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A Usability Evaluation

A Usability Evaluation

Fetch Rewards had a strong user base but lacked key usability features like filters and personalized recommendations. This evaluation identified pain points and provided data-driven insights to enhance navigation, personalization, and engagement, shaping future improvements for a more seamless user experience.

Business AI

Concept to Creation(0-to-1)

Sep 2024 - Dec 2024

Product Designer

Frontend Developer

Why this is a challenge?

The problem was that Fetch Rewards, despite having a strong user base, lacked essential usability features such as filters and personalized recommendations, which limited the overall user experience, navigation efficiency, and engagement.

What is the goal of this project?

The purpose of this project was to identify and resolve usability issues within the **My Account** and **Rewards Redemption** features, with the goal of improving **user engagement, retention, and satisfaction**.


Background

Why is FETCH REWARDS?

Fetch Rewards promises to reward users for everyday purchases, yet users frequently express concerns about the trustworthiness of its point redemption process. Online reviews highlight fears of losing points or facing technical issues during redemption

Research

Research Goals
1. Increase user confidence in redeeming points without fear of loss or technical failures
2. Enhance the redemption experience to drive consistent usage and improve user retention

By addressing these trust-related pain points, this research aims to create a more reliable and satisfying user experience

 User Feedback on Reddit

Findings

Identifying Key Gaps in Fetch Rewards

To evaluate Fetch Rewards against industry leaders like Rakuten and Starbucks Rewards, I conducted a comparative analysis, uncovering critical areas for improvement. While Fetch offers a simple receipt-scanning experience, it lacks key features that enhance user engagement and trust

Key Findings

Lack of Reward Filters

  • Insight: Users struggle to find relevant rewards due to missing filters

  • Next Step: Include a usability test task to measure frustration and search time

  1. No Strategic Guidance for Earning Points

    • Insight: Unlike competitors, Fetch provides no incentives or strategies to maximize points

    • Next Step: Observe decision-making behaviors in planning tasks.

  2. Limited Transparency in Points History

    • Insight: Fetch lacks detailed tracking, making it harder to resolve discrepancies

    • Next Step: Test if users can efficiently review and dispute point inconsistencies.

Key Findings
Lack of Reward Filters

  • Insight: Users struggle to find relevant rewards due to missing filters

  • Next Step: Include a usability test task to measure frustration and search time

  1. No Strategic Guidance for Earning Points

    • Insight: Unlike competitors, Fetch provides no incentives or strategies to maximize points

    • Next Step: Observe decision-making behaviors in planning tasks.

  2. Limited Transparency in Points History

    • Insight: Fetch lacks detailed tracking, making it harder to resolve discrepancies

    • Next Step: Test if users can efficiently review and dispute point inconsistencies.

💡 Shana's Insight: Competitive analysis isn’t just about comparison—it helps identify gaps that usability testing can validate, ensuring targeted improvements

To evaluate Fetch Rewards against industry leaders like Rakuten and Starbucks Rewards, I conducted a comparative analysis, uncovering critical areas for improvement. While Fetch offers a simple receipt-scanning experience, it lacks key features that enhance user engagement and trust

Insight

Uncovering & Solving Key UX Gaps

To address trust, clarity, and usability issues in Fetch Rewards, I conducted a Pilot Usability Test, refining it into a Final Usability Test based on key insights

💡 Research Question

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK 2: Planning Points Strategy

Task 3: Reviewing Points and Reward History 

💡 Research Question

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK 2: Planning Points Strategy

Task 3: Reviewing Points and Reward History 

Research Approach


Participant Recruitment: Screener survey targeting users (ages 18-40) with experience in rewards app


  1. Testing Format: Conducted both in-person and remote moderated sessions via Zoom + Figma prototype


  2. Structured Methodology:

    • Developed three task-based scenarios covering navigation, rewards redemption, and points tracking.

    • Facilitated and documented user interactions, frustrations, and decision-making.

    • Created key research tools: Moderator Guide, consent form, Likert-scale feedback, and qualitative analysis codebook.

💡 Shana's Insight: Usability testing isn’t about the number of participants—it's about asking the right questions and uncovering the “why” behind behaviors

To address trust, clarity, and usability issues in Fetch Rewards, I conducted a Pilot Usability Test, refining it into a Final Usability Test based on key insights

Uncovering & Solving Key UX Gaps

Insight

User feedback

💣 However, things did not turn out so well....

