From 34 Minutes to 8: Redesigning Lenskart's In-Store Eye Test Experience
12 min read
About the Project
Problems at Store
Customer Problems
- Customers waited an average of 34 mins at stores from walking-in to receiving their prescriptions
- They don't know the wait time upfront which added to frustration
Store Staff Problems
- Struggled to handle multiple customers during rush hours (like weekend evenings), especially eye tests
- No way to track or share wait times with individual customers
Impact Results
- 2.7% ↑
- Store sales conversion increased
- 38% ↓
- Eye test wait time reduced
- 0.25 ↑
- Eye test rating increased
Users
- Customers
- Walk-in visitors who purchase eyeglasses at stores
- Optometrists
- Medically certified professionals who conduct eye tests
- Sales Associates
- Store staff who attend customers and drive sales
Timeline
- April 2023
- Project started
- August 2023
- Released v1.0
User Flow
Impact
Data measured in 3 weeks of Q2 2023
- 2.7% ↑
- Sales conversion increased
- 38% ↓
- Eye test wait time reduced (north-star)
- 0.25 ↑
- Eye test rating increased
- Time taken in an eye test on average came down from 34 mins (Apr 2023) to 21 mins (Nov 2023). Currently it's 8.16 mins.
- 72.34% of eye tests happen in under 10 mins across all Lenskart stores.
- Sales conversion at stores went from 31.2% to 33.9% in 3 weeks of Q2 2023.
Customer's Benefit
Quick and accurate prescriptions let customers prioritise selecting eyeframes that fulfil their medical needs
Business' Benefit
- Customers checking their eye power results in new or repeat purchases, boosting business growth
- Store ATV: ₹2,040
Research
Why Redesign?
-
Customers prefer a fair, first-come-first-serve system
They expect to be served in the order they arrive. A transparent token queue builds trust
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Eye test can be for someone other than the person giving number
Many walk in with family or friends. We should capture who the service is actually for, not just who shared their number
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Optoms need the same walk-in queue
Optoms should see the same real-time queue as store staff to avoid confusion
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Customers want live updates on their wait time
Providing status and wait-time updates helps reduce frustration
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Inconsistent & non-adaptive UI
Legacy design language, inconsistent icons, small tap areas, and not usable in both iPad orientations
UX Audit of Old Flows
- Usability heuristic evaluation of customer check-in flow when they walk-in to store
- Eye test customer list used by optometrists
Principles used in UX audit
- Match between the System and the Real World
- Recognition rather than Recall
- Consistency and Standards
Pain points
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No Clear Ordering in Eye Test List
Optometrist struggles to determine which customer to attend first, causing confusion
-
No Clarity on Purpose of Visit
Staff request personal details (phone number etc) without explaining purpose, making customers feel it's only for marketing
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Repetitive Data Entries
Frequent customers must provide their details on every visit leading to frustration
-
Lack of Search
Staff often re-enters customer details instead of searching leading to duplicate entries and an overwhelming list
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Complex User Journeys
The system is not intuitive requiring training for staff to navigate by themselves
Benchmarking: Lenskart Store Visits
- Visited several Lenskart stores at various times of the day
- Engaged with customers and store staff through candid conversations and impromptu interviews to gather insights
- Analysed staff behaviour during peak and non-peak hours, supported by CCTV footage analysis using Tango AI
Observations
Positive takeaways
- Customers prefer a quick check-in with minimal questions
- Staff was already comfortable using the check-in and optometrist apps on iPad
Things to avoid
- Asking for a phone number shouldn't feel like a marketing tactic
- Avoid changing staff's existing flow. Don't disrupt their current SOPs
Benchmarking: Other Brands' Stores, Offices & Airport
- Visited places like McDonald's, KFC, airports and government offices to understand customer flow operations
- Observed how different environments handle queues, waiting times and service efficiency
Observations
Positive takeaways
- Queue system should serve walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis
- Customers want live updates in-store to avoid frustration while waiting
