Reducing and understanding order cancellations

Problem Statement

Washmen’s mobile app was experiencing a high rate of order cancellations, resulting in significant revenue loss.

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Objectives

1. Understand the root causes of order cancellations
2. Implement design changes to reduce cancellation rates
3. Improve data collection on cancellation reasons

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Research and Analysis

We began by analyzing the available data on order cancellations. Key findings included:

1. Unreliable cancellation reason data: Nearly 40% of cancellations were categorized as "Ordered by accident" which was too vague to provide actionable insights.
2. The cancellation process is too easy, without any defenses set up
3. Identified pain points: Among the more specific reasons, we found that:
   • 10% of cancellations were due to users forgetting to place their laundry bags outside their doors, or because of driver lateness
   • 13% wanted to reschedule their collection times

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Design Solutions

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New Cancellation Flow

Implemented an intermediate step prompting users to contact customer service, to resolve their issues without cancelling their orders

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Clearer Cancellation Reasons

Redesigned the cancellation reason selection screen with more specific options, and bigger click areas on the buttons.

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Randomized Cancellation Reasons

We added a shuffle mechanism that randomizes the order of cancellation reasons presented to users. This prevents data skewing that could occur if users consistently select reasons closest to their thumb position, hence ensuring a more accurate distribution of cancellation reasons, leading to better insights for future improvements

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Proactive Communication

Added push notifications and in-app banners to remind users to place their bags outside

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Increased Flexibility‍

Designed a new feature allowing users to reschedule collection times as long as the driver hasn't started the task

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Results

After implementing these changes over a 3-month period

• Overall cancellation rate decreased by 26%
• 32% of users who initially attempted to cancel their order were successfully retained after contacting customer service
• The rescheduling feature was used by 8% of customers, directly preventing potential cancellations

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