INTRODUCTION



Is this you? - you’re a busy working Millennial. Maybe you’ve finally got that well-paying job you’ve dreamed of, you’re super social and like to go out with friends on the weekends. Sound familiar?

In recent times you’ve moved house to live with your partner and now you’re a bit more settled you decide to adopt a dog from the dog shelter. Her name is Rosie.

You love your dog, she’s very happy and energetic; she is a border collie after all.

However, she is also a bit of a handful and with your busy schedule you realise you can’t always give Rosie the attention she needs.
You’ve tried asking friends and family for help - but sometimes they aren’t available, and Rosie is getting anxious about being left at home for long periods. 


Then one day you stumble across a new dog-walking app recommended by a friend which connects dog owners with professional dog walkers.

Introducing Sense of Smell

Sense of Smell is a new-age app, designed for busy working millennials. It works like a dating app, where you swipe left or right to match your dog with a potential dog carer in your area.

“Sense of Smell” is a play on words to describe the importance of sussing out a potential match for your dog, as a generation who seeks to humanise pets and more and more.

It is playful and seamlessly convenient.

Now dog owners can book a walk or service of care with someone nearby with customisable features for you to select based on you and your dog's needs as well as detailed yet easy-to-view profiles of carers to aid and establish trust.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Problem: Dog owners sometimes need help caring for their pet and seek a way to connect with reliable and trustworthy pet carers near them.

Goals of the project:

• Establish a brand concept for a dog walking app that is inviting for the key target audience

• Design an app where dog owners can conveniently find and schedule services with dog carers

• Determine if the dog walking app is simple to get from sign up to book in 

Solution:

A unique application where busy millennial dog owners swipe left or right to match with trustworthy dog carers in their area.

Role: Product Designer | Emily Penn-Tonkin

Responsibilities: market research, user testing, user experience, user interface design and prototyping

DELVING INTO THE PROBLEM

– Finding a trustworthy individual to take care of their dog is a challenge and puts pressure on friends and family –

Research interviews were undertaken with 5 dog owners to understand what their biggest pain points are when looking for someone to take care of their dog.


In most cases, it was found that the top reasons for dog care are when:

• away from home

• need to spend long hours spent at the office and

• are in need of specialised care - grooming or behavioural training

It was also found that they would typically seek out friends or family members to look after their dog.

However, when friends and family aren’t available they would seek out a dog walking service/ application.

Of those interviewed, using a dog app was mostly seen as a last resort whereby friends and family members cannot do it.

The research demonstrated that individuals cherish their dog and the relationship they have, in the same way, they do a member of the family therefore, finding the right fit is hugely important, and a big factor in this is knowing that they could trust the dog walker/person.

Pain points

Nice to haves

MARKET RESEARCH

– Competitor analysis and market research revealed Millennials amongst the largest group of pet owners and pet care usage in Australia –

Amongst the Australian landscape, I identified 3 main players and assessed their strengths and weaknesses in order to better inform the market opportunity for a new pet care application.

Top 3 Competitors: (Australian landscape)

• Mad Paws

• Pawshake

• PetCloud

A summary of strengths included:

• Lots of diversity offered in services, on top of pet walking - ideal for those looking for a one-stop shop for pet care

• Flexible options available, including; one off-services, regular services, catering for different types of pets and varying price points which make it a customisable and tailored experience for users in differing circumstances

• Profiles of the walkers are very detailed with photos and a snapshot into their personality, which is a key opportunity to begin to establish trust

• Testimonials and star-based ratings allow you to see first-hand what other people have objectively experienced with their animals - therefore you don’t have to take the application's word for it

• Location based services allow you to search in an area nearby for greater convenience no matter where you are located

• Gated checkout makes you contact the owner first to confirm that the requirements do match, based on their profile before booking - therefore emphasising that finding the right dog carer match is more important and instant booking

A summary of weaknesses:

• Multi steps to payment may be cumbersome for others who are looking to lock a walker in immediately, with no “book now” option, only contact walker

• There isn’t any badge for additional certifications or qualifications; no highly rated feature Ui is basic - lacks intimacy to the customer base

Interestingly a few years ago (2018), MadPaws entered into a partnership with Qantas, allowing Qantas members to earn points through the dog-walking app. This indicates an interesting opportunity for companies to partner where values align and offer consumers additional value through loyalty-based programs.

Market opportunity: There is a gap in the market to create a truly immersive experience for millennial dog owners to help them match with popular dog walkers in their area in a way that speaks to how they operate online. Millennials pride themselves on treating their pets like children.

Further analysis into the market revealed that over two-thirds of Australian households own at least one pet and that the pet care industry in Australia has grown 7.4% per year on average between 2018 - 2023 and is projected to keep growing. 

Additionally, household expenditure on pets has increased over the past five years, with more people taking to online platforms for pet care since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The largest demographic of those owning a pet is millennials (25-39) and families with children under 18 (Source: RSPCA Australia). Eventually, incorporating additional add-ons that take into consideration the increased uptake in pet pampering and pet humanisation will open up doors to offer more holistic services across a pets whole lifestyle. i.e. pet food, outfits, toys, care, vet services etc.

UNDERSTANDING THE USER

– Say hi to pet owner James and his dog Rosie –

Based on the market research and marketing opportunity, I created James – the primary target user, who is a busy professional and lives in urban Melbourne (age 29).

Creating this persona allowed me to recognise the key target audiences' needs, experiences, behaviours and goals and aided in my goal of creating a seamless and user friendly experience for my target user group.

USER FLOW

– The application journey for James, from sign up to booking 

–

Before getting to the design, I created this user flow to understand how James would get from signing up to booking. This allowed me to evaluate the ease at which he could navigate through the app and make necessary adjustments by identifying possible points of friction.

IDEATION AND WIREFRAMES

– Laying out the design process, navigating placement and features –

Knowing that dog owners usually have busy schedules and a lot going on in their lives I designed a simple concept that would be as straightforward as possible for the users felt it was important to explain the concept in some intro screens for users so users could get a quick feel for what it entailed but also for users who may not be that familiar with dating apps.

DESIGN SYSTEM

– Creating connection with visual design 
–

When coming up with the visual design for this application, I chose colours that would resonate with the age group, making it slightly playful but also with neutral tones - to evoke trust.

SOLUTION AND TESTING

Going back to the application, taking the user testing notes, I simplified the main screens and omitted elements that weren’t serving the purpose of getting dog owners towards their goal of booking in with a dog walker.

SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS

With this initial pilot project, I focused on creating something different in the market that would grab the attention of the millennial age group and help them establish trust through a gamified process that they may be familiar with.

For the next stages of the application, I would look at building out the calendar booking feature and the payment pathways. I would also continue to refine the pet profile page so that dog owners could add more features and quirks about their dogs - to make the experience even more customisable and ensure that they were not only matching with walkers based on their requirements but that walkers were matching with them based on how they could care for and handle the dogs unique needs.