Babalù
Scaling a pet-care platform by streamlining onboarding and integrating utility-first features to drive user engagement.
My role:
Product Designer
Scope:
Discovery & Research • UX • UI • Design System
Business model:
B2C, Mobile, Web
Timeline:
2023-2025
Context
Babalù evolved from a single-purpose smart collar into a digital platform for pet tracking, service discovery, and professional care. I joined after the product launch to work on the live app, focusing on refining existing flows and integrating new features as the platform scaled.
Problem
As Babalù expanded the existing UX struggled to keep up with the new features, leading to drop-offs and underutilized tools.
High-Friction Onboarding: A rigid, mandatory setup forced users to provide data before they saw the app's value, stalling early activation.
Buried Utility: Essential actions—like daily care, service discovery, and adoption—were hidden behind social-heavy content.
Fragmented Safety: Critical tools like badge pairing and "missing pet" alerts were disconnected, causing confusion during high-stress moments.
Research
& Insights
We interviewed pet owners and veterinarians to better support service booking and daily care. While analytics revealed high drop-off rates during onboarding, interviews showed that owners prioritized practical utility over social features. This highlighted a need to simplify the initial setup and bring essential care tools to the forefront.
3m 45s
average completion time, 29% longer than industry benchmarks
58%
of users who start the onboarding process do not complete it.
89%
of drops happen between step number 6 and 12 (Pet Profile)
Approach
We cross-referenced user interview results with app engagement tracking to identify high-friction drop-off points. This allowed us to focus purely on features that drove activation.
We moved through intensive brainstorming sessions to map out the new onboarding flow. Our primary filter for every decision was: "Does this reduce cognitive load or increase immediate user value?"
By maintaining a constant feedback loop, we ensured that the technical integration of the new smart badges felt like a native extension of the app.
Solution
& Impact
We transformed onboarding from a high-friction requirement into a flexible, rewarding experience. By prioritizing user autonomy and essential tasks, .we achieved a 16% increase in profile completion
Optimizing the first time experience
Reduced onboarding to five essential steps to enable faster pet profile creation
Added gamification to boost engagement and WCAG-compliant patterns to improve clarity and accessibility
Streamlining information architecture
Reorganized navigation to align business goals with real pet-owner needs
Moved adoption prompts into registration increasing its visibility beyond social feeds.
Introduced instant pet-profile switching and refocused feeds on daily pet activity
Integrating smart recovery tools
Designed a seamless end-to-end integration for smart badges
Enabled rapid “Missing Pet” activation during high-stress moments
Learnings
This project was a lesson in balancing feature growth with user retention on a live product.
Complexity & Clarity: I learned to organize dense data—like medical records, health profiles, and daily tracking—into a clear, intuitive experience.
Data-Driven Focus: Using analytics to target high drop-off points taught me to prioritize the friction points that move the needle most.
Agile Collaboration: Working in a small team helped us iterate quickly, ensuring even high-stress features like "Missing Pet" flows felt seamless.
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