Refer a Friend
Refer a Friend
Embedded Files
Turning 4M+ monthly app users into a low-cost acquisition engine by building a peer-to-peer referral experience in the 7-Eleven App.
COMPANY
COMPANY
7-Eleven
PRODUCT
PRODUCT
7-Eleven Consumer Native App
ROLE
ROLE
Lead UX Designer
DURATION
DURATION
February - September 2026
My Role
I owned the end-to-end design experience for 7-Eleven's referral program while collaborating with functional partners from content strategy, product, visual design, data analytics, and engineering teams. My primary responsibilities included conceptualizing and designing happy path and edge-cases, developing usability testing plans to validate designs with real-everyday users, and stakeholder presentations to get executive leadership buy-in.
Problem
7-Eleven's new-user acquisition relied entirely on paid channels, driving high business costs. Prospective users who engaged in registration recognized limited value in creating an account, leading to an increase in abandonment during onboarding.
Design Opportunity
How might we complement paid acquisition channels with a referral program that offers a valuable incentive exchange to existing customers, while also giving potential new customers a meaningful reason to join the 7-Eleven app?
Defining the Users
Existing App Users
Prospective App Users
What are their needs?
Existing app users entertained the concept of "sharing the love" if they had a positive experience with the 7-Eleven app.
Prospective app users appreciate "instant gratification" of a tangible reward that is being shared from a person with whom they have an established level of trust and confidence.
The Reward Structure
The recommendation was to launch a Points-based referral program while building the architecture to support a potential switch to a different reward.
With scalability in mind, I began to strategize from a user experience perspective, and set a foundational framework with my designs.
Key Design Decision #1:
I desgined a hub that accommodates for all things Refer a Friend related, including program rules, how-it-works touchpoint housing FAQs, and a sticky component for the sharing mechanisms.
To create a motivating experience for the Referrer, the designs were crafted based on the following User Experience reccomendations:
Low barrier to entry: build a simple program rule that only requires referee to create an account, taking the burden off new users to complete an unfamiliar task, such as completing an eligible purchase.
Simple invite mechanism: support low-effort sharing functionalities.
Clarify reward conditions: reduce ambiguity around eligibility and required actions.
Key Design Decision #2:
I engaged in thorough competitive analysis of other referral programs to define a simple "invite friend' functionality: Share via Referral Link or Code.
To create a seamless experience for the Referee, the messaging was framed based on the following User Experience recommendations:
Value anchoring on Loyalty Points: explain what points are worth.
Smartlink embedded in pre-filled message: when referrer taps "Share link", their unique referral link is paired with a pre-filled message explaining the value of rewards given to a new user as soon as they complete registration.
Key Design Decision #3:
To promote the program in the app and increase discoverability, I designed 3 key entry points from where users can navigate to the Refer a Friend Hub. I leveraged existing assets that historically reported high-engagement including the Key Action Tile and Marketing Tile on the homepage.
Validating designs with users: Usability Testing
To validate the experience, I partnered with the UX Research team to test the designs with two groups: Existing App users, and Non-App users / Non-Customers. We conducted moderated sessions with a total of 12 users and walked through flows including:
Program discoverability in the app
How to invite friends
Receiving a referral reward, and where to view this earned reward
The insights from the usability testing sessions revealed user pain points and delights that helped me validate my design decisions and assumptions, while also shining light on areas that required experience improvements. I was able to watch users engage firsthand with my designs, which strengthened my empathy and excitement to create seamless digital experiences that make life a little more easy!
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