FREVER
Style Battle: Improving Retention by 14%
As Frever aimed to create a more engaging experience for users, it faced a major challenge: transitioning from a social media app to an entertainment platform by adding gamification features.
For our product team, the key question was how to incorporate game elements in a way that felt both natural and engaging. It was a real challenge to figure out the best way to introduce these elements and identify the most interesting and relevant gamification features that would align with the app’s concept while also being fun to play.
Role: UX/UI design
Timeframe: Oct 2020 - Sep 2023
Team: Niklas, Ruizi, Joakim
Context
& Challenges.
Premise
The initial version of Frever was designed as a social media app with a familiar structure to other social media platforms. Users can create 3D avatars, utilize these avatars to produce videos, and watch others’ videos. Due to successful marketing efforts, we built a substantial fan base on TikTok. Many users were curious, "What is this app?" and "How can I download it?" This enthusiasm made the launch of Frever an exciting moment for us.
However, our excitement quickly turned to disappointment...
Despite good download numbers, the daily active users on Day 2 dropped dramatically, and by Day 7, the retention rate was nearly 0%. We faced a serious question: Why weren't users staying? We needed to identify the reasons and change our strategy to improve the retention rate.
How Might We
identify why users don't stay and then improve the retention rate?
User Interview.
To gather insights, we reached out to users by commenting on their videos and asking if they would be willing to join user interviews. We soon gathered some participants to join the user interview. We successfully collected their feedback and gained valuable insights.
User1
User2
Brainstorming.
To solve the problem of ‘not easy to use’ and ‘not fun enough’, we brainstormed several ideas, such as providing video templates to make video creation more straight forward, etc. However, none of these ideas received good feedback. This led us to really dig deeper into the question: “What is fun and easy?” Yeah...Games are usually fun and easy! How about we gamify Frever?
Ideation.
After brainstorming, we agreed to gamify Frever. We used storyboards and sketches to visualize our ideas and explore their feasibility. The storyboard illustrated the main steps in the user journey, while the rough sketches showcased possible interactions that would allow users to engage with the game.
Storyboard
Visualising concepts
Comparative
Analysis.
To comprehend style challenges from competitors, we conducted a competitive analysis to assess their strengths, weaknesses, user flows, and strategies. This provides valuable insights for enhancing our interaction flow.
Zepeto Runaway Z
👍 Real-time competition, allowing users to see other players and receive results within a single session.
👍 Have required themes, providing clear objectives to guide users on how to dress up.
👍 A wide selection range enables users to choose cameras, poses, and effects, not just limited to clothing assets.
❌ The app frequently crashes during gameplay.
❌ Unable to change body types during competition.
❌ Limited selection slots for assets.
Super Stylist
👍 Linear flow guiding users through dress up.
👍 Each style creation features a storyline, giving users motivation to create a style.
❌ Limited asset selection without spending money.
❌Style assessment made by computer, not real players, reduces the fun of playing.
Pocket Styler
👍 Style assessments are made by real players, making the game more engaging.
👍 The linear flow of item selection enhances engagement in the game.
❌ Players must fill all required slots, otherwise they can't proceed.
❌ Having three types of currency can be overwhelming for players initially.
Testing
& Iteration.
We developed the initial prototype and conducted user testing, starting with assessing their interest in the game mechanics. After gathering feedback, we delved deeper into the details and iterated on the user flow to enhance the experience.
Testing 1.0: How is the idea?
Since the game mechanics are new, we wanted to understand how users would react to the concept. The objective of this round of testing was to gather user feedback on their feelings about the idea and assess their level of interest in engaging with the game.
Result:
The style challenge game mechanism received positive feedback. Based on user testing, participants expressed strong interest in both understanding and playing the prototype. These results provide a solid foundation and give us confidence to continue exploring and iterating on the style battle flow.
Testing 2.0: Should we create a separate voting system?
After receiving positive feedback on the style battle concept and flow, we shifted our focus to how best to present the results. We considered options like system-generated scores or user voting. Following discussions with stakeholders, we agreed that real user votes would make the game more engaging. Based on our analysis of competitors' mechanics, we developed two potential flows and will now test them with users to gather feedback for further refinement
Flow A: Separate entrance for joining and voting
👍 Flow B: Integrated voting with joining
Result:
After conducting A/B testing, we concluded that Flow B, which combines voting for styles with dressing up, received higher ratings from users. "Voting is fun after styling, you want to see other styles after dressing up your own character," said one user. Additionally, Flow B provides a better balance between voting and challenge attendance within the app ecosystem, and it is also simpler from a development perspective. Considering these factors, Flow B is the preferred option.
Final Design.
Through multiple iterations and continuous user feedback, we refined our design. Each round of testing provided valuable insights that allowed us to optimize the user experience. By addressing pain points and enhancing key features, we achieved a design that not only met our initial gamification objectives but also exceeded user expectations. This feature continues to maintain high user engagement, even as we introduce additional features to the app.
Join Style Battle: Choose a style battle that interests you
A wide range of style battles are provided for users, allowing them to select the ones they are interested in.
Voting: Vote for your preferred style
Be the coolest judge and vote for the style that best matches the battle requirements.
Pick A Move & Scene: Let’s show your move
Showcase your style by choosing your favorite move and scene to better present your outfit and win the game.
Dress Up Character: Pick a stunning clothes to match the style
A collection of clothes is provided for users, making it fun to mix and match outfits to meet the battle requirements.
Impacts.
450+
2400+
12%
Better Retention rate