Device Pricing Cards
Designing Pricing Cards With Clarity
Challenge:
As a consumer I know that when I am shopping I base most of my decisions off the price tag. When there isn't one I often times set the item down and walk away. During my time at Ensignal Wireless I sold cell phones. In stores there were cards above each phone that displayed basic information about the device. The name of the device, the retail value, payments divided by 24 months of the retail price, and text that stated: "Device with Accessory Bundle $99.99". The problem was that every card said $99.99 underneath a column that stated "Device Payment". This left customers confused and always asked, "Are all phones $100?" which I had to explain that the cards were trying to say that accessory bundles were $99.99 with a purchase of a phone. This then lead to further questions and took more time away from the sales process. Commission for sales reps depended on a customer purchasing a phone and an accessory bundle.
Customers who had to wait because there was a person ahead of them would begin to browse and have their eyebrows raise when they saw the cards, some would even leave the store because they would feel like they could find a better deal elsewhere. Because of poor design of these cards customers would often choose to decline the accessory bundle. Customers saw no value in what the card was presenting because every phone seemed to be priced at $99.99 with no other relevant information.
All devices displayed $99.99
Original pricing card
*Select images to enlarge
Research:
I began asking customers what information they thought should be displayed on the cards. What I found is that customers want to see the bottom line. I also discovered most customers were new to the idea of Device Payment which was the wireless carriers way of purchasing a new device. No longer were the days of purchasing a device on a two year agreement at a discounted price, which customers were familiar with for many years. New devices were purchased at retail cost but the cost would be divided over 24 months and put on their bill, the incentive was new discounted plans and discounted monthly device fees. Most people didn't understand how their monthly bill was broken down, let alone what they would expect to pay in store. What was required in store was the sales tax of the retail value of a device and even then some devices had an additional required down payment which was never found on the pricing cards. Subsequently, customers felt like they were getting a raw deal and would end up paying to much. If customers had a preview of what the cost of a new device would be with the new monthly plans they would see the savings. This is were my idea came from. Pricing cards that displayed the taxes due on a device in store with and without an accessory bundle, and the monthly cost of a device on new plans.
Monthly device fee changed
Device payment
*Select images to enlarge
Solution:
With the information I had gathered I designed an interactive one page PDF template in Adobe Acrobat that used simple logic calculating the cost a customer would expect to pay in store and what their monthly total would look like on multiple plans. I used Adobe Illustrator to design the graphics.
Atop of the card a sales rep would select the manufacture of the device from a dropdown menu, enter the model, and then enter what the retail cost of the device was. This was similar to how the previous pricing card would work. However, on my pricing card it would calculate and display a breakdown with the current tiers of monthly pricing, the monthly fee of the selected device (smartphone/tablet/basic phone), divide and include the retail cost by 24 months which would be the device payment, and what the in store cost would be for said device including the taxes with and without an accessory bundle. While the previous pricing card would just divide the retail value providing only what the monthly cost of the device was. Also when printed it would have the correct dimensions to fit in a plexiglass holder and all the information would be legible.
The newly designed pricing cards gave sales reps the option to easily pitch products on the sales floor without having to go behind the counter. It fully displayed all relevant pricing information to a customer so they could see what the actual price tag was for the device. The accessory bundle price was enlarged and next to it displayed a message stating (Best Value) and if applicable any required down payment. Which was also an easy way for a rep to dive into the sales process and explain the value of the accessories without the customer having to ask many questions. Lastly, underneath in smaller text displayed all the disclaimers that one would need to know when purchasing the device, which gave all the information a browsing or waiting customer would need to know when they are looking at their options.
First draft of how pricing card worked
Example of new pricing card
Pricing card backend
Pelxiglass holder
*Select images to enlarge
Old pricing card
New pricing card
*Video examples of old pricing card and new pricing card in use
Results:
I ran a trail with the new pricing cards in the store and within in month we had additional devices and accessories sales go through my door and when this tool was paired with my In Store/Monthly Sales Calculator we lead my entire district in accessory sales. Shortly after my district manager adopted the pricing cards in to all 5 of his stores with similar results. Then not long after that the entire company of Ensignal adopted my new pricing cards, over 100 stores began using it. No longer would customer question if devices were $100 they could clearly see the price. Often times customers would point and state, "I want that one" with no questions asked then they would be pleasantly surprised when they would receive an accessory bundle. In addition, It took less time to sell devices and gave reps an opportunity to pitch additional services or devices increasing their commission and increasing Ensignal's overall revenue.