Tamara Smart
Tamara Smart is Tamara’s first membership program, created to enhance the repayment experience through exclusive benefits and greater financial flexibility. Working in collaboration with a Senior Product Designer and closely partnering with Brand Designers, I designed the activation and cancellation flows, from user research through to launch.
Loyal Tamara users felt unrewarded, tracking multiple payment dates caused ongoing anxiety, and users had no protection when merchants failed to deliver. Without addressing these, Tamara risked losing its most engaged users.
We pooled all payments to the 1st of the month, introduced cashback and buyer protection for members, and built a seamless opt-in flow from checkout. The program achieved a 10% adoption rate within its first two months and has since become one of Tamara's core revenue drivers.
Starting with Research
To understand how a membership program can be beneficial for our users we took a step back and with the help of a UX Researcher conducted 20 in-depth user interviews to understand their current pain points using Tamara today. These 3 main pain points were uncovered:
Lack of rewards for loyal users
Loyal Tamara users felt they deserved exclusive benefits like discounts, premium support, and rewards to acknowledge their continued engagement.
Anxiety after using Tamara
After using Tamara, many users felt stressed, constantly keeping track of multiple payments. This led to feelings of anxiety and a negative emotional association with Tamara.
Lack of Protection from Tamara
Users expected Tamara to provide protection when ordering from merchants that accept Tamara. They wanted assurance that if a merchant scammed them or if their items didn't match the online description, Tamara would step in to support them.
"It's very stressful keeping track of all my payments on different dates"tamara user
Brainstorming and First Solutions
Since memberships were already common in the GCC, we took an innovative approach to our program to help it stand out.
In our first iteration, we decided to give users as much flexibility as possible. Instead of paying a fixed amount each month, they could choose from three options for how much they wanted to pay. This solution was also backed by research showing that users prefer flexibility over a rigid payment schedule.
Iterations and Missteps
In our effort to create a unique membership experience that stands out in the market, we were tasked with designing an engaging yet novel user flow. While the goal was clear, we faced challenges in balancing usability with novelty.
Despite several iterations, the concept ultimately was too complex. Usability testing confirmed our hypothesis: the steep learning curve of the novel approach negatively impacted the program's usability.
What does success look like
Features that solve users main pain points.
Intuitive design users grasp instantly.
Successful user adoption of the MVP program.
Solutions
1 Monthly Pay Date
Pooling all user payments on the 1st of the month to match salary payments, making tracking easier and less stressful.
Simplified Opt-In flow
A seamless and intuitive opt-in flow from checkout, making it easy for users to discover Tamara Smart and join the program.
Rewarding loyal users
Introducing cashback, rewards, and buyer protection for Tamara Smart users, ensuring they feel valued and secure.
Simplifying onboarding flows
A simple onboarding flow that highlights payment screen changes for Tamara Smart members, helping users quickly adapt to the new UI.
Impact
After launching the Tamara Smart membership program, it achieved a 10% adoption rate in its first two months. Today, the program is one of Tamara's revenue drivers.
