stores weren’t using it.
My Role
I worked with my Product Manager and one Engineer. We intended this to be quick and scrappy due to competing priorities.
Designs were scoped and finalised within 2 weeks. I wrote the copy and made a gif.
Designs were scoped and finalised within 2 weeks. I wrote the copy and made a gif.
The “before”
Solution
Redesign the landing page and write new copy.
Working with my Product Manager, we decided to include the content:
– More information on how it works
– Visual example of what a customer would see
– Free trial terms - no lock-in payment method, cancel anytime
– More information on how it works
– Visual example of what a customer would see
– Free trial terms - no lock-in payment method, cancel anytime
A scrappy low-fi sketch
The gif I made
The “after”
Outcome
Increased number of users who activated
One month after we launched the new landing screen, we saw these results:
– Increased the number of new stores who started the free trial by +51%
– Increased the number of total stores who started the free trial by +123%
– Increased the number of new stores who started the free trial by +51%
– Increased the number of total stores who started the free trial by +123%
You a-maize me! Thanks for reaching the end!
