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Increasing user engagement & payments on digital dining

🙋 Role

Product Designer

💪 Responsibility

Ideation, Strategy, User Flows, Visual Design, Prototyping

🙏 Team

UX Researcher, CPO & 4 Developers

🕰️ Timeline

January 2024

Imagine going to a restaurant, hungry and excited to have the tasty dishes

Only to be seated and waiting for the steward to give the printed menu

He finally comes and gives you just 2 menus for a group of 6 🤦‍♂️

Now you have to share and pass around the menu to discuss

And after you have ordered, he again takes away the menus 🥹

HOW DO WE SOLVE THIS

Digital Dining replaces traditional physical menus with an interactive digital interface to transform the in-restaurant dining experience

WHY REDESIGN

The stats indicated the current version of DD, is not fully aligning with the needs of both restaurants and diners

30%

Low Client Adoption

1.2

Avg. Users/transaction

2/10

Less Platform Payments

To address these challenges and unlock the platform's full potential, a strategic redesign was essential—one that would enhance usability, increase engagement, and make Digital Dining the go-to choice for restaurants aiming to provide a seamless and modern dining experience.

Before

After

Before

After

UX AUDIT

Problems with the current version

Lack of Navigation Bar

#Visibility of System Status

The product's navigation was confusing because the header button changed dynamically on each page, making it difficult for users to understand their current location.

No Personalisation

#Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Every user sees the same menu, without any customization based on their dining history or preferences.

High User Drop offs

#Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors

Users try scanning the QR but are not placing orders

Unclear Multiple Menus Available

#Match between system and real world

Users are not aware of the multiple menus available, as other online ordering platforms typically have a single menu with multiple categories

Payment option not visible

#Recognition Rather than Recall

The ability to pay the bill is not clearly conveyed and is buried three clicks inside, leading to low payments via platform

Outdated UI

#Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

The user interface looks dated and uninteresting

TARGET USERS

How digital menus benefit everyone in the restaurant?

Primary User

Guests

Effortless Menu Exploration

Browse dish photos, dish description and place orders

Real-Time Information

Get updates on dish availability, order status, and special offers

Personalised Recommendation

Enjoy suggestions tailored to your preferences and past orders

Quick Service and Checkout

Reduce wait times with faster ordering and easy bill settlement

Secondary User

Stewards

Enhanced Efficiency

Save time on manual order-taking, allowing more focus on hospitality

Minimize Errors

Accurately send the orders to kitchen with user instructions

Better Table Management

Easily track orders and stay organized, even during peak hours

Improved Guest Interaction

Engage with guests, creating a more personalized experience

Tertiary User

Managers

Faster Table Turnaround

Streamline orders, reduce errors, and speed up service for higher turnover

Optimized Billing

Accelerate payment processing and minimize billing errors

Data-Driven Insights

Access valuable data on customer preferences, popular dishes, etc

Inventory Integration

Track stock levels in real-time, map recipes and reduce wastage

USER RESEARCH

Do people have a problem with physical menus that QR ordering is solving?

To validate the necessity and benefits of QR-based ordering, we conducted primary research at 8 restaurants and breweries. We interviewed 30 people, including a diverse demographic of young to middle-aged individuals, both single and married, as well as families. Our participants included frequent visitors and explorers trying new places.

"I find physical menus to be the most unhygienic thing in a restaurant. They can be dirty, torn, or even wet. It’s not pleasant to handle a menu that looks and feels unclean"
"It takes too long to get the staff's attention, especially during busy times, which delays my ordering and dining experience"
"There are at times mistakes with my order because the steward misheard or misunderstood my request"
"Sometimes, the number of printed menus available is limited and all the people have to share or keep asking for the menu again and again. Also, at times it's outdated and missing new items or specials"
"When I'm ready to leave, it’s a hassle to flag down the staff to get my bill, request them for SC removal, ask to bring the UPI QR code and wait for them to process the payment"

"I find physical menus to be the most unhygienic thing in a restaurant. They can be dirty, torn, or even wet. It’s not pleasant to handle a menu that looks and feels unclean"
"It takes too long to get the staff's attention, especially during busy times, which delays my ordering and dining experience"
"There are at times mistakes with my order because the steward misheard or misunderstood my request"
"Sometimes, the number of printed menus available is limited and all the people have to share or keep asking for the menu again and again. Also, at times it's outdated and missing new items or specials"
"When I'm ready to leave, it’s a hassle to flag down the staff to get my bill, request them for SC removal, ask to bring the UPI QR code and wait for them to process the payment"

COMPETITOR RESEARCH

What are others in the industry doing?

Most digital dining products today are limited in scope. Legacy systems focus on POS for large chain quick service restaurants, while others target cloud kitchens and online orders. Our main competitors are those which focus on in-house ordering, but many lack comprehensive features.

Some systems only allow menu viewing without direct ordering capabilities. Even those that do allow ordering often fail to provide a well-connected ecosystem for collaborative ordering between guests and staff. This results in staff being overburdened with managing both platforms and guests being unable to view their current bill or pay directly through the platform.

