Popmenu: Online Ordering Ticket Sales

UX Design Case Study
November 2022
By: Molly Cox

Project Overview

Problem:

How might we incorporate ticketed event sales into the current ordering event and/or calendar event flow within My.Popmenu.com?

Redesign the existing admin and consumer views for Ordering Events to include the option to purchase event tickets. This ultimately allows Popmenu to move away from using a third party tool for ticket sales while enhancing the platform.

Primary UX Designer working with the Director of Design.

Ordering Events is a feature that clients can use to drive revenue for special events or holidays. They can choose menus for the event, put a limit on the number of orders, set a cutoff date for orders, and collect all payments online before the event. Prior to building ordering events, Popmenu used Formsite to build custom ordering forms. Formsite evolved into a catch all solution for ordering, ticket sales, merchandise sales, and custom contact forms. The Design Team is now working to add to the current Ordering Events feature to include ticket sales to reduce the number of forms that are created in Formsite. This change will also allow clients to create and manage ticket sales on their own, and payments + reporting will take place in Popmenu along with other online order transactions.

To begin this project I started by identifying the shortcomings in the current Ordering Event flow. I determined that the side navigation in the dashboard could remain the same because it makes sense for ticket sales fall under Ordering Events. The main Ordering Event page will need to be updated to include an option to choose a classic Ordering Event or a Ticketed Event. The “Event Details” page that exists for Ordering Events can act as the base for Ticketed Events as well as it captures information that will be used for both event types. I like the progress bar that helps guide the admin through the set up process for Ordering Events and plan to keep that for Ticketed Events as well.

Click HERE for full size.

Next I studied the consumer view to identify areas that will need to be updated for ticket sales. The page that the user starts on will need minor updates to include the event date, and I think it would be best to update the text on the CTA button to say “Purchase Tickets” rather than “Order Now.” The menu page that exists for Ordering Events will need to be updated to display event details and ticket options for Ticketed Events, and the Order Summary section will need to be tailored to match ticket details.

Click HERE for full size.

Click HERE for full size.

Admin View:

Consumer View:

Inspiration:

The best way to learn how to do something is to study how the experts are doing it. I turned to Ticketmaster to learn about how they’re conducting ticket sales and what options they offer their consumers.

I also viewed several examples of Formsite forms that Popmenu clients currently use for ticket sales. I plan to incorporate what I learned from Ticketmaster and pair it with the things clients include on their Formsite forms in my designs.

Admin View:

When creating my admin designs I wanted to keep the general flow that already exists so that admins feel comfortable with the addition of ticket sales. Screen one now includes options to go to Ordering Events as well as Ticketed Events. The Ordering Events flow will remain the same once the user clicks into it. The Ticketed Event button will lead users to screen two where they’ll see a familiar screen to see past and present events, toggle events on/off, or create a new event. The New Event button leads users to the second screen listed in view two where they’ll start adding details for their event. The screens in view three below show the remaining setup steps for the event ending with a confirmation overview so the user can confirm that everything is correct before sharing with the public.

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Consumer View:

The consumer view will also be a familiar experience for returning restaurant guests. Screen one was built to be similar to the consumer view for Ordering Events, except it has been tailored to information on the Ticketed Event. Screen two provides an ordering experience for tickets similar to all other ordering experiences within the platform. The checkout experience in screen three remains the same all except the details section. My hope is that consumers will be able to purchase tickets easily due to familiarity of the flow, which means drop off rate will be very low.

My Takeaways:

This project was incredibly rewarding in many different ways. It was a joy working with the Director of Design on a project that felt so close to home. I have spent a lot of time building Formsite forms for clients while working in Support, and have a true understanding of the difficulties and challenges that Popmenu clients face when it comes to selling tickets. I really enjoyed working on a project that could potentially solve a problem that I’ve faced many times before.

Next Steps:

I had limited time to complete this project, so there are still many things that I’d like to do. If time were not a constraint I’d like to conduct at least two rounds of user testing for both admin and consumer screens to confirm that my designs include everything that both users need. Testing will also help ensure that my designs are user friendly and include all necessary buttons and elements. After testing I’d like to incorporate all final feedback into updated designs created in Popmenu’s Design System, and ultimately, see my work in production someday.