Standalone Renewal – A Strategic UX Overhaul

Role: Sr. UX Manager

As the UX Manager overseeing Membership Retention and Digital Renewal at Sam’s Club, I led the Standalone Renewal Flow initiative to drive digital-first membership renewals, increase retention, and reduce usability pain points. This initiative aimed to streamline the renewal process in the Sam’s Club app, addressing low conversion rates, poor discoverability, and suboptimal member experience.

Through strategic UX leadership, stakeholder alignment, and data-driven decision-making, we designed a frictionless renewal flow projected to generate $2.1M in additional annual membership income while boosting NPS and digital conversion rates.

The Challenge

Business & User Problems

  • Low Digital Renewal Rates: Only 4.4% of membership renewals occurred via digital channels, limiting revenue potential.

  • High Exit & Drop-off Rates: iOS users, in particular, struggled with the renewal experience, leading to frustration and lost conversions.

  • Confusing UX & Messaging:

    • Members struggled to find the renewal section.

    • Checkout messaging caused misinterpretations (“Your order is being shipped”).

    • Lack of upgrade and add-on visibility led to missed revenue opportunities.

These issues contributed to poor user sentiment, with ~11% of detractor feedback directly tied to renewal usability issues.

As a UX Manager, my challenge was to drive a strategic transformation, ensuring alignment across product, engineering, and research while delivering a seamless, conversion-optimized renewal experience.

Strategic Approach

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Strategic Approach ⋆

  • 1. Defining Success with Cross-Functional Alignment

    I led early strategic discussions with key stakeholders, including Product, Engineering, and Membership Operations, to align on goals:
    - Increase renewal conversion rates within the app.
    - Improve NPS by addressing usability and discoverability challenges.
    - Integrate Auto Renew, Add-ons, and Upgrades seamlessly into the renewal flow.
    - Achieve an annualized incremental membership income of $2.1M through digital renewals.

  • 2. Leveraging Research to Guide UX Decisions

    To ensure data-driven design, I collaborated with the research team to:

    - Analyze member feedback from surveys and app analytics, identifying friction points in the renewal process.

    - Track conversion & exit rates, pinpointing checkout pain points from FY23 app usage data.

    - Conduct usability testing on the existing renewal flow to uncover usability gaps.

  • 3. Redesigning the Renewal Experience for Simplicity & Conversion

    Key UX Decisions & Enhancements:

    - Standalone Renewal Flow – Removed renewal from the checkout experience to improve discoverability.
    - Clear & Personalized Messaging – Introduced "Thank you for being a member" messaging, emphasizing renewal benefits.
    - Integrated Upgrade & Add-ons – Enabled seamless membership upgrades and add-on renewals in the same flow.
    - Auto Renew Enrollment at Checkout – Allowed members to opt into Auto Renew, driving long-term retention.

Driving Execution & Overcoming Challenges

As a UX Manager, my role extended beyond design—ensuring execution while tackling roadblocks.

Key Challenges & How I Solved Them:

  • Stakeholder Alignment & Scope Management – Managed conflicting priorities across product, engineering, and marketing to ensure UX goals stayed central.

  • Technical Feasibility Issues – Worked with engineering teams early to define backend capabilities for payments, APIs, and Auto Renew.

  • Approval Bottlenecks – Led structured weekly design reviews to accelerate decision-making and prevent iteration delays.

By proactively engaging cross-functional partners, I ensured smooth execution from strategy to implementation.

Outcome & Impact

  • Projected $2.1M+ in incremental annual membership income from app renewals.

  • Higher conversion rates – Addressing discoverability & friction points is expected to drive renewal engagement.

  • Improved NPS – Streamlined UX reduces frustration & enhances member satisfaction.

  • Increased Upgrade & Add-on Purchases – New flow allows users to upgrade at the point of renewal, maximizing revenue.

  • Scalable UX Framework – The standalone renewal approach lays the foundation for future renewal enhancements.

Leadership Takeaways & Future Optimization

Lessons Learned

  • Early collaboration with engineering & product prevents rework.

  • Clear UX messaging & information hierarchy drive trust & engagement.

  • Designing for flexibility (upgrades, add-ons) unlocks revenue potential.

Next Steps

  • Monitor renewal flow performance post-launch via analytics & user feedback.

  • Explore personalization & dynamic benefits messaging for renewal incentives.

  • A/B test checkout variations to further optimize conversion.

This initiative demonstrates how UX leadership can drive strategic business impact, proving that a well-crafted renewal experience directly influences retention & revenue growth.

Final Thoughts

As a UX Manager, this project reaffirmed the power of cross-functional collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and user-first strategy. By crafting a simplified, conversion-optimized renewal flow, we improved both member experience & business outcomes—solidifying UX as a critical driver of retention success at Sam’s Club.

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