Browser Extension

Overview

SPC members were consistently missing out on discounts they were entitled to. Not because they didn't care, but because activating benefits required remembering to open the app before shopping. Behaviour like that rarely sticks. The product gap wasn't awareness; it was friction. A browser extension that surfaced offers automatically at the point of purchase removed the dependency on user memory entirely.

Solution

We built a browser extension that detects when a user is shopping at a partnered retailer and surfaces relevant SPC offers without requiring any action. Savings became a default part of the checkout experience, not an opt-in step.

Process

01 / Understand & Research

The signal came out of unrelated user interviews: students were routinely missing discounts at checkout. Follow-up interviews and behavioural surveys confirmed it was a widespread pattern. Users were skipping nearly half their eligible savings, Chrome was the dominant browser, and more than half of participants shopped more on laptop than phone. That data made the intervention obvious.

02 / Ideation

Before touching wireframes, I ran a competitive audit of established savings extensions. This was an unfamiliar surface with well-developed UX conventions, and understanding what already worked was more useful than starting from scratch. Concepts centred on three constraints: minimal checkout friction, non-disruptive offer surfacing, and immediate value communication.

03 / Prototype & Test

Remote usability testing used clickable prototypes with simulated checkout flows on partnered retailer sites. Four interaction questions were validated: how to handle unavailable offers, how to separate online versus in-store deals, what information hierarchy served users fastest, and how to confirm a successful redemption. The outputs shaped the final design: subtle visual treatment for unavailable offers, separated offer types, online redemption prioritised, and a tooltip plus success confirmation pattern.

04 / Development

Annotated designs and component specs were delivered to engineering via Zeplin. I stayed active through the build, reviewing staging builds, flagging implementation gaps, resolving feasibility questions, and ensuring accessibility requirements (contrast ratios, focus states) were preserved within browser extension constraints.

Outcome

• Surpassed 2,000 installs shortly after launch
• Grew commission revenue by increasing the rate at which eligible purchases were activated
• Improved user confidence that they were consistently getting the best available deal