Dear WhatsApp diary… Efficient long-term study of the Glamour app
Collecting points and hunting for rewards: Glamour motivates users to use the app continuously
The challenge: How do you motivate users to keep using an app?
This is how we supported Glamour with the introduction of a loyalty program
The Glamour Shopping Week takes place twice a year. For Glamour readers, this means attractive discounts and promotions at many well-known stores, brands and online stores. For some years now, they have been supported by an app designed to simplify their shopping trip – with a digital shopping card, a retailer search, shopping lists and much more.
The app is very popular during the shopping weeks. Condé Nast Germany would also like to offer users incentives to use the app regularly outside of Shopping Weeks. The idea: a points system that rewards users for certain activities with “Glam Points”, which they can exchange for attractive rewards. They implemented it as an MVP in a prototype of the app.
A number of questions arose during the design phase:
- Will the new loyalty program be accepted by users? Do they enjoy collecting points in the long term?
- Do users understand the system right from the start?
- Do the Glam Points really motivate users to use the app in the long term?
- Where is the sweet spot of use, i.e. when is the system used neither too little nor too much? How is it compatible with business goals?
Condé Nast came to us to find answers for these questions. To validate and optimize the loyalty program, we conducted a diary study that allowed us to monitor usage over a longer period of time.
Facts about the project
| Customer | Glamour, Condé Nast Germany |
| Product | App prototype of a loyalty program |
| Duration | 4 weeks |
| Method | Diary study |
| Result | Successful launch of the loyalty program |
The process: app validation with a WhatsApp diary
Efficient diary study provides insights into the long-term use of the app
We conducted a diary study with an initial usability test of the app prototype and a final interview.
The moderated usability test at the beginning of the project gave us a first impression of the usage behavior within the app.
The diary study ran for 3 weeks, during which the participants communicated with us via WhatsApp (via text or voice message, depending on their preference). Whenever they used the Glamour shopping app, they were asked to tell us about their experience.
Why is WhatsApp an effective tool for this?
- Higher response rate: All users were familiar with the messaging app and used it regularly anyway, so the hurdle of sending us a regular update was very low. In addition, no introduction to a new tool was necessary.
- Simple follow-up: We were able to follow up proactively at regular intervals and an NPS query was sent once a week without the participants having to keep an eye on an additional mailbox.
- Realism: As the participants are active on WhatsApp in their everyday lives and especially on the go anyway, communication in this way was much more realistic than in another application. Impressions, positive ones in particular, fade over time and should therefore be communicated as soon as possible – this was easy to do with WhatsApp.
- Send screenshots, audio recordings and videos: Sending screenshots or voice messages to clarify statements was also no problem.
Finally, the participants were able to take part in an interview to summarize the app, tell us what they liked and didn’t like, and share their opinion on the points system.
What is special about this approach? The user experience of the app was not only surveyed at a specific point in time, as is the case with a usability test, but throughout the entire duration of use.
The participants mostly shared their experiences of using the app with us while they were out and about.
Communication via WhatsApp was simple, natural, realistic and efficient.
The findings: New goals keep the users going
The most important findings of the diary study:
- Collecting GLAM Points is fun: the users collected points “on the side”. The animations quickly make it clear for which activities you can collect points.
- Set new goals: The way the points system was set up originally increased the frequency of use initially, but after a few weeks users lacked new incentives. The study showed that users need to be constantly set new goals to keep them interested.
- Communicate benefits better: The communication of the points system’s benefits was not clear to all users at first, but the advantages quickly became apparent during use.
- More attractive rewards: The available rewards have not yet sufficiently appealed to users, but here it was possible to gather insights into what kind of rewards motivate users to participate.
This is what the loyalty program now looks like in the app:
The result: users of the Glamour shopping app turn into passionate point collectors
Thanks to our insights from the diary study, Glamour was able to improve the first version of the loyalty program and launch it successfully
Overall, the project has shown that collecting points is fun for users – they would even recommend the GLAM Points program to their friends and acquaintances.
The loyalty program has now been launched and is proving very popular. After just a few days, Glamour was able to boast over 13,000 registrations in the points program, and within a month over 36,000 users had already collected GLAM Points.
What the client says: Our expectations were fully met
“We wanted to introduce a loyalty program to make the use of our app more attractive throughout the year. Userlutions fully met our expectations during the validation of the system: Looking at app usage over a longer period of time and communicating directly with test users was something we wouldn’t have been able to do on our own to this extent!”
Kristin Mehner, Product Lead,
Glamor Shopping
Curious?
Our diary study methodology is incomparably efficient thanks to the use of an instant messaging service and the connection to our RapidUsertests tester panel, and is easy for study participants to integrate into their everyday lives. This method is particularly suitable for apps that are used regularly over a longer period of time or for content with gamification elements.
In addition to diary studies, we also offer user research, prototype design and online surveys.
Contact us for more detailed information about the process:
Are you interested in working with us or do you have any questions?
We offer free and non-binding consultations
Birgit Bärnreuther
Head of Consulting
030 / 544 870 24
(Mo to Fr, 9am to 6pm)
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