Scritch Mobile App & Web Platform
OVERVIEWAon Affinity created Scritch, formerly known as ScritchSpot, to provide on-the-go access to all the pet parenting resources you may need, both in the app and on the web version. The app is completely free and is packed with a plethora of features to help make pet parenting easy—some limited as app only features.
ROLESenior UX/UI Designer
Research, Wireframes, Interaction, Visual Design, Prototyping & Testing, Design QA
What the heck is a scritch?
"A scritch is a deep, soothing scratch and a way to show affection to your pet.”
Background
The concept for Scritch was conceived upon the idea that despite all the digital help you can gather about life with pets, there isn’t one directory you can go to that houses it all. It can be an overwhelming experience opening tab after tab, or purchasing books to educate yourself on living with a pet. Plus, there is no human element where you can connect with others.
The people problem for Scritch was this:
“I want to talk to other pet parents who would like to share tips about having a pet, ideas on approaching pet training, read about product reviews and find pet-friendly locations.”
The proposed solution—create a custom mobile ordering app that would provide their customers with an avenue where they can place their order quickly and with ease.
Challenge & Goal Setting
In order for Scritch to be successful, a community would need to be created from scratch. The app would create a new “pawsitive” experience for pet owners that instilled a community where they could connect with each other and also have access to multiple resources for all things pet.
Our main goal was to provide on-the-go access to all the pet parenting resources pet owners, new and experienced. For metric purposes, we were aiming to have 100,000 new unique downloads of the app within one year of the app’s launch date.
User Journeys, Personas & Architecture
Finding the right information or advice can be very challenging, especially when it comes to caring for your pets. As a result of knowing first-hand how difficult that research can be, Scritch wanted to be the community in which pet owners had a platform where they could interact and share information for all things pet.
Much of the initial user research was conducted by Scritch’s parent company, AON. We utilized their insights and further delved into creating user journeys and personas. This process helped provide a holistic view of our users, revealing possible pain points, and gave us a better understanding of our user base and their behaviors to aid in crafting a better experience and better end product.
User journeys and personas were created for three audiences:
First-time pet owners
People who have grown up with pets but are just now having a pet of their own
People who have owned multiple pets for a majority of their lives
Scritch planned on hosting a multitude of resources for pet owners. Because of this, we needed to strategize how the content was going to be organized. We bucketed all the content into five sections:
Home — Social community feed and Discoverable articles of interest
Nearby — Provide location services via BarkHappy and Rover to find pet-friendly locations, events and caretakers
Camera — In-app camera with unique sound effect mechanism as the trigger to help gain the pet’s attention
My Pets (formerly Care) — Maintenance area for your pet’s profile
Account (formerly Profile) — Integration from PawsLikeMe to display adoptable pets in the area
Partnerships
To ensure users have access to the best advice and tools for their pets, Scritch has partnered with some of the top pet resources and experts.
“Upon reviewing the app, I was amazed at not only the functionality, but also the philosophy behind the app.”
- Doggy Dan, The Online Dog Trainer
Animation Credit: Chris Fernandez
Solution
The client wanted this app to truly house as many useful features as possible, without being daunting. The app aims to create a space where pet parenting is made easier on pet owners. Users can see and share cute pet photos, explore pet-friendly places and events and also learn and care for their pet.
Community & Learn
The community feed is a social feed exclusively for pets — be prepared to lose track of time! A special set of technical elements and intricate logic were used to ensure that the algorithm used serves users see a variety of content at all times.
In Learn, you can find answers to your pet-related questions, see what’s trending within the Scritch community, learn about training and more.
Nearby
Pinpoint nearby pet-friendly locations, such as bars, hotels and retailers, via an interactive map powered by BarkHappy and Rover so you can bring your furry buddy with you on your next outing.
Camera
An app only feature, Scritch is equipped with sound effects to help get the attention of your distracted pet. After you snap a photo of your pet being adorable, try adding one of our filters and fun stickers before sharing them out to the Scritch community.
Pets
With Scritch, you’ll be able to keep track of all your pet’s details, including care notes, records, medications, pet insurance information, as well as their veterinarians—all in one spot!
Ensure your pet’s information is accessible to everyone by sharing out their care notes with pet sitters, groomers and pet lodging.
Adoptable Pets
Scritch uses the power of PawsLikeMe’s technology to match users with nearby adoptable pets based on the most important factors of personality and lifestyle compatibility—with over 90 percent accuracy.
Best New Dog App of 2018
The Dog People, Powered by Rover
“This app is great for public outings! We currently have a 5 month old puppy that we’re socializing, and this app has been super helpful! We’ve used it to find parks as well as dog-friendly bars and restaurants. Highly recommend this app to anyone with furry family members.”
— Jcfhknggh, Justuseapp.com
Results
Scritch set out to combine everything you needed to make pet parenting easy and fun in one online destination. Unfortunately, just after a year run in the market, it was decided by the client to be pulled.
