Context
The Escape Game planned a massive expansion of store locations nationwide and needed a better understanding of their target customer within a compressed timeline. Designs for future stores reflected a hypothesis that stores needed more production value and flair as soon as guests entered the lobby in order to intrigue and hook them into the experience.
Process
I proposed, planned, and led an accelerated user research sprint targetings store guests across three tiers of operation: small walk-in mall locations, medium outlet stores, and flagship destinations. To cover each tier, I visited stores in Nashville, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Houston.
My team performed user research at each location consisting of entry and exit interviews, hidden observation, and “undercover” visits where we visited the store anonymously and played through a game.
I collated responses and observations into a Customer Journey Map, with highlights for each tier of the store. I then presented our findings to the marketing and operations teams and facilitated brainstorm sessions to inform the redesign of new stores.
Outcome
We learned that a guests’ impression of The Escape Game depended on the tier of the store: walk-in guests in a mall location might not know what an escape game is, for example, while flagship locations attracted guests flying in specifically to play our games, and who therefore needed less onboarding and were more open to immersive experience upfront. As a result, we saved our “immersive Lobby” experiences for our flagship stores and streamlined smaller stores to allow game guides to introduce the concept to new guests, significantly reducing the proposed budget needed to launch new stores.