Case Study
Converting an underperforming online store to a selling powerhouse
2024
Project Details
Duration
6 Months
Role
Junior UX Designer
Project Context
Cheil is a digital agency owned by Samsung Group. During my time there as a graduate, I was on the conversion rate optimisation (CRO) team focusing on improving samsung.com/au. My role was user experience graduate where I would work closely with the team to research insights based on data, heuristic principles and competitors. With these insights, I would design modifications to the site, hand off designs to developers and then run an A/B test to determine if our hypothesise were accurate. During my time as a graduate, we designed and shipped approximately 35 different A/B tests; this case study will focus on 2 tests.
Project Outcome
Throughout the entire process, we were constantly researching, designing and shipping A/B tests. Between the team of 3 UX designers, we would aim for about 12 insights per fortnight. These insights would then get workshopped, refined and approved to be presented to stakeholders. I personally, had the privilege of designing 12 tests that were approved by stakeholders which have either run, or are in the backlog to be run in the near future. Highlights of moved metrics include: 18% Conversion rate increase on Product Filter pages through introducing a social proof framework into designs. 12% Increase in product card interactions by creating contrast between normal price and savings/offer. Decreased bounce rate on discover mobile page by 5.5% by redesigning key information above the fold.
The Problem
Most habit tracking apps fall into one of two extremes: overly motivational with streaks, badges, and timers—or overly plain with manual entry and no sense of completion.
We identified an opportunity to build a product for people who:
Already knew what they wanted to track
Wanted something that felt satisfying but not addicting
Preferred fewer taps and decisions in their daily flow
How might we build a habit tracker that respects the user’s time and attention without sacrificing delight?
Digging into the research
We used a lean but focused research approach:
1. Competitor teardown
We analyzed 7 popular habit apps (e.g., Habitica, Streaks, Productive, Done, Everyday) to evaluate their core flows, visual complexity, setup friction, and feedback systems. We found:
5 out of 7 had onboarding sequences longer than 8 screens
All apps used streaks as a motivator, which some users found punishing
Most interfaces were cluttered with tabs, charts, and rewards
These insights confirmed our hypothesis that minimalism could be a feature, not a lack.
2. User interviews (5 participants)
We spoke to 5 busy professionals (aged 28–42) who had tried habit tracking in the past but stopped using the tools over time. Common themes:
“I hated losing a streak just because I forgot to log something.”
– Marketing consultant, 34
“They’re either too clinical or they treat me like I’m 12 with all the confetti.”
– Freelance designer, 30
“I already know the habits I’m working on—I don’t want to go through 10 steps to log a push-up.”
– Lawyer, 41
We learned that these users:
Valued visual satisfaction over gamification
Wanted fewer taps to log a habit
Preferred tracking 3–5 habits max
Needed a way to miss a day without losing motivation
Ideation
From the research, we established 3 core design principles:
Daily clarity: The UI should focus entirely on today
No punishment: No streaks, no missed-day penalties
Micro-interactions matter: Logging a habit should feel instantly rewarding
Initial concepts explored different metaphors (e.g. plant growth, orbs, progress bars), but we landed on a grid-based UI where each habit is a tile. Tapping it gives you subtle haptic feedback and animates into a filled, glowing state.
We also built wireflows that limited user decisions to two: Did you do the habit? and Would you like a reminder tomorrow?
Testing and Feedback
We created a tappable prototype in Figma and tested it with the original 5 participants plus 3 new users. We gave them the task of:
Adding 3 habits
Logging them for “today”
Viewing progress
Key feedback:
“I love how fast it is. I don’t have to think.”
“That tap animation is satisfying as hell.”
“I wish I could hide habits on weekends.”
Issues:
Users accidentally tapped habits multiple times; we added a brief delay to prevent double-logging
The “+” button to add habits was too small on smaller iPhones
Some users wanted to reorder habits; this became a stretch goal
Iterations and designs
Based on the feedback, we made the following changes:
Habit tiles now had a small icon + label with an optional emoji to personalize
Tap states had improved animations and haptics
A simple reminder system allowed users to set quiet, time-based nudges
Users could now pause habits for certain days of the week
We finalized the visual style with a neutral palette, rounded typography, and soft shadows to evoke a calm, “non-app-like” feel. All interactions were tested for thumb-reach usability on iPhone SE and iPhone 13 sizes.
Key learns
Fewer features = more use
Resisting the urge to build charts and badges kept the app lightweight and sticky.Delight is in the tap
A satisfying microinteraction can replace a gamified reward system if done right.
“Motivation” is personal
Not every user wants to be pushed. Some just want a quiet way to feel progress.