According to the Leichtman Research Group, 58% of Americans subscribe to more than one of the popular streaming services like HBO Max and Netflix.
However, the downside of the subscription economy is that users find it difficult to keep track of the monthly payments. They even forget which services they are subscribed to.
I created Subscription Tracker to provide users an easy, fast way to manage their accounts and track payments.
The problem this product will solve is exactly that: users forgetting to cancel subscriptions and simply not knowing how much they are spending on them.
Create a digital product that provides users a way to track payments, cancel, and manage all of their subscriptions in a single app so that they can make decide if they want to renew their subscriptions or keep them.
My client was interested in building a subscription management application that shows all of the services users are subscribed for and a way to track payments. I was tasked with researching and validating the idea to make sure it's a feasible idea that solves a problem.
From my research, I learned that services that used to be a one-time payment switched to the subscription model. Computer software, home workout apps, car wash businesses, and other services are now subscription-based, bringing more than one monthly fee to users.
UBS predicts that the subscription economy will double in growth to $1.5 trillion by 2025. This calls for an efficient way to keep track of monthly payments to make better financial decisions. Users often underestimate how much they are spending on subscriptions.
The multiple monthly payments may be draining their wallets without them realizing it, especially when it comes to subscription services they don't use much. In addition, I also found that:
I gathered 20 participants to conduct interviews with the goal of getting information about how they handle their subscription services.
Questions asked to the participants:
I extracted data that helped me study the users' pain points.
Now that I had enough data to work with, I could identify the user pain points:
Users find it difficult to take good financial decisions if they can't monitor how much they spend on subscriptions they might not remember they have.
How might we inform users about their subscription billing history in an easy and straightforward way?
To organize the ideas I came up with, I used a mind map and took it from there. As a result, I came up with even more ideas such as providing insights about their spending and payment due push notifications.
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I needed to see if other companies were doing the exact same thing I had in mind. I did find some products that did something similar. This will help me find that competitive edge.
Truebill has a feature that help users manage their subscriptions and also cancel them if they wish to do so. They also offer data and insights regarding user spending.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Trim works similar to Truebill. However, Trim acts like your personal financial assistant. It will analyze recurring subscriptions and determine where you can save more money.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
There is an opportunity to solve the problem by creating a subscription tracking application so that users no longer worry about how much they are spending on subscriptions and their next payment date.
They will be able to see billing history, cancel subscriptions, know the next payment date, automatic renewal notifications, and change the payment method of a subscription in just one place.
Unlike Truebill and Trim, it won't need sensitive data such as bank account or credit card number to use the service. It will be straightforward.
Let's visualize the user journey of Jamie, who just started a trial for a music app. There's one problem: the subscription automatically renews in one month, and she would have to pay the regular subscription price until she decides to cancel it.
Here's how she navigates this issue with the help of Subscription Tracker, our solution.
Before making paper wireframes, I wanted to map out two important actions: adding an account to Subscription Trackr and such as simply viewing subscription details easily.
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This is how the process of adding a subscription to the app is like. The purpose is to keep it as simple as possible. It only asks for the email or usename and password associated with the subscription.
This is for when a user wants to search a subscription to see the details of it. Likewise, the purpose is to keep it simple.
The user will receive through push notifications any news regarding their subscriptions, particularly declined payments and automatic renewals.
Instead of having users delete or modify a specific subscription's payment method directly on fields, I added a digital wallet feature. From there, they can delete a payment method or choose another one they added previously. If they have a payment method selected, they can't delete it. To do so, they must choose another payment method first to avoid any issues with the bank.
I had the idea of making it look like a dashboard to showcase information in a way that is easier to digest rather than just placing a bunch of data in one space. The cards UI pattern organizes the data and categorizes it to lessen the cognitive load.
My intention was to create something scalable that handles a wide variety of data because there is a possibility that there will be new quantifiable information added to this page in the future.
Users can see posted payments from a specific date, by amount, and other parameters. The goal is to assist users with their financial planning. It's important they are able to access a detailed view of their billing history to visualize their expenses.
Users have the ability to customize what they want to see. The goal of this app is to be as adaptable as possible and adjust to individual user needs.
Here is the password reset flow. Instead of simply instructing users to create a password that matches certain criteria, I listed the requirements, and the requirements will indicate progress towards meeting all the criteria.
I used a remote moderated usability test to see how users navigate the app, how complex is it to find what you're looking for in it, and to challenge the assumption that this app is simple to use.
To do that, I focused on four important tasks you can perform using Subscription Tracker.
The participants had to perform the following four tasks while thinking aloud:
After finishing the four tasks, I asked them four questions to see how their overall experience was and if the product is of value to them.
I had six participants complete the usability test. Based on their responses and what I observed from the usability test, I gathered the following insights:
"It couldn't have been easier. I have just about everything I need to know about my subscription."
"It's so good for when I forget to cancel an automatic renewal."
"I would have preferred to see all my subscription from the get-go on the homepage."
"If I make a change to my subscription through the official website, will this application reflect those changes? That's something I should know. Other than that, I love this idea and it would make everything easier."
This project was done with a limited budget and resources, which affected how much we could invest in the testing phase. This is because the client I worked with is an individual, and not a business that makes money to fund these projects.
Designing this product taught me something valuable: to make the most out of your resources, and that iterating is important.
Despite the limitations, I managed to gather plenty of participants for my user research and establish a good relationship with the client to understand their needs and goals.
Regarding iteration, I learned how helpful it is to do this on the early stages of the product development lifecycle just like we did now. Quick resolution of usability problems and gathering user feedback during the early stages prevents problems later on.
