SalonCentric

Loyalty & Rewards Initiative

Company Overview: SalonCentric is a trusted B2B distributor of professional beauty products, serving the beauty and hair care industry with a wide range of high-quality items. They support beauty professionals through their store network and brand access, aiding in business enhancement.

Timeline: May 2022-October 2022

Our Objective: To create a succinct, personalized and competitive loyalty program to incentivize omni-channel engagement & drive applications for the SalonCentric Credit Card.

Team:

UX/UI Designers - Dominika Conroy & Myself

Creative Director - Laura Polkus

Product Manager - Maggie Hebron

Program Manager - Frances Riley

Problem

70% of users cross shop at our direct competitor, Cosmoprof & with the pandemic came a shift from physical to digital shopping, creating a need for a sharp digital product that can keep up in a competitive industry.

Constraints

  • Quick timeline

  • The clients use of multiple 3rd party vendors prohibited us from completely customizing the experience

  • Omni Channel Requirements

    • Mobile, web, iOS, Android

KPI’s

Increase:

  • Opt-Ins for the Loyalty program & Credit Card

  • Customer lifetime Value

  • Average Order Value, annual spending per customer & conversion rate

01

Research

6 hours of stakeholder interviews

6 hours of stakeholder interviews

33 documents, spreadsheets & presentation files

33 documents, spreadsheets & presentation files

22 client stakeholders interviewed

22 client stakeholders interviewed

30+ brands reviewed for competitive/comparative analysis

30+ brands reviewed for competitive/comparative analysis

We began with a thorough competitive/comparative analysis and a detailed connection point audit. 
We focused on the points where loyalty & rewards overlap with each customer touchpoint 
across the experience.
We began with a thorough competitive/comparative analysis and a detailed connection point audit. 
We focused on the points where loyalty & rewards overlap with each customer touchpoint 
across the experience.
We began with a thorough competitive/comparative analysis and a detailed connection point audit. 
We focused on the points where loyalty & rewards overlap with each customer touchpoint 
across the experience.
We began with a thorough competitive/comparative analysis and a detailed connection point audit. 
We focused on the points where loyalty & rewards overlap with each customer touchpoint 
across the experience. 
02

Synthesis

After a series of client workshops and intensive sessions to align our internal team, a clear direction emerged for our designs. We boiled our findings down and chose 3 pillars to lead our designs

Pillars

Intuitive

Remember user patterns and habits. Make data collection easy and fun. Reduce friction in their work flow. Communicate Credit Card benefits in a more human way.

Hypothesis: The easier the product is to use, the less likely they will be to cross shop. The more clear and day to day the credit card benefits seem, the more likely they are to convert.

Anticipatory

Serve savings and rewards at a useful time in their journey. Think of what they’ll need before they do.

Hypothesis: If we present them what they’re going to need at the right time, we can increase total order value.

Personalized

Follow them through their career. Celebrate their wins. Only show them what they care about.

Hypothesis: Building trust through personalization will show that we know them best, increasing lifetime customers.

03

Ideation and Prioritization

We initiated a process of ideation, focusing on broad, strategic thinking to explore how we could attain our objectives. We gave ourself space to be messy and dream big.

& then, we reeled it in.

Anticipatory Pillar

How might we bring rewards and reminders into their work ordering flow at the most useful points, in order to increase checkout total?

Lead with Benefits

Main KPI

Problem: Customers couldn't immediately see the value of becoming a credit cardholder & using loyalty points.

Decision: Introduce relevant rewards and credit card benefits throughout the shopping journey. Timing is key! Create FOMO!

Business goal: Increase credit card applications and loyalty enrollment.

Subscribe, Save & Earn Easily

Anticipating ways the users can save based on their reoccurring purchases & presenting them with easy ways to rack up loyalty points to start redeeming builds brand trust & eases the user.

Deprioritized <3

At the time, 2020, users weren’t as busy. They also have to make these purchases regardless of if they’re saving or not. Making this feature a low priority.

Rewards Dashboard

Guidance & Clarity

Problem: Customers couldn't easily understand the value of their points.

Decision: Make points, dollar value, and rewards progress visible in one centralized experience.

Business goal: Encourage ongoing engagement and repeat purchasing, supporting customer lifetime value.

Personalized Pillar

How might we create a personalized UX that is important, enhances user engagement and satisfaction all while tailoring the digital experiences to individual preferences and needs?

Celebrate the wins

Communities and teams are looking to be re-energized following two years of a pandemic. Seeing instant rewards and personalized content incentivizes loyalty and increases brand satisfaction. Quick wins the customer can see means more business.

Deprioritized <3

This is a great feature, but is it worth this tight timeline?

Learn & Earn

Reward users for their dedication. Relevant and valuable education offerings are presented in a simplified visual way conveying points earned by registering for them.

Deprioritized <3

Stylists have to continue their education regardless of earning points.

Intuitive Pillar

How might we make a product easy to understand and use, requiring minimal effort from stylist to achieve their daily tasks, letting them focus on their business?

Checking out with Rewards

Scope vs. Impact

Problem: Rewards were disconnected from the moment customers made purchasing decisions.

Decision: Surface available rewards directly in checkout and make redemption straightforward.

Business goal: Reduce redemption friction and support conversion, while making loyalty benefits tangible.

Gamify Data Collection

Build Trust.

Problem: Traditional data collection feels tedious and transactional, discouraging customers from sharing information that could improve their shopping experience.

Decision: Gamify data collection through fun, friendly, bite-sized interactions that make sharing information feel engaging, rewarding, and voluntary.

Business Goal: Increase customer data collection to enable better personalization, more targeted marketing, and stronger customer retention.

04

Where We Landed

After a few rounds of iteration, meeting the stakeholders needs and tight timelines, plus countless hours spent in Figma, getting all of the components perfect, we reached a final product.

Visual Iteration Process

Having fun with the UI while maintaining AA standards.

05

Final Handoff

Let’s take a look under the Figma hood to show you how we worked side by side with our developers to communicate our decisions & bring this work live.

Final Modular Components

At a glance

Takeaways

Working with devs.

It’s beautiful but can it be built? Should it? How?

The art of annotating and meeting each other half way to reach our common goal.

Don’t get attached.

Great ideas can also be deprioritized. Check your ego at the door and remember the MVP. Move the needle.

It’s only good if everyone can use it.

AA compliancy is a priority! Learn it, live it, and try your best to build this product with everyone in mind.

Next

Safeway / Albertsons - COMING SOON