Gloop
Building a product that helps users live more sustainably
UX Research
Problem
In 2016 the United Nations General Assembly defined as one of their sustainable development goals for 2030 to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Our global material footprint is outpacing population and economic growth. We need solutions that help the world shift towards sustainable consumption practices.
Macroeconomic environment
China and the European Union are cooperating to build economic policies that accelerate the global adoption of a circular economy. Many corporations are gradually transforming their supply chains with circular economy principles, giving more sustainable options to consumers.
Foundational studies
Studies show a rise in the consumption of products that claim “sustainability”, especially among millennials. A more recent study found that after the pandemic 50% of all global consumers say they’ve become more eco-friendly.
User Interviews
To better understand the market, I have conducted 9 in-depth interviews that intended to understand how important it is for people to have a sustainable lifestyle and what challenges they face. Participants belonged to 3 different generations (Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X).
Research
stage
Oportunity
Knowing more about the problem
Users find it hard to know about the environmental sustainability problem, because they sense information is unavailable.
Understanding the footprint
Users find it hard to quantify the impact of their actions. They would like to prioritize the ones with a bigger impact.
Accessing sustainable solutions
Users find it hard to access sustainable solutions, either because they don’t exist or don’t know where they are.
Price sensitive
Users sense that sustainable products are usually more expensive, and have a hard time finding in-budget solutions.
Findings from user tests
Understanding their footprint
Users need a simple and measurable number that allows them to understand how far are they from a fully sustainable lifestyle. Showcasing the user’s emissions triggers a negative feeling and discourages action.
Creating incentives to take action
By creating a gamification system where users earn badges and points that could be traded by discounts, users feel rewarded for adapting to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Promoting discovery
Users are more engaged if they see businesses and sustainable solutions at the landing screen, triggering their curiosity to further explore.
Solution
Discover multiple sustainable solutions near you
Learn more about how you can live a sustainable lifestyle
Unlock badges and earn points that can be traded
by discounts
Next steps
Going to market strategy
The next step to test this product in the real world would be to create a landing page showcasing the main value propositions to the identified pain points. Here we could create targeted marketing campaigns and test our product messaging with A/B tests, and improve how we should communicate the product to the identified personas.
Offering the possibility for users to sign-up for early access to the product, we would have the first validation of success.
If we’ve successfully reached an interesting number of users interested in the product, we would then build an MVP to further validate the value propositions.