FaniMani supports over 5,900+ charitable organisations in raising funds. Every time a FaniMani user makes a purchase from one of over 1,000+ partner online shops, a percentage of the amount paid goes to the cause the user has chosen. Simple and brilliant.
FaniMani was originally only a desktop extension, but our client recognised the potential of mobile e-commerce and wanted to expand the product for a good cause.
Since launching six years ago, online shopping has changed enormously, and with it came new challenges for FaniMani. FaniMani users had shopped almost exclusively from desktop computers and had only recently begun shopping online via mobile. FaniMani chose us to help them enter the mobile commerce age.
The primary goal was to evolve FaniMani's business model from desktop to mobile in order to engage their loyal users and attract new ones. The priority was to keep it just as simple and user-friendly as a browser extension.
Our mission was to enable the client to deliver a functional mobile experience to users and increase the opportunities for raising money for charity.
After the initial meetings with the FaniMani team, we established the following primary project goals:
- Evolve FaniMani's business model from desktop-based to mobile.
- Ensure the mobile solution would be compatible with all 1,000+ partner shops.
- Make it available on both iOS and Android.
- Make the mobile apps just as user-friendly as a simple browser extension, or even better.
- Deliver everything within the tight timeline.
The FaniMani app is primarily a portal to e-commerce shops. With over 1,000 shops brought together, each operating under different principles, we focused on a solution that allowed us to handle all exceptions and connect them within the app. All e-commerce shops are now accessible through the application.
The user selects a shop and enters it via FaniMani, and all subsequent purchases generate donations to the cause pre-selected by the app user.
To increase engagement, we designed additional features that let donors save their favourite shops, check their donation total, and browse shop offers.
The foundation for success in this project was built on close collaboration with the FaniMani team. Open discussions and frequent meetings enabled smooth and efficient decision-making.
Development began with the analysis phase. Our design team conducted UX evaluations of similar solutions already on the market, including a review of user ratings in the app store.
For prototyping, we used interactive wireframes that made it straightforward for the FaniMani team to understand, discuss, and sign off on all user interface features. Design concepts were produced in three distinct iterations to give the FaniMani team the opportunity to test and discuss their preferred application style.
We built the app within a limited budget by using hybrid app technology, which allowed simultaneous delivery to both the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android. This also resulted in time savings and simpler future app maintenance.
To further accelerate development, we avoided building native applications from scratch and used the Expo platform. The use of popular and modern native app development libraries enabled FaniMani to launch the app faster and more cost-effectively.
With all the shops accessible through a single application, FaniMani became the go-to app for anyone wanting to shop whilst doing something good for society.
The app's design ensures absolutely minimal friction during shopping. We were careful not to draw attention away from the purchase process, letting users shop with minimal extra effort whilst securing valuable donations.
Additional features such as push notifications and a list of favourite shops help engage users and improve the app's user retention.
FaniMani users can now easily support their preferred charitable organisations with purchases made from their mobile.
The new app was warmly received by both the client and users, earning a rating of 4.9 in the Google Play app store.