Casey’s General Store - Designing an App, Website, & Order Management System from scratch
From UX to Senior UX, and eventually into Creative Direction, this client offered me invaluable learning experiences throughout the entire project journey.
Role: Lead UX designer
Duration: 2.5 years
Client: Casey’s General Store. A major convenience store/ gasoline station chain in the mid west
Deliverables: iOS & Android app, website, Order Management System, Careers microsite, loyalty rewards system
Case Study: Cross sell, In-store & curbside pickup
iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/caseys/id1470522110
Website: https://www.caseys.com/
This project stands out as one of the most gratifying experiences in my career. I started it off as a UX designer in a collaborative team of UX, UI, app, and website developers, all based in Denver, Colorado. Our client faced a pressing deadline to develop an app, website, and order management system. They aimed to circumvent hefty monthly fees to quickorder a third party ordering technology that just got bought out by a major pizza chain conglomerate. So with a 4 month turn around our team hit the ground running. I was originally brought onto the project to help with the creation of the iOS and Android app and eventually contribute to the website and order management system, ensuring a seamless user experience and consistent visual identity across all digital products. Midway through production, the client expressed interest in incorporating a loyalty program, a substantial undertaking that required significant adjustments to the app and web navigation. Nevertheless, we rose to the challenge and successfully integrated it.
Following the successful launch of the new website and app, our team scaled down to just myself and a newly onboarded visual designer. We formed a close-knit partnership, collaborating daily to ideate and implement enhancements in conjunction with the client's product management teams. This involved both the creation of new features and the refinement of existing flows and designs.
A notable feature worth emphasizing is the swift implementation of in-store and curbside pickup options in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing a significant revenue potential previously untapped due to limitations on in-store pickups, the business promptly took action. Our team was responsible for the end-to-end process of conceiving, designing, testing, developing, and deploying this feature across both the app and web platforms, all accomplished within a tight six-week timeframe. Remarkably, this addition generated an impressive $1.5 million in revenue within its initial months and substantially assisted in user engagement and retention rates.
Another significant enhancement we integrated into both the app and web platforms was a cross-selling feature. This proved especially beneficial for customers who frequently added supplementary items like drinks to their carts. Our approach involved rigorous usability testing to get insights and determine the most effective design to pursue. In my role as Senior UX Designer and Creative Director, I took the lead in crafting the usability test plan, conceptualizing three distinct designs, and executing unmoderated remote usability tests through tools like maze.io, supplemented by our own pop-up interceptor on web and a dedicated section within the hero carousel on the app. Recognizing the value of usability testing, I successfully advocated for its implementation with the client, showcasing its numerous benefits. Consequently, we made it a standard practice, particularly for testing new features previously unexplored in their digital products.
Check out both the app and website.