Tip revenue ($)
[My Role]
Lead Designer
UXR
[Platform]
Andrioid
Handheld & POS
[Timeline]
3 months
Over 140,000 restaurant owners across the U.S. rely on Toast point-of-sale (POS) devices to manage customer orders and payments. Within this flow, the tipping screen plays a critical role in the checkout experience, as restaurant workers’ earnings depend heavily on the gratuity customers choose at this moment.
Problem
After COVID-19, customers clenched their wallet, leading to a significant drop in tip income for restaurant workers. This decline introduced business risks for Toast, including potential subscription churn and ARR loss, reflected in decreases in tip revenue, tip completion rates, and POS retention.
Tip screen completion rate
POS churn rate
PM and I collaboratively conducted surveys and interviewed restaurant owners to empathize with their concerns and to investigate the causes of the tip decrease outside of external factors.
Previous design
Pain point
Selecting a tip, signing, and tapping "continue" created unnecessary friction that drove customers to walk away
Hypothesis
Over 60% of tip selections were "No Tip," likely driven by its placement as the first and most prominent option on the screen
First iteration & Testing
1st iteration
Remove "signature" to simplify tipping
Hypothesis: If we reduce interaction steps by removing the signature requirement and completion button, it will increase tip completion rates.
Result
Removing the signature step increased tip completion rate, yet there was still room to improve overall tip revenue.
Second iteration & Testing
2nd iteration
Reframe choice hierarchy to guide higher tips
Hypothesis: If we prioritize higher suggested tips and reducing the visual prominence of “No tip”, it will nudge customers toward higher tips.
➡️ Prioritize higher suggested tips
➡️ Reduce visual prominence of “No tip”
Result
The iteration was successful as tip income increased beyond our goal expectation. Ultimately, we were confident to roll the redesign GA.
Third iteration & Testing
3rd iteration
Add a fourth suggested tip option
Hypothesis: If we add a fourth suggested tip, it will better accommodate user tipping ranges and increase overall tip selection.
Result:
More choices increased decision friction
Adding an additional tip option increased decision time, which led to more customers abandoning the tipping step without making a selection.
Light mode
POS
Dark mode
POS
Light mode
Handheld
Dark mode
Handheld
Thank you
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