Reintroduce Spark Driver rewards
I shaped the vision for redesigning Spark Driver’s rewards program to strengthen driver engagement through visibility and motivation. Ultimately foster long-term participation while balance supply by incentivizing less popular trips.
Collaborators
Content, graphic design, product, creative production, and engineering
Timeline
Q2 2024 & Q2 2025
Role
Lead designers (1 of 3 designers), responsible for end-to-end design
Background
The Spark Driver app connects gig drivers to shop and deliver for Walmart and its retail partners. To motivate better performance, the platform offers a tiered rewards program that recognizes drivers for maintaining strong metrics and completing more trips in exchange for exclusive perks.
However, the existing program lacks an in-app experience, leading to a profound value communication gap. This low visibility and poor perceived value are failing to drive loyalty against competitor platforms, resulting in high churn, specifically:
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65% of the drivers are aware of the reward program
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​18% of approved drivers churn MOM
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80% of the drivers multiple apping
How might we design an in-app loyalty experience that clearly communicates the value, motivating drivers to improve their metrics and increasing their long-term engagement and retention?
Competitor analysis
To inform the redesign of the rewards program, we conducted a UX-focused competitor analysis on leading gig-driver platforms (e.g., Instacart, Uber Pro, Lyft Rewards, Amazon Flex). The goal was to identify market standards, common driver motivators, and key opportunities to differentiate our platform's user experience.
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Our research revealed a clear, established baseline for rewards program UX across competitors:
Ideation & iterations
Part I - Defining MVPs​
The ideation process began by defining MVPS and brainstorming common themes, as a team, we agreed on following and used them as the backbone for the new rewards program.
Part II - High-fidelity iterations
After narrowing down to some ideas, I then moved into rapid high fidelity iterations. At this stage, I intentionally set aside branding and specific reward details, since those were still under discussion.
Metrics transparency
Drivers need to know how they are doing in the language of metrics. The MVP must answer: "Which metric should I improve to unlock the next tier?"​
Highlight rewards' real life values
A rewards program is useless if drivers don't care about the actual rewards. The UX must bridge the gap between "effort" and "reward."​
The "Status" dashboard
Drivers need to know where they stand in the program at a glance. The MVP must answer: "What tier am I in right now and how far am I from the next tier?​
Final design
Please Note: These designs reflect the North Star vision for the rewards system. While they address real user needs, they differ from the screens currently in production. To comply with NDA restrictions, some screens have been recreated to illustrate the core problem and design approach.
Metrics and rewards child screen
Detailed metric screens build transparency and trust by offering granular insights. Through progressive disclosure, key data appears upfront, while secondary details reside in subpages to minimize cognitive load.
Points and challenges
The new rewards program integrates points into the offer card and highlights any trip that is eligible for a point challenge. Additionally, a trip summary screen is added to provide visibility into points activity and metric updates.
Unlock a new tier
Upon achieving Silver, drivers receive a celebratory message guiding them to their new rewards. Tier benefits will also be reflected on the offer cards, highlighting the value of the rewards program.
Rewards homescreen
The Rewards homescreen builds transparency and momentum. The Current tier tab displays current status, progress, and metrics at a glance, while the Shop points tab highlights points balances and rewards redeemable at drivers' local Walmart stores.
Prototype MVP flow
Reflection
This project established the strategic foundation for the Spark Driver rewards pilot, defining the core framework for tiers, progress tracking, and motivation. It also marked a pivotal step in my professional growth, challenging me to lead a high-ambiguity initiative and align cross-functional teams around a cohesive vision.​
Looking back, I would prioritize earlier validation by testing major interactions with drivers. I would also aim to establish clearer stakeholder alignment upfront, since the project moved at a rapid pace and requirements evolved throughout development.
Before and after redesign