FEATURES

Explorex

Dotpe

Digitory

Petpooja

Hoggr

Collaborative Ordering

✅

❌

✅

Table Pin

✅

❌

✅

Bill Access during transaction

✅

❌

✅

❌

✅

Steward orders, visible to customer

✅

❌

✅

❌

Table Auto Settlement

✅

❌

✅

❌

Table Assistance Request

✅

❌

✅

❌

Multiple Menus

✅

❌

✅

Dish Suggestions and recommendations

✅

❌

Waiter Tip

✅

❌

BUSINESS OBJECTIVE

What's the expected ROI?

Increase
Existing
User Base

Increase Existing User Base

Enhance the number of DD users to bolster top-line growth and expand the platform's reach among diners

Boost
Average
Spend

Boost Average Spend

Encourage higher cart values and increase the average spend per individual

Increase
Payments
via DD

Increase Payments via DD

Increase no. of users paying via our web app platform to facilitate automatic table settlement leading to faster table turnover time

TASK FLOW

Guest and waiter using Explorex DD and POS at a restaurant

REDESIGN

See what's changed

Collaborative ordering for multiple users

Allowing multiple users to join a table and order together enhances the dining experience by promoting seamless coordination and clear visibility of individual orders

Improved Navigation and discoverability

Redesigned the navigation to be more intuitive, making it easier for users to discover all available features and always know where they are within the app.

Waiter Assistance at your fingertips

To enhance the dining experience by allowing guests to request table service directly from their phones, making it convenient and efficient to get assistance.

Tiered Discounts to increase average order value

Encourage diners to order more by offering better discounts as their total order value increases, creating an incentive for larger group orders and maximising dining satisfaction

Defining Component Properties

By leveraging Figma components, we ensured a cohesive user experience while efficiently managing the implementation of both light and dark mode designs.

IMPACT

Made ordering easier and more intuitive

37%

Increase in Average Bill Amount per transaction

16%

Increase in Explorex Payment Method transactions

Increase in
Explorex Payment Methods

40%

More orders from DD vs POS

40%

More orders from DD vs POS

40%

More orders from DD vs POS

6

New Large Clients Onboarded

6

New Large Clients Onboarded

6

New Large Clients Onboarded

42%

More Users Engagement

42%

More Users Engagement

This has led to greater user engagement, higher satisfaction, and a noticeable increase in overall activity on the platform.

KEY TAKEAWAY

My learnings from the project

Establishing Clear KPIs and Metrics

Defining specific, measurable goals helped us track the success of our redesign efforts and ensured alignment with business objectives

Designing for All Scenarios

Addressed both edge cases and happy flows to create comprehensive user journeys, improving the overall user experience and retention

Creating a Scalable Design System

Ensure a consistent user experience across the platform, by building reusable components and reducing dev-design time

Streamlining Development Handoff

Adopted best practices for a seamless dev handoff, including well-documented design files and consistent communication

Understanding Event Tracking and Analysis

Partnered in setting up event tracking to monitor user behaviour providing valuable insights for continuous improvement

FEATURES

Explorex

Dotpe

Digitory

Petpooja

Hoggr

Collaborative Ordering

✅

❌

✅

Table Pin

✅

❌

✅

Bill Access during transaction

✅

❌

✅

❌

✅

Steward orders, visible to customer

✅

❌

✅

❌

Table Auto Settlement

✅

❌

✅

❌

Table Assistance Request

✅

❌

✅

❌

Multiple Menus

✅

❌

✅

Dish Suggestions and recommendations

✅

❌

Waiter Tip

✅

❌

Effortless Menu Exploration

Real-Time Information

Personalised Recommendation

Quick Service and Checkout

Enhanced Efficiency

Minimize Errors

Better Table Management

Improved Guest Interaction

Faster Table Turnaround

Optimized Billing

Data-Driven Insights

Inventory Integration

"I find physical menus to be the most unhygienic thing in a restaurant. They can be dirty, torn, or even wet. It’s not pleasant to handle a menu that looks and feels unclean"

"It takes too long to get the staff's attention, especially during busy times, which delays my ordering and dining experience"

"There are at times mistakes with my order because the steward misheard or misunderstood my request"

"Sometimes, the number of printed menus available is limited and all the people have to share or keep asking for the menu again and again. Also, at times it's outdated and missing new items or specials"

"When I'm ready to leave, it’s a hassle to flag down the staff to get my bill, request them for SC removal, ask to bring the UPI QR code and wait for them to process the payment"

"I find physical menus to be the most unhygienic thing in a restaurant. They can be dirty, torn, or even wet. It’s not pleasant to handle a menu that looks and feels unclean"

"It takes too long to get the staff's attention, especially during busy times, which delays my ordering and dining experience"

"There are at times mistakes with my order because the steward misheard or misunderstood my request"

"Sometimes, the number of printed menus available is limited and all the people have to share or keep asking for the menu again and again. Also, at times it's outdated and missing new items or specials"

"When I'm ready to leave, it’s a hassle to flag down the staff to get my bill, request them for SC removal, ask to bring the UPI QR code and wait for them to process the payment"

37%

37%

37%

16%

16%

16%

40%

40%

40%

6

6

6

42%

42%