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Powershop: Application

Application + User Experience

www.powershop.co.nz
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Read about the challenge, solution and result

The Challenge

When Meridian Energy launched an alternative online energy retailer into New Zealand’s electricity landscape, it needed to build a product and service experience as well as a brand. From day one, Powershop was category breaking. Powershop sought DNA's help to define how best to present an interactive design solution and user experience that would allow customers to understand the concept, sign up and switch easily, and become confident users of the service. The objective was to visualise electrical power, to mitigate consumer confusion around industry standards and jargon and to deliver a user-friendly, action-oriented interface.

The Solution

To start with we interviewed a variety of customers on how to deliver the service experience, and confirmed the inherent mismatch between customer and industry speak. The first and greatest challenge was to align customers’ priorities, language, interests and values with existing industry models and metrics. That meant finding new ways to package and offer units of power, and new ways to enable consumers to decide what mattered to them in terms of price, time considerations and choice.

DNA's initial input was to undertake user testing and modeling, the results of which helped define how best to design and build a solution and user experience. The application needed to help customers understand the principle of managing their own electricity supply and to reinforce their sense of control in purchasing electricity for themselves. Both of these were a new 'mental model'.

The experience principle 'simplicity and ease' guided the visual design and interaction design. The complex business of choosing a specific power option, provider and period to purchase, and of assessing options for customers to enter their own readings, and gauge their usage and cost and sustainability choices as a household, was made simple.

Launched in February 2009, the site and application were a collboration between DNA, YouDo and Powershop teams.

The Result

Powershop has been voted New Zealand's top power company two years running, and won the Innovation category at the inaugural Onya awards in 2010. Customers can now get updates and alerts, enter meter readings and buy power with the Powershop mobile iPhone app.

Powershop is a product and user experience that has been constantly improved from day one, and has set the benchmark for what a power company should be in New Zealand.