Pret A Manger

Pret A Manger wanted to create a payment and loyalty app for their U.S. customers that would build on Pret’s celebrated ‘Joy of Pret’ loyalty by surprising customers with treats and menu items to try. Pret knew usability and design would be key to the new app being loved by their customers – that’s where Ethology came in.

Working alongside retail app specialist, LevelUp and using their core app as a base, we began by mapping user journeys for all sections of the app, including where user actions would trigger system or marketing emails. We developed the user flows into fully functioning wireframe prototypes and delivered these, along with a full interaction model outlining all app screen transitions and interaction behaviour, to LevelUp’s development team. We then created a concept design that brought the look and feel of a Pret shop into the app and showcased the app’s unique payment and loyalty mechanic.

Working with Pret’s U.K. and U.S. marketing teams, we organised a one-month closed customer trial of the beta version of the app across all Pret shops in Washington D.C., including a lab-based user testing study to validate the app’s Information Architecture and interaction behaviour, and focus groups with trial participants to stress test creative routes. The results of the customer trial informed a number of revisions to feed into the launch version of the app.