Case Study: Unloop - Taming the Subscription Economy
The modern consumer lives in the "subscription economy." From entertainment and software to food boxes and fitness, the "subscribe" button has replaced the "buy" button. While convenient, this model has created a new and widespread financial anxiety: subscription sprawl.
Let's meet Alex, a 29-year-old marketing manager.
Alex is tech-savvy and loves trying new services. She uses Netflix for relaxing, Spotify for her commute, Headspace for mindfulness, and a meal-kit service for busy weeknights. She also signed up for a free trial of a design tool a few months back for a project, and another for an online fitness class during a New Year's resolution kick.
At the end of each month, Alex logs into her banking app with a sense of dread. Her statement is a confusing list of $9.99, $14.99, and $19.99 charges from companies with vaguely familiar names. She finds herself asking:
"What is this STRIPE charge for?"
"Am I still using that design software? I thought I cancelled it."
"How much am I really spending on streaming services each month?"
Her frustration boils down to four key pain points:
• Lack of Visibility: Subscriptions are scattered across different platforms with different billing cycles, making it impossible to see the full picture at a glance.
• Financial Leakage: Small, forgotten charges add up. That free trial she forgot to cancel? It's quietly costing her $15 a month. This "death by a thousand cuts" is slowly draining her budget without her realizing it.
• Cognitive Overload: The mental effort required to track, remember, and manage these subscriptions is significant and stressful. It’s a chore she constantly procrastinates.
High-Friction Cancellation: Companies deliberately make it difficult to cancel, hiding the option in complex menus or requiring a phone call. Alex wastes time she doesn't have simply trying to stop a service she no longer wants.
The Core Problem: The core problem isn't just about losing money; it's a fundamental loss of control and clarity over one's digital financial life. People need a simple, centralized way to see exactly what they're paying for, so they can make informed decisions and take back control.
The Design Challenge: How might we create a single, trusted dashboard that gives users complete visibility and effortless control over all their subscriptions, turning financial anxiety into financial empowerment?
Features: Connects to email to automatically detect subscriptions, provides a clear dashboard of all recurring costs, sends reminders before a trial ends, and offers a simple flow to cancel a service.
The interactive hi-fi prototype you can view below may not display in a pixel-perfect manner on every device and screen resolution, as it was created with a limited amount of code.
