MIXT Introduces a Mobile Ordering Experience with an Integrated Loyalty Program.
UX / Identity
As MIXT grew outside the Bay Area, so did the demand for a seamless digital ordering experience. At the time, the app would let users view the menu and then redirect them to the website to place an order. This abrupt change from an app to a web page, each with its own visual identity, caused a lot of confusion and abandoned orders.
The Challenge
GOAL 1
Launch a mobile ordering experience + reimagine a new MIXT loyalty program
GOAL 2
Design a compelling visual identity for the app and loyalty program
GOAL 3
Create a marketing campaign to support the launch of the new app + rewards program
Research
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157 User Surveys
We reached out to the existing customer base to quickly gather a large sample of quantitative/qualitative feedback. The feedback gave us a general idea of what features were most important to our guests.
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4 Focus Groups
Consisting of MIXT’s most loyal fans who dined frequently and earned the most rewards. It was important for us to know how we could make MIXT even better for them and grow this important demographic.
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Competitive Analysis
Understanding the landscape of features, flows, and solutions from our competitors helped inform a solution unique to MIXT. The results helped shape the app experience and ensuring we built a competitive loyalty program.
Takeaways About The Existing Experience
“I can’t order directly through the app. I start on the app, then I order online, and have to sign in each time like I’m a brand new customer.”
“The app is hard to use and not intuitive”
“I have my favorite custom orders that I have to enter every time. Give me the option to save orders and repeat them.”
“Need a better loyalty rewards system”
Archetypes
Meet Danielle
THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOCAL
Danielle is a part-time employment lawyer and full-time mom of a 2-year old son. She lives in Silver Lake and is expecting another baby so the family is on a tight budget. She’s very health conscious and it’s important to her that the family pick up healthy eating habits. Her sister mentioned MIXT is moving into the neighborhood. She’s excited for a healthy option near her but concerned if it will fit within the budget.
Meet Topher
THE URBAN LOYALIST
Christopher, or “Topher,” works in finance in Downtown SF and eats at MIXT 7-9x a month. He eats a customized version of the Orchard salad every time for lunch and sometimes mixes it up by going to MIXT Yerba Buena to get a market plate with steak or chicken after a workout at Equinox. It’s important that Topher understand the breakdown of nutrients in all of his meals since he is calorie counting. Lately, the lunch lines at MIXT are too long and the current app isn’t helpful in ordering ahead of time so the deli next door is usually the faster option.
Features
Order Ahead. Skip the Line.
The most requested feature for users was the ability to order and pay through the app. This eliminated one of the biggest paint points - waiting in a long lunch line.
Remembers Your Favorites.
A large portion of users wanted easy access to their favorite or recent orders. It was a hassle to enter the same customizations every time.
More Rewards. More offers.
Another pain point for our users? The price point. The new rewards program focused on rewarding users frequently instead of higher-value, delayed rewards.
Gamification to make earning points fun.
The avocado is the most ordered ingredient so naturally we made it the reward tracker. We also gave users the ability to earn points whether they paid through the app or in-store.
Customizable Nutrition Information.
Users wanted nutritional information. The majority of orders are customized so we gave users the ability to see how their changes impact nutritional values.
Automatically find the nearest location.
With more locations opening across new cities and states we made sure location-based listings were an available feature. The closest locations to the user would appear first.
Triggered Emails
We created an entire collection of emails that would be triggered automatically. All MIXT emails are designed with an evergreen identity system to create visual consistency all year. The challenge was to make it clear that these emails are not marketing emails, but part of the ordering process and rewards program. Incorporating the MIXT+ logo and the twinkling “pluses” gave us a great way to set them apart, but also infuse a little whimsical moment into emails.
Takeaways
The app was in the middle of development when the pandemic started so there wasn’t a lot of time to complete much user testing. We did a lot of internal testing throughout the entire process so we felt great about what had. Leading up to the launch and post-launch, we activated an aggressive awareness campaign to acquire new users. We drove an 82% increase (+36K) in new loyalty program members through targeted email campaigns and re-designed in-store print collateral.
Credits
Product Engineering: Punchh
Senior Designer: Jose Quinteros
Junior Designer: Kristine Nodalo
Stylist: Jillian Knox
Food Photography: Nader Khouri