Project Background

Business Objective

Throughout 2018, AlipayHK (Hong Kong Site) completed the development of various front-end and back-end capabilities, including payment functions, transfer functions, offline balance recharge, e-KYC verification upgrade, binding bank card recharge/payment, and operational capabilities, integration with the Hong Kong FPS system, product data tracking, and data dashboards.

Starting in 2019, the overall business direction focused on four main goals: increasing the frequency of offline payment scenarios, cultivating users' habit of "scanning to pay," boosting the issuance and redemption of coupons within the app and offline payment scenarios, and MGM (Member-Get-Member) new user acquisition. Coinciding with the 2019 Chinese Lunar New Year, we aimed to leverage this festival period to kickstart our operational strategy for the entire year.

整个2018年度，AlipayHK（HongKong Site）完成了支付功能、转账功能、线下余额充值、绑定银行卡充值、付款以及运营能力、FPS系统接入、产品埋点能力、数据看板等前后端能力搭建，从2019年开始，整体业务方向瞄准线下支付场景频次提升、用户“扫一扫”行为习惯养成、APP内领劵及线下支付场景核销增长，MGM拉新这四个目标上。恰逢2019年中国农历新年，希望利用中国新年这个节日为全年的运营思路打开局面。

My Role

Hong Kong Site design lead, design-oriented requirements to drive this New Year 福（FU）character e-stamps collection campaign. Crafting user experience of campaign key scenarios. Technology adoption (Lottie Files) to improve animation performance and optimize package size, project validation, usability testing, compatibility optimization. Launch day on call with the whole team and first 3 days operation data tracking, 14 days operation data review and analysis.

 

Jan.2019 Chinese New Year-AlipayHK HQ Combat Center Midnight

Crafting User Experience

Wireframe

Technology Adoption & Compatibility Optimization

First time using Lottie Files to optimize animations, reducing file sizes without compromising quality. This is crucial for performance optimization across different devices​

Before this project, including the team responsible for Alipay in China, operational activity products generally avoided adding animation effects. The reason was adding animations, typically using bitmap animations or GIF formats, would significantly reduce resolution and increase the package size of version updates, affecting both the updates willingness and the promotion of activities. If front-end engineers involved in, it would greatly waste front-end resources.

In 2018, after Lottie Files was introduced by Airbnb, I realized it will be a game-changer, as they’re lightweight, scalable, and easy to create: Lottie maintains high image quality, is 6x smaller than the average GIF, and loads 10x faster. Since Lottie animations use vector graphics, we can fit them to different screen sizes and resolutions without them falling into pixels. I began evaluating the possibility of applying it to operational scenarios in AlipayHK with my team. We first applied it to the New Year campaign, gaining valuable experience in design, development, iOS/Android system performance optimization, and device compatibility. This experience was documented and shared with other internal team, quickly adopted by multiple sites.

Challenge

In 2018, AlipayHK conducted various operational activities and implemented early payment scenarios（ Early adopters are acquired or maintained through subsidies）, attracting a significant proportion of users aged 50-65. This demographic made up 17.5% of AlipayHK's user base, equating to approximately 349,160 users. These users are highly responsive to promotions and discounts, actively participating in various AlipayHK offers.

According to data from Go Globe, smartphone penetration among users aged 50-65 in Hong Kong is relatively low, and many of these users have older device models with lower OS versions. This poses a significant challenge for implementing Lottie animations, which require specific system capabilities that older devices may lack. As a result, users with these older devices may experience system bugs or be unable to load the animations after version updates.

 

2018 smartphone users in Hong Kong

 

Solution

  1. Device and OS Segmentation:

    • Define a range of compatible device models and OS versions that can support Lottie animations. This involves detailed testing and using tools like the LottieFiles Feature Support Checker to ensure compatibility across different platforms.

  2. Fallback Plan:

    • Develop a non-animation fallback solution for devices that fall outside the defined compatibility range. This ensures that users with older devices can still participate in all activities and access all features without encountering bugs.

By implementing these solutions, AlipayHK aims to maintain a consistent and bug-free user experience, enhancing user satisfaction and engagement across all demographics. This approach not only addresses the technical challenges but also ensures that all users can benefit from AlipayHK’s promotions and activities, regardless of their device capabilities.

 

Results of Operational Activities and Quantitative Success Metrics

To evaluate the success of the operational activities, we focused on several key performance indicators (KPIs):

User Growth and Engagement:

  • New User Registrations: Achieved a 21% increase in new user registrations during the festival period, with a total of 401,527 new users added.

  • Active Users: Recorded a 24% increase in daily active users (DAU), reaching 1.5 million active users by the end of the festival period.

Transaction Volume and Frequency:

  • Transaction Volume: Total transaction volume increased by 28.6%, amounting to HKD 1.2 billion during the Chinese Lunar New Year period.

  • Offline Payment Frequency: The frequency of offline payments increased by 35%, with users making an average of 5 transactions per week.

Coupon Issuance and Redemption:

  • Coupon Issuance: Over 1 .7 million coupons issued within the app and offline scenarios.

  • Coupon Redemption: Achieved a redemption rate of 68.5%, significantly boosting user engagement and transaction volume.

MGM Campaign Performance:

  • Referrals: The MGM campaign resulted in ≈150,000 successful referrals, contributing to the overall growth in user base.

  • Conversion Rate: Maintained a high conversion rate of 62% for referred users who completed their first transaction within the first week.

AR Scan-to-Collect Stamps Feature:

  • User Adoption: The AR scan-to-collect stamps feature was widely adopted, with ≈300,000 users participating in the activity.

  • Behavior Cultivation: There was a 40% increase in users’ habit of scanning QR codes for transactions and other activities, demonstrating effective behavior cultivation through the AR feature.

Data provided by Rick(AlipayHK operation director) & Nina(AlipayHK research expert)