🧪 Pilot Usability Test

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK2: Checking Points Balance and Redeeming Points

TASK3: Reviewing Points History and Reporting a Problem 

🎯 Final Usability Test

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK 2: Planning Points Strategy

Task 3: Reviewing Points and Reward History 

Iteration

Key Iterations from Pilot to Final Test

Filtering Rewards: Users struggled to find relevant rewards → Added a task to assess frustration

Task Order Refinement: Planning before exploring rewards was unintuitive → Adjusted sequence
💡 Shana's Insight: Usability testing is an iterative process—each round refines the design to better align with user needs

Ideation

From Raw Data to Actionable Insights

Transforming raw usability data into meaningful insights is crucial for making informed design decisions. By categorizing feedback into themes, I uncovered patterns that helped prioritize user needs and drive impactful improvements. This structured approach ensured that my usability findings directly translated into actionable design improvements. 🚀

My Process

Task-Based Organization
Grouped usability issues by task, such as Exploring Rewards, Planning Points Strategy, and Reviewing Points History. Each note included participant IDs and task references for traceability before importing data into Miro

  1. Impact-Based Categorization
    Sorted feedback into positive, negative, and neutral categories to highlight strengths and pinpoint problem areas requiring immediate attention

  2. Insight Synthesis
    Identified recurring themes like missing filters, unclear button functions, and lack of personalized recommendations. These insights informed my initial design suggestions, which evolved into concrete recommendations for Fetch Rewards.

💡 Shana's Insight: Creating a codebook in Excel before using tools like Miro helps streamline the analysis process

From Usability Data to UX Insights

By applying UX metrics, I identified patterns in user struggles, validating my initial research focus and guiding design improvements.
💡 Shana's Insight: Quantifying usability issues helps bridge the gap between observation and action

SEQ(Single Ease Question)

Question: How easy was it to find a reward that interested you?

🚨 Users struggled due to:

  • Lack of filtering options, leading to excessive scrolling

  • Poor reward visibility, making it difficult to find relevant options

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

How likely are you to recommend Fetch Rewards?

⭐️ User sentiment was mixed due to:

  • Slow point accumulation, reducing engagement

  • Limited reward variety, failing to meet user expectations

  • Lack of referral incentives, impacting long-term retention

Time on Task

Where did users experience delays?

⏳ Major friction points:

  1. No points-range filter, causing users to scroll extensively

  2. Unclear game page instructions, leading to hesitation

  3. Confusing button labels on the Point Activity page

Error Rate

Task: Rewards Redemption

⚠️ Primary usability issue:

  • Low visibility of the redeem button, causing confusion and delays

Aligning Findings with Research Goals

The usability test results validated the initial research focus, reinforcing key areas for improvement:

✔️ Trust in the point system – Users found the redemption process unclear, making them question the value of their points.

✔️ Efficient rewards discovery – The lack of filters and poor visibility hindered navigation and decision-making.

✔️ User engagement & retention – Limited reward appeal and slow accumulation rates discouraged continued use

These findings directly informed data-driven design recommendations, focusing on enhancing clarity, improving navigation, and increasing user motivation to engage with Fetch Rewards. 🚀

User feedback

💣 However, things did not turn out so well....

🧪 Pilot Usability Test

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK2: Checking Points Balance and Redeeming Points

TASK3: Reviewing Points History and Reporting a Problem 

🎯 Final Usability Test

TASK 1: Exploring Available Rewards and Planning Points Strategy

TASK 2: Planning Points Strategy

Task 3: Reviewing Points and Reward History 

Iteration

Key Iterations from Pilot to Final Test

Filtering Rewards: Users struggled to find relevant rewards → Added a task to assess frustration

Task Order Refinement: Planning before exploring rewards was unintuitive → Adjusted sequence
💡 Shana's Insight: Usability testing is an iterative process—each round refines the design to better align with user needs

Ideation

From Raw Data to Actionable Insights

Transforming raw usability data into meaningful insights is crucial for making informed design decisions. By categorizing feedback into themes, I uncovered patterns that helped prioritize user needs and drive impactful improvements. This structured approach ensured that my usability findings directly translated into actionable design improvements. 🚀

My Process

Task-Based Organization
Grouped usability issues by task, such as Exploring Rewards, Planning Points Strategy, and Reviewing Points History. Each note included participant IDs and task references for traceability before importing data into Miro

  1. Impact-Based Categorization
    Sorted feedback into positive, negative, and neutral categories to highlight strengths and pinpoint problem areas requiring immediate attention

  2. Insight Synthesis
    Identified recurring themes like missing filters, unclear button functions, and lack of personalized recommendations. These insights informed my initial design suggestions, which evolved into concrete recommendations for Fetch Rewards.

💡 Shana's Insight: Creating a codebook in Excel before using tools like Miro helps streamline the analysis process

From Usability Data to UX Insights

By applying UX metrics, I identified patterns in user struggles, validating my initial research focus and guiding design improvements.
💡 Shana's Insight: Quantifying usability issues helps bridge the gap between observation and action

SEQ(Single Ease Question)

Question: How easy was it to find a reward that interested you?

