Project Overview
The Problem: A Launch That Broke Trust

Treasure Truck was Amazon’s way of bringing a little surprise and delight back into shopping. Customers would receive a spontaneous text with a curated same-day deal (from paddleboards to prime steak) and could purchase through the Amazon app for in-person pickup at local truck stops. But the first launch struggled.

After a misaligned launch announcement, technical limitations, and accessibility issues, the experience didn’t meet customer expectations. I stepped in as the solo Senior UX Designer to audit, realign, and relaunch the experience into something scalable, trusted, and engaging.

UX Goal
Redesign the mobile purchasing experience to support:

  • Clearer value communication

  • Accessible, scalable UX

  • Confident pickup and purchasing behavior

Amazon Treasure Truck Mobile App Relaunch

Company
Amazon

Role
Sr. UX Designer

Team
Sr. Program Manager
Technical Program Manager
7 Software Engineers

Stakeholders
Sr. Operations Manager
Sr. Sales
Manager
Marketing Manager

Type
Mobile App Design
eCommerce
Program Launch

Impact at a Glance

→ Fast Sellouts of in-demand offers, validating urgency and engagement

→ Strong Purchase Conversion, with minimal drop-off in the purchase funnel

→ Subscriber Surge following the relaunch, indicating restored user trust

→ Consistent Traffic from Amazon Gateway, confirming offer appeal and visibility

I led end-to-end UX strategy and execution: from auditing the failed launch and aligning stakeholders to advocating for research, designing flows, and delivering the final launch experience.

Auditing the Existing
Purchasing Experience

LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES

After a failed program launch, I audited the existing app build to reveal the biggest areas to focus on: improving customer trust, addressing the high technical overhead, and ensuring accessibility was prioritized. This came from conversations with key stakeholders, leadership, as well as my own evaluation of the existing app UX.

Challenges

Broken Customer Trust

Mistimed launch notifications led to failed expectations

High Technical Overhead

Previous designs deviated heavily from Amazon standards

Accessibility Gaps

Existing app failed Amazon mobile accessibility standards

UX Objectives

Transparent Communication

Establish clear, reliable communication and backup processes to rebuild customer trust

Design for Flexibility

Build modular components leveraging standard Amazon libraries for faster iteration, lower tech effort, and scaling

Accessibility Baseline

Simplify functionality without losing quality to meet screen reader best practices immediately

Participants were confused across the board

USABILITY TESTING RESULTS

Testing the existing flows

I partnered with a third-party vendor to conduct moderated, task-based remote usability testing. Tasks included:

  1. Onboarding as a first time customer

  2. Purchasing a limited time deal in the app

  3. Selecting a stop location in the app

  4. Discussing pickup expectations

  5. Comprehension questions around the Treasure Truck program offering

Participants didn’t understand the essentials

  • Customers expected delivery, not pickup

  • Stop selection was not discoverable

  • Pickup logistics were unclear or absent

No Program Comprehension

0/6 participants understood the surprise deal model

No Successful Stop Selection

0/6 found or used the stop selection flow successfully

Confused Pickup Expectations

0/6 felt confident about pickup logistics

Key UX Design Priorities

01
Set Expectations & Build Trust

Clarify the value | Focus early messaging on what makes Treasure Truck unique

Educate in context | Leverage lightweight, in-flow guidance to explain pickup and reduce confusion

02
Reduce Friction & Enable Scale

Streamline the flow | Simplify stop selection and purchase steps for faster, smoother checkout

Design for flexibility | Build modular components for easier scaling across platforms and markets

03
Improve Accessibility

Support all users | Enhanced screen reader support, tap targets, and compliance with Amazon standards

Lighten the UI | Removed visual clutter to make UX more intuitive and accessible

KEY SOLUTION PART 1

Onboarding Flow

Challenge

Drive text alert opt-ins while clearly explaining what Treasure Truck is and how it works

Solution

  • Shift the mindset | Introduced the truck as a surprising twist on Amazon shopping to grab attention early

  • Show product breadth | Highlighted curated product offerings with rotating imagery to generate excitement

