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Grameenphone Retail App

A modern and digital distribution system connecting


Overview

While there was already a platform for sales executives to conduct their business, none existed for retailers who relied on simple button phones, notebooks and other manual functions. As part of Grameenphone’s digitization initiative, we approached the product design from the ground up by exploring our users’ context.

Goal

Empower our retail partners to drive our business to customers and increase incremental revenue

Retailers work on commission model and desire accurate income details to avoid manual bookkeeping and let them focus on the business​​​​​​​

Challenges

Onboard non-tech-savvy retailers in using smart phones to sell products and provide services to GP’s customers and drive businesses

Retailers work on commission model and desires accurate income details to avoid manual bookkeeping

Outcome

300,000+ Retailers adopted to date

Additional 15% of Balance Recharges via App as of Q3-2021

Insights from the field

Retailers are frustrated by inaccurate commission information received from the USSD asystem, so they have to tediously keep track of their businesses

Retailers are habituated to using to low-cost button phones to make transactions request information from GP’s system, which often didn’t matched their own personal bookkeeping efforts.

The objective was to remove these manual burdens from them so that they can focus on their sales and not on tediously tracking information

A series of images - a worn out button phone, a transaction happening at a store, and a notebook full of numbers and data

Synthesis & Information Architecture

It was crucial to design the information architecture before we went any deeper. We card sorted the insights from our research to do this, and with stakeholder vision in mind – we crafted a modular structure that would allow us to add or remove features as needed.

With the IA in place, we worked on paper sketches to iterate quickly and testing in-house to iron out major kinks in our ideas. Some design variations resonated more with our retailers than others, and those we built on.

Images of IA & Research

The prototypes

Screenshot of Homepage of App

Recharge

The Recharge tool is the retailer’s core business action – they perform simple balance top ups, activate data or voice packs via specific trigger amounts, or pay bills for post paid customers

This solution tries to answer these most common situations:

  1. What is my digital wallet balance?
  2. What offers does this customer have?
  3. What are the current trigger packs?

Commission Details

Every single retailer works on a commission model, earning a nominal amount for each transaction or sale. Users wanted this information available at a glance

Like other solutions – this too answers important questions for the retailer:

  1. What is my total income?
  2. What is my total income this month, and how did I do last month?
  3. Where did I make the most commission on a specific category?

Screenshot of Sales Commissions page of App
Screenshot of Sales Commissions page of App

Sale History

Retailers often want to check their sale history – whether for personal verification or to verify succesful transactions with customers.

As most sales have a transaction can see the last few recharge transaction, as well as whether the transaction itself was successful or a fail.

Growth & Engagement

As the service matured and the most basic features were implemented, our vision turned towards growth and engagement – how we could build on the momentum of something new and keep engaging the retailers to adopt this platform as their only means of providing service to the end-customers.

Screenshot of Loyalty Page of App

Reflections

The Cockpit project (SE & Retail) has spanned several years with hundreds of iterations, tests, field research, and intense discussions during which we learned new things every day.

Session Time Out – A poor security measure

For retailers, an auto log-out feature was introduced as a security measure which affected their business, more than helped their security

Alternative security features are being explored to ensure users are comfortable with the system and their business is unhampered.

Basic Button Phones – The retailer’s best friend

A Retailer makes so many transactions that the number pad on their button phones wear out. Their move into a smartphone screen will not be as intuitive or smooth.

How can we best translate their physical tools into the digital world?

Memorized Data, Tablets, & User Preferences

Retailers spend a lot of time interacting with customers behind a desk. They do not have to be as mobile as sales partner counterparts.

Can we consider providing tablets instead of mobile phones to make their usage easier?