🚨 Users struggled due to:

  • Lack of filtering options, leading to excessive scrolling

  • Poor reward visibility, making it difficult to find relevant options

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

How likely are you to recommend Fetch Rewards?

⭐️ User sentiment was mixed due to:

  • Slow point accumulation, reducing engagement

  • Limited reward variety, failing to meet user expectations

  • Lack of referral incentives, impacting long-term retention

Time on Task

Where did users experience delays?

⏳ Major friction points:

  1. No points-range filter, causing users to scroll extensively

  2. Unclear game page instructions, leading to hesitation

  3. Confusing button labels on the Point Activity page

Error Rate

Task: Rewards Redemption

⚠️ Primary usability issue:

  • Low visibility of the redeem button, causing confusion and delays

Solution

Exploring Best Practices for Solutions

My research uncovered four design implications and two strategic business recommendations to enhance both user experience and operational effectiveness

01 Missing Filter for Rewards
Participants struggled to find redeemable rewards due to lacking a points range or category filter. The absencee of these filters required excessive scrolling reduced efficiency


Proposed Solution:

  • Introduce filters to sort rewards by points range (e.g., "Low to High" and "High to Low") and categories (e.g., food, electronics, gift cards)

  • Add advanced filtering options in the search bar, such as filtering by brand, store, or redemption method

💡 Shana's Insight: The lack of a "Low to High" filter may reflect a dark pattern aimed at nudging users with fewer points to purchase more by emphasizing higher-value rewards, prioritizing business goals over transparency.

Lacking a points range or category filter

02 Hard-to-Recognize Products on Home Page

Products on the home page lack labels, making it difficult for users to identify unfamiliar items. Small product images further complicate recognition, forcing users to click for details


Proposed Solution:

  • Add product names or brief descriptions below each product image on the home page

  • Increase image size for better visibility and recognition of unfamiliar products.

💡 “I end up clicking on multiple items just to figure out what they are.” - Participant 1

Small images and missing product names make it hard for users to recognize product

03 Poorly Designed Recommendation System

Participants found the app’s recommended productsunappealing and irrelevant to their interests orneeds. The recommendation system's lack ofpersonalization reduced its usefulness andengagement value


Proposed Solution:

  • Personalize the recommendation system by analyzing user purchase history, scanned receipts, and past redemptions

  • Create a "Recommended for You" section featuring relevant rewards and offers tailored to individual preferences.Implement a feedback mechanism to improve recommendation accuracy (e.g., "Like" or "Not Interested" buttons)

💡 “Most of the recommended products don’t appeal to me at all.” - Participant 5

The recommendation system lacks alignment with users' purchasing preferences

04 Confusing Button Functions on "Point Activity" Page

The Point Activity page features twoidentical-looking buttons that provide nodistinguishable functionality, leaving users needing clarification


Proposed Solution:

  • Redesign the buttons with clear and descriptive labels indicating their functionality

  • Include tooltips or a short description to provide additional context when users hover over the buttons.Remove redundant or non-functional buttons.

💡“The buttons on this page are confusing; I don’t understand their purpose.”- Participant 2

Pressing the two buttons provides no visible feedback, leaving users uncertain if their actions were successful

After thoughts

To enhance user retention, I identified two "Business Improvements"

😵‍💫
01 Slow and Unclear Points Accumulation

“I’ve been using the app for months, and I still can’t redeem anything meaningful.”- Participant 4

Proposed Solution:
• Combine a "Refer Friends" feature with attractive bonuses to address interviewee feedback about insufficient incentives. Offer 1,000 points for each successful referral or for new users upon joining
• Provide a clear and detailed guide on earning points efficiently, including strategies like daily challenges, shopping bonuses, or streak rewardsIntroduce additional points-earning opportunities, such as partnerships with retailers or limited-time promotional offers
• Use progress bars or visual indicators to show points accumulation milestones, helping users track their progress towards rewards

👥

02 Introduce a Social Features Page(Friends)

Proposed Solution:

• Create a "Friends" page where users can follow friends, view their redeemed rewards, and share recommendations. Add incentives for social interaction, such as bonus points for referrals.
• By allowing users to view the rewards their friends have redeemed or the deals they have used, the app can inspire ideas and increase redemption rates, fostering greater engagement.
• Encourages social engagement, increasing app interaction and user retentio

Reflection

What I learned

✅ User feedback is essential, but prioritizing changes that align with Fetch Rewards’ core experience is crucial for meaningful improvements


💡 Enhancing usability requires iterative refinement, balancing trade-offs, and maximizing user impact


🥳 Understanding users’ true motivations goes beyond surface-level feedback—it’s about uncovering the deeper needs behind their behaviors.