- iPad touch targets must be large and clearly visible since staff often operate them from a distance on tables
- Airport-style displays show status updates clearly and efficiently
Things to avoid
- Avoid manual AR slip uploads and eye power entry. It wastes a lot of time and burdens optometrists
- Don't assume the phone number belongs to the person getting eyes tested. Example: parents give their own phone number for kid's eye test
Collating Insights & Affinity Mapping
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Token system brings order to walk-ins
Token-based queue helps manage customer flow fairly and efficiently, reducing confusion and wait-time complaints
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Primary & secondary profiles
Capturing both the person giving the number and the one getting the eyes tested ensures smooth check-ins for families and groups
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Shared token visibility for optometrists
Showing the same token queue in the optometrist's app aligns the entire staff, enabling timely and predictable eye tests
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Wireless prescription sync reduces manual work
Auto-syncing AR prescriptions via Wi-Fi adapters saves 5-7 minutes per test, freeing optometrists to focus more on patient
Updating Design System
Added Variants for Tablet (iPad) and TV Interfaces
Title XLin Typographyxlvariant for Buttonlgvariant for Checkbox & Radio button- Modal popup
Wireframe Explorations
1. Purpose of Visit Screen
Identified main elements:
- All purposes should be visible in one glance without any nesting
- Customers mostly select 'eye test' and 'shopping' as their purpose of visit, moving them to higher priority
- UI design should be eye-catchy
Screen Divisions
Final Mockup
Snapshot from Store
2. Token Screen
Inspirations
Identified main elements:
- Token number with approximate waiting time (in minutes)
- Customer details and their purpose of visit
- Date and time of token generation (current time)
- Area for showing offers, customer incentives etc.
Final Mockup
Snapshot from Store
3. Customer's List for Eye Test
Identified main elements:
- Customer queue should be sorted by token number
- Next customer for eye test should be clearly visible
- Show upcoming customers as much as possible with minimal scrolling
- Optometrist should see as much customer info as possible
Final Mockup
4. Automatic Prescription Retrieval
Identified main elements:
-
Manual work of printing AR slips, uploading images and entering prescriptions was inefficient. We aimed to eliminate it
Physical AR slips - First, we introduced Wi-Fi adapters and a desktop app to sync AR prescriptions directly to the system
- Version 2.0 let optometrists view all synced prescriptions and manually select the correct one. But this was still time-consuming
- Final solution: Use a unique 4-digit code to map a customer's token to their AR prescription, showing only the right one instantly
Final Mockup
Important Decisions
1. Get Customer's Visit Purpose Before Mobile Number
- Asking for a phone number upfront without context makes it feel like a marketing tactic
- Insight: Customers need to know why number is being asked and what comes next
- Asking the visit purpose before the phone number made customers more comfortable and conversations smoother
2. Customer Profile Selection
- Customer profiles were not saved earlier. Staff re-entered all info on every visit
- Insight: Often, one person (e.g. parent) gave their phone number for someone else's eye test (e.g. child)
- I suggested the concept of customer profiling with primary and secondary profiles
3. Prescription Syncing Desktop App
Patent pending
- AR machines are now connected via Wi-Fi adapters that relay info to a fixed IP address
- To sync prescription data with Lenskart's database, we needed an app to listen to the IP
- I designed a Windows desktop app (developed in-house) that receives and relays prescriptions wirelessly and securely
About Adapters:
- These Wi-Fi adapters securely transfer recorded prescriptions to a fixed IP address
- Patent is pending for these adapters
Evolution
Looking back, there are things I'd approach differently. The initial rollout could have benefited from more A/B testing on the token screen layout. The prescription syncing solution, while effective, required hardware procurement that slowed adoption in some stores.
What came next: the system expanded to cover more store operations beyond eye tests. The token system became the backbone for all in-store customer management, and the design patterns established here were adopted across Lenskart's retail technology stack.
Let's Talk
Rajat Garg — Product Designer