GasBuddy is a smartphone app connecting drivers with their Perfect Pit Stop™. With nearly 70 million downloads, GasBuddy is the leader in crowdsourced information to help drivers find the best gas prices, stations and much more. GasBuddy is the leading source for the most accurate, real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the U.S, Canada and Australia.
In order to ensure accurate pricing and provide a fun experience for all users, GasBuddy needed to establish a baseline of the price reporting process. The focus of this study was understanding how users report pricing, the context in which they report and how to encourage more frequent reporting to keep prices accurate.
My Role
I was tasked with gaining a deep understanding of the users – who they were, their driving behaviors and habits and how they use the GasBuddy app.
Problem Statement: Users are not reporting prices because the process for doing so is confusing.
Process
UX Methodology: Phone Interviews
Design Stack: Customer Journey & User Flows
Project Length: 3 weeks
Discovery
I needed to understand driver needs and behavior. Do they make a plan before hitting the road? How and where do users report prices to GasBuddy? Is the reporting flow clear?
I had 42 pre-scheduled phone interviews with GasBuddy users who had reported gas prices within the preceding month. This allowed me to gather feedback from users in different geographical areas to provide rural, suburban and urban perspectives and account for differences in gas policies and laws.
I would have preferred to also ride along with a user for immersive context, but did not have any local respondents. Instead, I hopped in the car with a friend to test out the process for ourselves.
Key Insights:
- Users are motivated to report prices by contributing to the community and returning the favor of saving them money.
- The process for reporting prices could be shortened by eliminating steps. Reducing the number of clicks will also make the reporting process safer for those on the road.
- Users found the Quick Report feature confusing and avoided using it. Clarification of how it works could increase frequency of reporting.
Recommendations
How might we…
Create… a better process to report gas prices
For… non-“power users”
To… easily and safely help the community
And improve… the overall user experience of the app and increase frequency and number of users who successfully report prices?
I only have a moment to update all the prices I can see, including at multiple stations, before the light changes.
User stories
- As a user, I want to report gas prices, so I can help the community.
- As a user, I want to be able to update prices quickly, so I can submit a report before the stoplight turns green.
- As a user, I want to see the nearest station automatically, so I can more quickly report the gas prices.
Task Analysis
For a user who is trying to update prices, the current interface has extra features and steps, especially if they are on the road. Hiding the less-important features used while on the road would reduce the potential for missclicks and simplify the flow for users.
There are several potential solutions to streamline the flow for users. One option to consider is creating an onboarding process for users to set preferences and create a profile. Another would be to disable those features if the app senses a user is in motion. A third could be incorporating voice control.
Regardless of what might best simplify the process, we have to consider what will improve the app experience for the majority of users, not just those reporting prices. Additionally, we will have to make changes incrementally and test along the way because users are familiar with the current UI.
Next Steps
Next, I will work with the design and engineering teams to come up with concepts and conduct usability tests to incrementally improve the overall app experience.