  • Connect value to sign-up | Framed text alerts as the key to unlocking curated surprise deals

  • Set pickup expectations | Reinforced that this is a same-day pickup experience, not delivery

BEFORE

Onboarding prioritized permissions before user understanding

AFTER

Reimagined onboarding with clarity, delight, and a strong value hook

KEY SOLUTION PART 2

Purchasing Flow

Challenge

Redesign a custom, pickup-based purchase flow to support clarity, accessibility, and confident decision-making

Solution

  • Modular design system | Introduced reusable components to simplify future updates

  • Familiar layout patterns | Aligned with user expectations for Amazon product detail pages, ensuring faster comprehension

  • Integrated stop selection | Combined list and map views for easier, faster decisions

  • Upfront pickup info | Surfaced key logistics early to set expectations and reduce confusion

BEFORE

Too Much Friction, Not Enough Guidance

AFTER

Redesigned for clarity, ease, and pickup confidence

KEY SOLUTION PART 3

Offer Card Components

Challenge

Create a modular card system that could evolve with the business. The cards needed to:

  • Support diverse offer types like perishables, bundles, and events

  • Be scannable for customers making quick decisions

  • Enable experimentation without constant redesign

  • Minimize technical lift for faster rollout and iteration

Solution

  • Scannable | Prioritized key info such as product, price, pickup details to support fast decision-making

  • Modular | Built modules that worked across offers and edge cases for business experimentation

  • Lightweight | Used Amazon UI components to speed up dev time and ensure platform consistency

OVERVIEW

Simplifying a dense, custom offer detail page

CONTENT STRATEGY

Prioritizing Clarity, Value, and
Pickup Logistics

DEFINING A SCALABLE MVP

System-first approach,
simplified to accelerate MVP rollout

RESULTS

Treasure Truck Relaunched Successfully

By focusing on the 3 UX objectives of transparent communication, flexible design modules, and accessibility best practices, we were able to re-launch Treasure Truck in the Amazon app with an incredible improvement in business metrics, overall usability, program adoption, and qualitative customer feedback.

01
Fast Sellouts

→ In-demand offers sold out rapidly

→ Validated urgency-driven UX and customer engagement

02
Strong Purchase Conversion

→ High offer-to-purchase completion rate

→ Indicated minimal friction with redesign

03
Subscriber Surge

→ Significant increase in signups post-relaunch

→ Reflected regained trust and user interest

04
Consistent Traffic

→ Steady flow of users from Amazon Gateway
→ Confirmed offer visibility and sustained appeal

05
Improved Overall Usability

➔ Designed light-weight educational copy in context to reduce cognitive load

➔ Simplified instructional content to better align customer expectations of new purchasing experience

06
Strengthened Scalability and Accessibility

➔ Adopted Amazon’s mobile UI component standards

➔ Achieved accessibility compliance for critical flows (screen readers, tap targets)

07
Validated Brand Proposition

➔ Positive qualitative feedback from customers

➔ Helped secure future approval for national and international expansion

Balancing Flexibility, Focus, and Fast Results

REFLECTIONS & TAKEAWAYS

This project reinforced:

  • The power of modular design systems to scale smartly

  • The importance of mental model alignment in new customer behaviors

  • That simplicity and trust are powerful levers in driving adoption

By stepping into a complex and ambiguous project, I honed my ability to prioritize fast, lead collaboratively, and deliver solutions that scale. Usability testing helped reset assumptions and aligned our roadmap to real user needs.

Ultimately, the UX work contributed to key outcomes:
→ Fast Sellouts of in-demand offers, validating urgency and engagement
→ Strong Purchase Conversion, with minimal drop-off in the funnel
→ Subscriber Surge following the relaunch, indicating restored user trust
→ Consistent Traffic from Amazon Gateway, confirming offer appeal and visibility

Looking back, I would continue to advocate for early customer mental model research and maintain simple, scalable messaging frameworks that support evolving operational realities.

More Work

Scaling Treasure Truck for Global Expansion

After the success of the mobile launch, I led UX strategy for expanding Treasure Truck across the US and UK, solving for cross-platform engagement and operational complexity at scale.