Seattle Coffee

Overview

What/who is Seattle Coffee?

"Seattle Coffee Company was first started in London by husband and wife team – Alley and Scott Svenson – who were inspired by their experience of speciality coffee brands in their hometown of Seattle. Seattle Coffee Company was then brought to South Africa by best friends Pete and Barry, two South African locals. Our first local store opened its doors in Cavendish Square, Cape Town in November 1997.

 

Today, we remain independent of any international parent company and maintain our roots as an exclusively South African, family-run business.

 

Ultimately it comes down to taking what the smaller guys are doing, and trying to scale it. It is, always has, and always will be, about The Way You Like It.”

 

Seattle has become one of, if not the largest, coffee franchise chains in South Africa. 

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Problem Statement

As of November 2020, Seattle Coffee Company doesn't offer an app. Despite this, they maintain a successful business model with exceptional coffee quality. They also have an attractive loyalty rewards system: for every ten cups of coffee purchased, the eleventh is complimentary. Customers usually update their loyalty status by entering their mobile number during payment, which counts towards their free coffee reward.

 

However, there are a couple of challenges. Firstly, due to COVID-19 concerns, customers are wary of touching dirty surfaces, making the process of entering numbers on public keypads less than ideal. This was especially true in South Africa as there was a strict lockdown. Secondly, the brand's popularity means stores often have long queues. Customers in a hurry, especially during morning rushes, find this inconvenient.

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The Solution

The objective was to develop a mobile application addressing the mentioned challenges. Upon signing in, the app displays the customer's loyalty points on the home screen. When a customer buys coffee, they can simply present their unique QR code for scanning. This not only updates the store's system instantly but also the customer's app profile, eliminating the need for keypad inputs. Additionally, customers can pre-order their coffee and locate the nearest Seattle Coffee store via the app.

Research

As with any UX project, this started with extensive research. I created a coffee survey on Google Forms and discovered some particularly interesting insights. People love their coffee, so this was a relatively easy process. Below are some interesting insights:

 

• 53.8 % of users drink 2-3 cups a day

• Flavour is the biggest factor when it comes to great coffee

• Bad coffee, waiting in line and wrong orders are the biggest gripes when it comes to coffee shops

• 70% of users haven’t used an app to order coffee before

• 92.3% of users want to be able to pre-order their coffee

• Seattle Coffee was the highest-rated local coffee Company

• Users want a contactless system (for points)

• 70/30% Female to male

• 54% users tested were 25 to 34 years old

Competitor Research

The coffee industry's competitive nature allowed me to swiftly identify and evaluate existing competitors, discerning whether they had associated apps and examining their functionalities. To streamline this process, I created a competitive research matrix and delved into the features of the apps from these competitors. To maintain confidentiality, I've refrained from mentioning company names and have obscured the screenshots.

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Brand A Coffee:

• Amazing app with great options. Custom and pre-order

available

• Works very well, has everything you can imagine in a coffee order app

• The Local version of the Brand A Coffee App doesn't have a pre-order

function

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Brand B Coffee:

• Sub-par app with a bland interface.

• Custom and pre-order available

• Minimum options, the app feels rushed

• Loyalty System, succinct and works well

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Brand C Coffee:

• Beautiful app, great interface. A lot of time was spent on the UI of this app

• Custom and pre-order not available

• Minimum options, but great payment options

• Great Loyalty System & succinct, can send gifts as well

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Brand D Coffee:

• Amazing app with great options. Custom and pre-order

available

• Works very well, lacks no options, has most features

• Probably the best local South African Coffee App

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Research Summary

Many coffee consumers have unique preferences for their drinks, which is why customized options are essential. Additionally, customers desire the convenience of pre-ordering their coffee and picking it up at a convenient time. However, only two of the local companies researched, Brand B and Brand D, offer this feature. Given Seattle Coffee's reputation for excellent coffee, an inviting atmosphere, and great food, an app would be a valuable addition to the brand. Furthermore, the simplicity of Seattle Coffee's loyalty program is another significant asset.

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User Flows, Personas, Sitemap, Journey Map

Following the initial research, I moved on to creating User Flows, Personas, Sitemap, and Journey Map.