McDonald’s
Mobile App Transformation
When we started working with McDonald's in 2017, the mobile app faced significant challenges - primarily serving as a marketing vehicle with limited functionality, and cumbersome ordering flows causing substantial user abandonment. My role was to lead the Experience Design teams in transforming this into a frictionless commerce platform driving meaningful business results. Directing cross-functional teams of designers, researchers, and product specialists, we developed a comprehensive strategy to reimagine the mobile experience through a customer-centric lens. Our redesigned app needed to serve millions of daily users across the world while accommodating complex fulfillment options and creating a foundation for future capabilities like delivery integration and loyalty programs. This mobile transformation became the cornerstone of McDonald's digital acceleration, successfully converting occasional users into engaged customers through simplified, delightful interactions.
96%
Earned 4.8/5 star rating from 3.7 million app store reviews.
127M
Downloads of the app in 2022.
80%
Reduced ordering steps by 50% with 80% user approval.
#1
Achieved #1 position (surpassing Starbucks) globally for food and beverage app downloads.
-30s
Reduced average service time by 30 seconds.
Role
As Creative Director, I led mobile UX/UI design, conversion optimization, payment systems integration, and user research while directing teams through rapid prototyping and testing cycles.
Task
I was tasked with leading the Experience Design team in reinventing the mobile app as a primary ordering and engagement channel with frictionless experiences.
Action
Directing the creative vision, I implemented a "Path to Frictionless" strategy to identify and remove friction points, redesigned the ordering flow, created innovative payment solutions, integrated McDelivery directly within the app, and developed new fulfillment options.
Result
The transformed app achieved the #1 position globally for food and beverage app downloads, earned a 4.8-star rating from 3.7 million reviews, generated $1.2B in app sales revenue in 2019 (growing to contribute to $40B across digital channels in 2022), and reduced average service time by 30 seconds.
Before vs After
(2017 — 2021)
When we started working with McDonald’s in 2017, we faced a significant challenge: transforming a marketing-led app into a frictionless ordering platform. Through comprehensive research across 13 global markets and analysis of competitor experiences, we identified key friction points in the customer journey. The results were transformative - we reduced ordering steps by 50%, streamlined customization options, and created a flexible framework that easily accommodated new initiatives like loyalty programs and delivery integration. User approval ratings reached 80%, validating our user-centric approach to redesigning the mobile experience from the ground up.
Order Your Way: Multiple Fulfillment Pathways
The McDonald's mobile experience needed to support a complex ecosystem of fulfillment options, creating seamless transitions regardless of how customers chose to receive their food. We designed integrated solutions for multiple touchpoints:
Drive-Thru: Streamlined the check-in process with QR codes and voice recognition technology that reduced wait times and improved order accuracy.
McDelivery: Evolved from a two-app experience to a fully integrated solution within the McDonald's app, allowing customers to order, track, and receive their food without switching platforms.
Curbside: Created a frictionless location-based solution that automatically notified restaurant staff when customers arrived, eliminating the need for customers to call the restaurant.
Front Counter: Simplified the mobile order pickup process with clear visual indicators and streamlined queue management.
Table Service: Implemented a digital table marker system that connected orders to specific restaurant locations, enhancing the dine-in experience.
Ready on Arrival: Developed intelligent timing algorithms that coordinated order preparation with customer arrival predictions, ensuring food freshness without unnecessary waiting.
Each fulfillment method was designed with specific friction points in mind while maintaining a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints. This omnichannel approach allowed McDonald's to meet customers wherever they were, on their own terms.
Streamlining the Mobile Ordering Experience
The original McDonald's app ordering flow suffered from excessive steps and complexity, causing significant user drop-off between browsing and completing purchases. Our research identified key friction points that were frustrating customers and limiting adoption of mobile ordering.
By focusing on user behavior patterns and conducting multiple rounds of usability testing with 225 participants, we completely reimagined the ordering process. The new streamlined experience reduced steps by 50% while maintaining all essential functionality. We simplified menu navigation, made item customization more intuitive, and created clear visual indicators for the ordering journey through three key stages: Browse, Order, and Review.
The redesigned customization flow was particularly successful, breaking complex choices into simple, digestible decisions that guided users through the process without overwhelming them. This approach preserved the flexibility customers wanted while dramatically reducing cognitive load and confusion.
The results validated our approach with an 80% approval rating, demonstrating that by reducing friction and streamlining the experience, we could significantly improve both customer satisfaction and conversion rates. This formed the foundation for future enhancements, including personalization features like saved favorites and recent orders.
Setting the Stage for MyMcDonald’s Rewards
As part of our strategic roadmap, we introduced McCafé Rewards as a critical test environment for loyalty functionality within the U.S. market. This dedicated rewards component allowed us to validate user engagement patterns while creating valuable account relationships ahead of the comprehensive MyMcDonald's Rewards program launch.
The app redesign had initially reduced marketing's prominence to prioritize commerce, creating the need for new promotional frameworks. We developed flexible splash screens and immersive templates that marketing teams could deploy independently, integrating promotional touchpoints that complemented rather than disrupted the ordering experience while providing measurable conversion data.
These initiatives worked together to transform customer perception from a deals-focused platform to a comprehensive digital experience, increasing engagement frequency and building the foundation for MyMcDonald's Rewards. By implementing these intermediate steps, we ensured a smoother transition to the full loyalty program while maintaining the frictionless ordering experience that defined our redesign.
MyMcDonald’s Rewards
Building on our revolutionary mobile app transformation, we tackled McDonald's next digital frontier: loyalty. As Creative Director, I led the development of MyMcDonald's Rewards—a program that didn't just complement our digital ecosystem, it supercharged it. Enrolling 21 million members in just six months and growing to 150 million active users globally, this program transformed casual diners into engaged brand advocates. By seamlessly integrating points-earning into the existing app experience, we created the world's fastest-growing loyalty program in food service, driving $20B in systemwide sales and increasing order frequency to 4x the normal rate.
McDonald’s Case Studies
(2017 — 2022)
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MyMcDonald's Rewards
Building customer loyalty at unprecedented global scale.
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Digital Transformation
Revolutionizing how millions experience the world's largest restaurant brand.
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Global Design System
Unifying McDonald's global digital presence through systematic design.