Consumers familiar with induction stoves drive understanding.
A kitchen-ware brand is expanding to include induction cooktop stoves. New to this category, the client wants to explore consumer reaction in terms of ease of use, cooking performance, and how their corresponding app interacts with the stove.
We recruited participants who owned an induction stove to come into our facilities to test the product in pairs of twos, four times a day, for three days. The corresponding app led participants through the cooking experience with a moderator asking specific questions about different situations. All sessions were live-streamed to provide an in-context insight into the consumer experience.
- Functionality was the most important driver of UX for both the stovetop and app.
- Participants rated ease-of-use over design appeal and application compliance.
- Prototypes needed to be adjusted to focus more on simplicity and aligning with intuitive use of the product, even at the expense of aesthetics.
With our insights, the client entered a new category armed with differentiators that elevated the product against current players and positioned it as a user-friendly option for new-induction stove users.
The client pivoted the design to a more user-friendly mechanical experience and positioned their product to successfully gain a significant share of the induction oven industry, which is expected to grow by 1.08B from 2021 – 2024.