The Rounds is a direct-to-consumer service delivering everyday essentials, like cleaning supplies, pantry staples, and personal care items, in reusable containers that are collected, cleaned, and refilled to reduce single-use waste.
PROBLEM
The Rounds identified significant membership drop-off within the first few weeks of service use and encouraged us to explore broader opportunities for improving the customer experience.
OBJECTIVES
We aim to better integrate The Rounds into people’s lives by understanding why users drop off early and how well they grasp the subscription model, while also exploring transparency around sustainability and product sourcing, site navigation, and packaging clarity.
DURATION
10 Weeks
TOOLS
Figma, ProtoPie & Maze
ROLE
Research & Prototyping
TEAM
Myself, Sean Meiser, Chase Engelmann, & Quynh Le
RESEARCH
HOW IT WORKS…
Customers choose from a variety of sustainable pantry to household items they want on subscription.
Groceries are delivered to your doorstep via e-bike or e-van weekly on your scheduled day.
Products packed in reusable containers, like glass jars, are picked up weekly whenever they're empty.
COMPETITORS
We focused on relevant areas competitors excelled in that could also improve The Rounds' user experience.
THRIVE MARKET
Thrive Market uses a longer onboarding to clearly communicate value and personalize recommendations, consistently accounting for dietary and allergen needs. This highlights an opportunity for The Rounds to better guide and tailor the user experience.
BOTTOMLESS
Bottomless uses a smart scale and learning algorithm to automate refills based on actual usage, with QR codes helping track remaining product. This reveals an opportunity for The Rounds to explore more adaptive, usage-based refill methods.
EARTH HERO
EarthHero clearly communicates product materials, sourcing, and sustainability on each product page, highlighting an opportunity for The Rounds to offer more detailed information on sourcing, packaging, and sustainability to meet user expectations.
MISFITS MARKET
Misfits Market builds excitement through rotating selections and limited shopping windows, offering a more sustainable and engaging model. This presents an opportunity for The Rounds to adopt similar elements.
INTERVIEWS
Sales Representative & Current User
The Rounds aims to prioritize “quality over quantity” and “change how commerce is delivered,” yet many users don’t feel their participation contributes to environmental impact, despite sustainability being one of the company’s core goals.
SURVEYS
79 responses
87%
want to see the expiration dates and ingredients on packaging
61%
share groceries with less than two people (including themselves)
58%
are less willing to compromise price for sustainability
STRATEGY
INSIGHTS SO FAR
We prioritized the most impactful areas we could address within our 10-week timeline.
Clarity Needed On
Environmental impact
The Rounds’ value
Service terminology
Improvements Needed In
Onboarding product recommendations
Packaging and QR code use
HOW MIGHT WE
01.
Improve onboarding to increase user retention
02.
Better communicate The Rounds’ values and services to potential users
03.
Utilize customers' preferences to enhance the flow of the current subscription model
04.
Revamp The Rounds' reusable containers system and aesthetic to comply with current packaging regulations
TESTING & IDEATION
USABILITY TESTING
We ran two rounds of testing on the current platform and our prototype across:
Main Site
Onboarding
Purchasing items
Receiving items
We observed…
Participants were confused by irrelevant product suggestions during onboarding
They preferred interfaces that felt familiar and aligned with Jakob’s Law
QR codes were seen as inconvenient and added unnecessary friction
"
"
"
I didn’t say I wanted any of this? Why am I getting this?
(referring to onboarding)
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
Onboarding | Purchasing Screens |
QR Scanner | Packaging & Labels
SUS SCORES
Before & After
27
69
Onboarding
We added more options to food and dietary preferences, "fun facts" about The Rounds during the loading screen, and allowed users to add a few relevant items, based on their preferences, to their first order rather than suggesting standard household items.
Purchasing
The hamburger menu was condensed for easy viewing and scrolling. You now edit items, view order status, and previous purchases on one screen. We also added a bag and a QR icon for a new scanner feature (see below).
PACKAGING & LABELS
Previous jars only had a QR code with no other labels, so we created new physical labels and QR codes for the jars.
The labels would be biodegradable and dissolvable.
Users preferred physical labels over just using QR codes
Added allergen warnings, packaging location, ingredients, content name, and size based on FDA guidelines
REFLECTION
NEXT STEPS
If I had 10 more weeks, I would...
Discover ways to convert their non-target audience, mainly the older generation, into consumers.
Interview more current users for insight
Find ways to utilize the app more when it comes to notifications
OUR IMPACT
Around 2-3 months after presenting and handing off a client book, The Rounds implemented some of our feedback into their next update.
Able to Buy Once
Can opt out of subscription; not all items need one
New Bag Icon
Added a new item counter for upcoming deliveries
Choose Delivery Day
More Transparency
'Sustainability' tab is more direct about where products are sourced and how they plan on being more efficient in the future.