What is Fetch?
Fetch is a mobile app that rewards users with points for specific actions like scanning receipts, shopping online, engaging with partner products, and other activities within the app. These points can be redeemed for gift cards from popular retailers.
What is Point Boost?
Point Boost is Fetch's always-on earning mechanic, designed to give users a consistent way to accumulate points every time they spend with partner brands.
Role
Lead Product Designer
Timeline
3 Months (Q3-Q4 2024)
Team Formation
Design, Product, Engineering, Business Development, Marketing, GTM
The Problem
Fetch's traditional point model only highlighted point earning for single, static product purchases. (Ex: Buy product X, earn 100 points) This framework surfaced the following gaps for the always-on mechanic:
Partner differentiation: Always-on campaigns often blended into the app’s existing offer landscape, making it difficult for brands to stand out.
User expectation mismatch: Many users were confused about the best way to maximize their points with partner brands. Users expected more straightforward ways to accumulate points across their purchases.
As a result, users's were confused, partner ROI was inconsistent, and users lacked momentum to accelerate earnings.
Problem illustration. Confusion on what and how many points can be earned.
Problem Recap —
Unclear path to value: Users were confused about how to maximize points with partner brands.
Inconsistent engagement: Uneven user motivation and unpredictable partner ROI.
Project Goal
Transform an underutilized, always-on mechanic into a scalable feature that gives users a clear, exciting way to earn more points while helping brand partners drive visibility and campaign performance.
Alignment
Team Alignment
As a team, we quickly recognized that we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel - the foundation for “always-on” earning already existed in Fetch. But the way it was presented created confusion. What was called “loyalty points” was tucked away with minimal visibility, displayed as “1% back,” and often misunderstood. The math wasn’t intuitive, and users struggled to grasp the value.
We aligned around the idea of elevating this mechanic through a stronger, more visual experience that would be clear and simple for users, while also becoming a lever partners could showcase. Because this direction required a coordinated front, we knew we had to be in lockstep across design, product, engineering, partnerships, and marketing - ensuring release announcements, campaigns, and in-app assets worked together to amplify the feature.
Team alignment. No need to reinvent the wheel.
User Alignment (Research)
User research studies uncovered two clear patterns:
Both new and long-time users described “X points per $1” opportunities as the most desired way to earn points due to its simplicity.
Showcasing this mechanic through "X points per $1" was deemed the most understandable way of estimating the total value of a future purchase.
Partner Alignment
Partners were increasingly hesitant to continue allocating budgets to the legacy “loyalty points” mechanic because the return was inconsistent and difficult to measure. The lack of visibility meant users often missed the value, which left brands questioning whether the spend was worthwhile.
Through new conversations, we aligned on reframing Point Boost as an independent, reliable source of return - not just an add-on to traditional offers. By elevating its visibility and performance, partners could begin to see Boost as a standalone investment channel.
Key stakeholder insights
Alignment Recap —
Design Phases
Current Experience Breakdown / Competitor Inspiration
We began by auditing the existing “loyalty points” experience. While the mechanic technically allowed users to earn “X points per $1,” it was hidden as a small line of text on brand cards and often went unnoticed. The value proposition was unclear, and the phrasing of “1% back” was difficult for users to translate into points. The experience lacked any compelling visual treatment.
Current Experience Breakdown/Audit. Fetch User & Partner POV.
We then started looking into the specifics that we uncovered - why it wasn’t sticky, why users didn’t trust or understand it, and what limited the partners’ return. During this period, we looked externally at how other companies structured always-on earning mechanics, and studied adjacent products that created sticky user behaviors. Duolingo, for example, became a key reference point for how visual treatments and feedback loops could turn small, repeated actions into highly engaging rituals.
Competitive Analysis
Project Release
Point Boost was released as a cross-functional initiative, positioned not just as a feature but as a new way for users to earn and for partners to invest. The launch included:
A phased rollout: Monitored performance, starting with a certain percentage of users before expanding.
Cross-functional teamwork: A coordinated GTM strategy, with marketing campaigns, partner announcements, and in-app placements working in unison to spotlight Boost as an everyday mechanic.
A dedicated Boost page: A clear entry point to explore relevant partners and provided brands with premium visibility.
By elevating what was once a hidden callout into a front-and-center experience, we ensured users immediately understood the value of Point Boost - and partners could finally see their budgets tied to consistent engagement.
Project Outcome
Individual performance
The launch of Point Boost transformed a hidden, underperforming mechanic into one of Fetch's most effective engagement drivers. By making the earning opportunity visible, consistent and partner-friendly, we delivered results across users, partners, and the business.
A combined performance
While each new feature in Fetch can perform individually, a combined effort with other verticals within the app prove to be even more beneficial. When Point Boost was combined with the Fetch offers, partners saw impressive results.
Reflecting back…
What went well:
Visibility drove engagement: Elevating Boost from a buried callout to a front-and-center experience created immediate adoption and stronger user habits.
Cross-functional alignment: Close coordination with engineering, partnerships, and marketing ensured Boost launched as both a feature and a campaignable asset.
What could've gone better:
Go for it - from the start! One of the tough moments in this project was having to reset after the first UI iteration. Looking back, I should've explored bolder, more unconventional ideas from the start and then refined, rather than starting safer and having to pivot later.
The next step: There was a clear opportunity for us to gamify the Boost flames visuals. Collecting those felt like the right step but given the resources and scope of the project we decided against that. I still wonder how that could've gone!