Background
Car Mate is an automotive platform connecting users, dealers, and workshops. This was my first startup. Our team launched a mobile app for automotive service deals using React Native. As RN was very new at that time, the app was not very stable initially, but it grew fast and became more usable alongside our UI designs.
Design Challenge
With limited development resources, we decided on a unified design across both iOS and Android. Our business values (automotive service deals + car listings) were not communicated clearly as it was a new concept. I designed a switch button for navigating between cars and service deals.
Learning From Data
Firebase data showed both the switch and bottom tab were actively used by users from both platforms. Since the switch was a duplicate of the bottom tab, we removed it. The data revealed users were more actively searching for app values than anticipated.
User-Requested Feature: Reviews
Users frequently requested a review system for automotive services. While attracted to the special deals, they worried about service quality. We implemented reviews to give users confidence in discounted services.
