Harkins Theatres

Concessions Online UX/UI

Currently available at Harkins Lake Pleasant - CINÉ GRILL, the ability to order concessions online (site and app) is a new feature for the theater chain.

Prototypes

Challenges

  1. One of the biggest hurdles was creating an entirely new flow and weaving it seamlessly into the existing one. There were precedents with other theater chains, but we needed a customized solution.
  2. Another obstacle with the introduction of a new dashboard and sets of user tools was visual hierarchy. The goal, as always, was to make the complex appear simple and intuitive.
  3. A third consideration was how best to balance the dual user journeys of guests opting for concessions delivered to their seat versus those choosing pickup at the concessions counter, and allowing the ability to alternate between them at any point.
  4. There was also the perennial challenge of streamlining for the limited real estate of mobile and app screens, compared to desktop.
  5. Lastly, what about Harkins Awards loyalty club members? How would concessions purchases be reflected within the "My Tickets" section of their personal dashboard?

Approach

  1. After initial team meetings to determine objectives and scope, we began a competitive analysis, thoroughly evaluating implementations that had already "solved the problem". Ultimately I proposed a modal/popup on the movie ticket checkout page as the concessions flow entrance, demonstrated with high-fidelity comps and a desktop prototype, as the start of a fully-branded path ending where it began, back at checkout.
  2. Building on our existing visual framework and 3-column layout, I set about organizing concessions elements by "buckets" our users were already familiar with. Staying within established formats, incorporating modals and hide/reveal functions judiciously and using strategic variations of brand characteristics from the Harkins Web Style Guide I authored allowed me to design a user-friendly experience while discreetly unveiling a brand new set of tools.
  3. The fork in the road at the concessions entrance was easy to illustrate. Users would choose either "Deliver to Seat" or "Guest Pickup" at the onset. However, once inside, going back-and-forth was not as straightforward. Going from "Guest Pickup" to "Deliver to Seat" was a one-click process. The reverse included an extra step, simply because users have to choose a pickup time. The solution was efficient modal utilization, once again, with available times refreshed automatically.
  4. With the desktop version mostly designed and approved, mobile and app required additional problem-solving. Overall, losing the left column with "Your Order" cart items was the biggest obstacle. My proposal was the introduction of a concessions-specific cart icon (ticket and popcorn), clearly different than the site's standard cart icon. Hiding concessions cart items by default on mobile and app, but keeping them immediately accessible with the new function, provided a clean and visually distinct solution.
  5. One of the final puzzle pieces was how to incorporate concessions options and purchases into Harkins Awards rewards members' dashboards. Within the "My Tickets" section, members already had access to their ticket purchases for upcoming movies. To reflect concessions add-ons, the obvious solution to me was the insertion of a new, delineated section within each virtual ticket.

Results

Once completed and thoroughly tested, we conducted a soft launch with minimal issues. Upon resolution, online concessions ordering was made fully available its flagship location, Harkins Lake Pleasant - CINÉ GRILL, where it continues to facilitate brisk sales. As a result, an incremental roll out to all locations is in execution.

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