Wawa | Order Kiosk UX Case Study
As the UX Designer on this project, I led a comprehensive redesign of the kiosk interface to simplify navigation, reduce cognitive load, and create a faster, more intuitive path to purchase. Working closely with stakeholders, I conducted user research, restructured the information architecture, and implemented interface improvements that align with Wawa’s brand and customer expectations.
The Opportunity
Wawa’s kiosk system has enabled Wawa to serve more customers, serve them faster, and consistently get their orders correct. The result is a great capability to elevate customer loyalty and ladder up to business goals offering customers new products and special promotions via up-sell and cross-sell tactics.
The high-level goals were to identify the following:
What issue(s) are we solving?
What type of people would benefit most from the kiosk?
What is the main benefit the users receive from the kiosk?
How can we enhance the benefits they can receive from the kiosk?
Early Insights
At the outset of the project, we didn’t have pre-existing insights. In order to generate a problem solving roadmap, we took a trip to Wawa to explore the kiosk functions, store environment and go through the process of ordering food through the kiosk. While in the store, we observed user behavior and conducted quick-hit interviews to get users’ immediate feedback after using the kiosk.
““Sometimes I’m really tired and I don’t want to talk to anyone. I’m happy to just place my order from the kiosk.””
Deeper Insights
After identifying users who have experience with Wawa kiosks via screener surveys, we scheduled remote contextual interviews. An identical prototype of the existing kiosk was developed to allow us to make observations of how the participants used the kiosk and outline successes and pain points.
“”I feel like this is confusing. I’m forced into artificial choices. I want to see all the options at once.””
Reframing the Problem
While users are generally happy with the kiosk experience, there are areas that are not serving them. We distilled the data into 2 key findings. Users have a shared need for a:
Build your own” breakfast sandwich feature to solve for ease of use and efficiency.
Pay at kiosk feature to solve for longer wait times.
While some cross-sell/up-sell tactics to add bacon, a beverage or bag of chips to the order are acceptable, the upfront push to select a pre-customized breakfast sandwich is overcomplicating the interface. Users are left confused with having to customize a sandwich through eliminating ingredients from an existing sandwich. Additionally, the inability to pay at the kiosk for customers who don’t plan to purchase other items, leads to additive steps in the customer journey.
Designing an Improved Experience
The existing food ordering kiosk was poorly designed for users looking to build a customized breakfast sandwich. The goal was to create an updated design solution that eliminates error-prone conditions and keeps users informed about where they are in the process.
Usability Testing & Takeaways
Design iterations explored ways to show process steps, refresh the visual design with a cleaner look and feel (see ya later skeuomorphic elements!) and chunk information in a digestible format.
Prototyping was an effective way to gain meaningful feedback from users. We conducted usability testing, which successfully highlighted key issues to resolve. The themes that surfaced influenced key improvements to streamline the modules, add more explicit affordances and rethink the structure of “Toppings” and “Sauces”.
Build your own breakfast sandwich - brought to life.
The prototype below showcases the refined visual hierarchy and interactions of the kiosk. One final test was conducted to validate the design. The result is a streamlined experience that helps customers get their hoagies (and more) with fewer taps and less frustration.
Designing for Wawa’s kiosks was a rewarding challenge—balancing speed and usability for both loyal regulars and first-timers. The process reinforced the importance of aligning user experience with business efficiency and brand voice.