✅ User feedback is essential, but prioritizing changes that align with Fetch Rewards’ core experience is crucial for meaningful improvements


💡 Enhancing usability requires iterative refinement, balancing trade-offs, and maximizing user impact


🥳 Understanding users’ true motivations goes beyond surface-level feedback—it’s about uncovering the deeper needs behind their behaviors.

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Copyright © 2025 By Shana Hsieh

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Copyright © 2025 By Shana Hsieh

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✅ User feedback is essential, but prioritizing changes that align with Fetch Rewards’ core experience is crucial for meaningful improvements


💡 Enhancing usability requires iterative refinement, balancing trade-offs, and maximizing user impact


🥳 Understanding users’ true motivations goes beyond surface-level feedback—it’s about uncovering the deeper needs behind their behaviors.

Reflection

What I learned

Solution

Exploring Best Practices for Solutions

My research uncovered four design implications and two strategic business recommendations to enhance both user experience and operational effectiveness

01 Missing Filter for Rewards
Participants struggled to find redeemable rewards due to lacking a points range or category filter. The absencee of these filters required excessive scrolling reduced efficiency


Proposed Solution:

  • Introduce filters to sort rewards by points range (e.g., "Low to High" and "High to Low") and categories (e.g., food, electronics, gift cards)

  • Add advanced filtering options in the search bar, such as filtering by brand, store, or redemption method

💡 Shana's Insight: The lack of a "Low to High" filter may reflect a dark pattern aimed at nudging users with fewer points to purchase more by emphasizing higher-value rewards, prioritizing business goals over transparency.

02 Hard-to-Recognize Products on Home Page

Products on the home page lack labels, making it difficult for users to identify unfamiliar items. Small product images further complicate recognition, forcing users to click for details


Proposed Solution:

  • Add product names or brief descriptions below each product image on the home page

  • Increase image size for better visibility and recognition of unfamiliar products.

💡 “I end up clicking on multiple items just to figure out what they are.” - Participant 1

Lacking a points range or category filter

Small images and missing product names make it hard for users to recognize product

The recommendation system lacks alignment with users' purchasing preferences

03 Poorly Designed Recommendation System

Participants found the app’s recommended productsunappealing and irrelevant to their interests orneeds. The recommendation system's lack ofpersonalization reduced its usefulness andengagement value


Proposed Solution:

  • Personalize the recommendation system by analyzing user purchase history, scanned receipts, and past redemptions

  • Create a "Recommended for You" section featuring relevant rewards and offers tailored to individual preferences.Implement a feedback mechanism to improve recommendation accuracy (e.g., "Like" or "Not Interested" buttons)

💡 “Most of the recommended products don’t appeal to me at all.” - Participant 5

Pressing the two buttons provides no visible feedback, leaving users uncertain if their actions were successful

04 Confusing Button Functions on "Point Activity" Page

The Point Activity page features twoidentical-looking buttons that provide nodistinguishable functionality, leaving users needing clarification


Proposed Solution:

  • Redesign the buttons with clear and descriptive labels indicating their functionality

  • Include tooltips or a short description to provide additional context when users hover over the buttons.Remove redundant or non-functional buttons.

💡“The buttons on this page are confusing; I don’t understand their purpose.”- Participant 2

After thoughts

To enhance user retention, I identified two "Business Improvements"

😵‍💫
01 Slow and Unclear Points Accumulation

“I’ve been using the app for months, and I still can’t redeem anything meaningful.”- Participant 4

Proposed Solution:
• Combine a "Refer Friends" feature with attractive bonuses to address interviewee feedback about insufficient incentives. Offer 1,000 points for each successful referral or for new users upon joining
• Provide a clear and detailed guide on earning points efficiently, including strategies like daily challenges, shopping bonuses, or streak rewardsIntroduce additional points-earning opportunities, such as partnerships with retailers or limited-time promotional offers
• Use progress bars or visual indicators to show points accumulation milestones, helping users track their progress towards rewards

👥

02 Introduce a Social Features Page(Friends)

Proposed Solution:

• Create a "Friends" page where users can follow friends, view their redeemed rewards, and share recommendations. Add incentives for social interaction, such as bonus points for referrals.
• By allowing users to view the rewards their friends have redeemed or the deals they have used, the app can inspire ideas and increase redemption rates, fostering greater engagement.
• Encourages social engagement, increasing app interaction and user retentio

Aligning Findings with Research Goals

The usability test results validated the initial research focus, reinforcing key areas for improvement:

✔️ Trust in the point system – Users found the redemption process unclear, making them question the value of their points.

✔️ Efficient rewards discovery – The lack of filters and poor visibility hindered navigation and decision-making.

✔️ User engagement & retention – Limited reward appeal and slow accumulation rates discouraged continued use

These findings directly informed data-driven design recommendations, focusing on enhancing clarity, improving navigation, and increasing user motivation to engage with Fetch Rewards. 🚀

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